Owner of Lewiston dog who attacked neighbor won’t be prosecuted

LEWISTON — The District Attorney’s Office has opted against prosecuting civil charges against a local man whose dog attacked a neighbor, sending her to the hospital with serious injuries to her arms, thighs, neck and face.

Constance Veilleux, left, smiles after being released from the hospital where she was treated for injuries from a dog attack in April. Her daughter, Gina Gallucci Breton, is at right. Submitted photo

David Davis, 35, of 12 Myrtle St. had been scheduled to appear in 8th District Court this week to face three civil charges of keeping a dangerous dog, keeping an unlicensed dog and allowing a dog to be at large.

If prosecuted and convicted, Davis could have been fined.

District Attorney Andrew Robinson said Thursday: “Our office spoke with the victim’s attorney and decided not to proceed with charges, which would have only resulted in a fine that would have gone to the state because we wanted any money that was collected to go to the victim through their civil case.”

As of Thursday, no civil complaint had been filed in Androscoggin County Superior Court by 71-year-old Constance Veilleux against Davis.

Police said Veilleux had been raking leaves in the yard of her home at 34 Helen St. on the morning of April 15 when Davis’ pit bull attacked her.

She reportedly lost consciousness before police arrived. When they did, the dog was still attacking her and wouldn’t loosen its grip.

An officer used a Taser on the dog, momentarily stopping the attack. But the dog tried to bite the officer before returning to Veilleux, biting her on the face and neck, police said.

The officer feared for the woman’s life and shot the dog, which bit the woman again before it died.

The dog had slipped through a damaged section of a fence to get to the woman’s yard.

Witnesses said Davis appeared to be devastated over the incident.

Veilleux was rushed to Central Maine Medical Center, where she underwent surgery to repair extensive damage caused by the mauling.

She has undergone five surgeries to date, including one last week where doctors took bone from her hip to put in her arm, according to her niece, Cynthia Lizotte.

Veilleux, who had been able to return home, is at a nursing home where she is undergoing rehabilitation from the surgery that includes occupational therapy. She is scheduled to undergo another surgery next week on her other arm.

“Both of her arms were pretty badly mangled,” Lizotte said Thursday.

Constance Veilleux smiles from her bed at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston where she was recovering from dog bites suffered in an April 15 attack at her Lewiston home. Submitted photo

Lizotte said her aunt had partial use of one of her arms restored to be able to feed herself after her release from the hospital.

“It’s been a long road and she’s still struggling,” Lizotte said.

“She’s in a lot of pain. They have her on a lot of pain meds, but she’s a pretty tough lady. She’s doing as well as can be expected.”

The dog’s body was taken to an animal shelter, then transported to the Maine Crime Lab in Augusta for rabies testing, police said.

Lizotte said she believes the test results were negative for rabies and her aunt hasn’t been treated for rabies.

Despite the many hardships Veilleux has endured, Lizotte said her aunt remains “very grateful and thankful to all of the people who brought flowers and said prayers and were concerned about what had happened … that has definitely helped keep her spirits up.”