Lewiston woman sues former neighbor and his landlord in 2021 dog attack

AUBURN — A Lewiston woman mauled by a neighbor’s dog while she was raking leaves in her yard last year is suing that neighbor and his landlord.

Constance Veilleux, 71, was in her yard the morning of April 15, 2021, when she was attacked by a pit bull belonging to her neighbor, David Davis of 12 Myrtle St.

He had been facing three civil charges, including keeping a dangerous dog, but prosecutors opted to drop those charges in favor of allowing Veilleux to collect all of the money available to her in a civil judgment rather than having a portion of it go to the state in fines.

In Veilleux’s civil complaint, filed last year in Androscoggin County Superior Court by her attorney, Sheldon Tepler, she said Davis “knew or had reason to know that the dog possessed dangerous propensities abnormal to its class.”

Constance Veilleux smiles from her bed at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston where she was recovering from dog bites suffered in an April 2021 attack at her Lewiston home. Submitted photo

The suit claims that co-defendant Cody Ray Currier, who owns the home in which Davis and his dog lived, “was responsible for its care and upkeep, including a fence on the property.”

According to the complaint, the dog “escaped through a broken fence” and attacked Veilleux.

Currier, through his attorney, Christine Kennedy-Jensen, filed a response to Veilleux’s complaint, seeking to have a judge dismiss the lawsuit because Veilleux “failed to mitigate her damages,” her injuries are “the result of preexisting, intervening or superseding causes” and are “the result of her own comparative fault” and are the “result of the negligence of a third party.”

Currier also claimed Veilleux failed to “state a claim upon which relief can be granted.”

Tepler filed a motion to allow more time to formally serve Davis with the complaint, explaining that Davis has no insurance coverage, is “difficult to find, at best,” and that he has left the state of Maine.

The case is set for mediation next month, Tepler wrote. He asked that the deadline to serve Davis with the complaint be extended until after next month’s mediation.

A judge had not ruled on that motion as of Wednesday.

Veilleux had reportedly lost consciousness before police arrived. When they did, the dog was still attacking her and would not loosen its grip, police said.

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 had appeared devastated over the incident.

Veilleux was taken to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, where she underwent surgery to repair extensive damage caused by the attack.

She has undergone at least six surgeries, including one where doctors took bone from her hip to put in her arm, according to a family member.

Veilleux had been able to return home, but needed to go to a nursing home for rehabilitation that included occupational therapy. Afterward, she was scheduled to undergo an additional surgery on her other arm.

A seventh surgery is scheduled for this month.

The dog was taken to Maine State Crime Lab for rabies testing, which was negative, according to a family member.