WESTFIELD – While many dog owners indulge their friends by organizing a play date with another dog, most make arrangements with the other dog’s owner first.
And, one hopes, very few dog owners go so far as to open a stranger’s front door to release a playmate for their dog.
But, that’s apparently what happened recently in a Hillside Road neighborhood.
A Hillside Road resident reported to police that a neighbor had sent him video of a man opening his front door to let his dog out. The video showed the man reopen the door later to let the dog back inside after the two dogs had played together for a time.
Officer Allen Magdycz reports that he responded to the complaint and viewed the video of the man’s actions.
Magdycz learned that the victim’s neighbor was able identify the suspect as he reportedly walks in the neighborhood frequently and the neighbor had previously served the man with a ‘No trespassing’ order to prevent him from walking his dog through his yard.
The resident told Magdycz that his wife had been upstairs when the front door opened but had been afraid to approach the man.
The residents asked that a ‘No trespassing’ order be served to the man to prevent him from again entering their property.
Magdycz reports he and another officer spoke with the man and served him with the order.
The officers told the man not to walk his dog on any other person’s property. They also informed him of criminal charges which could result from opening doors to other persons’ houses.
