I am responding to the Feb. 1, 2007 article titled "Pit bulls kill family's pet in Millstone," discussing the killing of Gerry Barbaruolo's puppy by her neighbor's two pit bull dogs. I cannot imagine the grief her family is going through, given the viciousness of Max's death as well as the understanding that something could have been done to avoid this tragedy.

I had spoken to Gerry and one of her neighbors immediately after the incident. A letter to the editor condemning the removal of the pit bulls from the neighborhood was published in the Feb. 8 edition of The Examiner. I fully support the township in removing the dogs from the neighborhood while the situation is being debated in municipal court. Clearly, the owner of the pit bulls would need to demonstrate greater responsibility in caring for these dogs if they were ever to be returned to him. Several pertinent details were missing in the newspaper article which may give a distorted impression of the situation.

One glaring omission is that the pit bulls' owner was regularly absent from his Millstone residence for days. During these absences, the whereabouts of his dogs were entrusted solely to an electric fence. Let's face it, power outages can occur and collar batteries can lose power, so electric fences are only so reliable, particularly when an owner is not regularly home to monitor the fencing. Neighbors on this street complained of these dogs barking late into the night. I'd also been told that the dogs have been loose in the neighborhood.

This electric fence was installed dangerously close to the sidewalk on Oak Hill Drive. There was never a posting at the property line alerting pedestrians to the existence of an electric fence. Children dropped off at the bus stop on Millstone Road and Oak Hill Drive walk on this sidewalk.

Finally, the two dogs were never licensed in the township. Where would the accountability be had these two dogs (weighing 150 and 70 pounds) escaped their property and attacked elsewhere? Oak Hill Drive is but a half-mile from the township schools as the crow flies (or the dogs roam).

Pet owners have an obligation to their pets; they also have an obligation to their surrounding neighbors when pets are left outdoors. Even though the Animal Control officer states that the dogs had sufficient food and shelter, the dogs' owner clearly failed on the latter. He should thank his lucky stars that the victim was "only" a pet and not a child who decided to take a shortcut through his yard. Perry Barbaruolo stated, "Max was sacrificed to awaken us." Agreed.

Kim Casamassima

Millstone