WESTFIELD – A Springfield man who reportedly dragged his dog, albeit inadvertently, for more than a third of a mile with his pickup truck while traveling at 40-45 miles an hour was released on $2,500 personal surety after his arraignment in Westfield District Court on a charge of cruelty to an animal.
Southwick Police Officer David Massai reports in a court document that on April 27, 2018, he responded to a report of a German shepherd dog being dragged by a pickup to find a group of 10-12 persons surrounding a pickup truck in a parking lot adjacent to Feeding Hills Road. A man was holding a dog on the truck’s tailgate which was bleeding from all four paws and its mouth.
Massai took a written statement from an off-duty Springfield police officer who had stopped the pickup truck after he saw it dragging the dog.
That officer wrote that while traveling eastbound on Feeding Hills Road he observed cars swerving back and forth behind a westbound pickup truck and then saw “a black and brown German Shepard dog tied to a the driver’s side of the truck bed. The dog was being dragged and attempting to keep up with the vehicle and could not as it body was banging onto the side of the truck.”
The officer stated that he immediately turned around and caught up with the truck which pulled into a parking lot when the operator saw the officer.
It was only then, apparently, that the operator (identified as Eduard Shvetsov, 51, of 152 Sumner Ave., Springfield) realized that he had been dragging his dog, Shirikhan, with his truck.
The officer stated that the man then put the dog in the truck bed and attempted to leave but was dissuaded by the officer and others who insisted that he stay until Southwick police arrived.
Massai also took a statement from a witness who had been operating a car traveling three vehicles behind the pickup truck.
That witness said that she had seen the dog in the bed of the truck and had been concerned for its safety when she saw it standing in the bed of the truck with its paws on the roof of the cab.
The woman said that she was in the process of calling Southwick police when she saw that the dog appeared to have fallen out of the truck but “was attached to the back of the pickup with a leash and was now being dragged alongside the truck at the speed of about 40-45MPH.”
In her statement the woman wrote that after the truck was stopped the driver started yelling.
The woman wrote “The driver was very combative and wanting to leave, which was when I made the phone call to 911 at 5:43. During the time it took for the police to arrive, the man was insistent that his dog was fine, despite the pools of blood under him, as he was bleeding from the mouth and one paw was very torn up. I moved my car to block the truck so he couldn’t leave.”
Massai reports “Shvetsov stated that he had the leash in a single slot, rather than cross tethered as required by law” but did not respond when he continued to ask questions about the dog.
Massachusetts law requires that a dog transported in a pickup truck which is not enclosed must be “cross tethered” – attached to at least both sides of the vehicle so as to allow the dog some mobility but prevent it from jumping or falling out.
The Springfield officer, the witness and Massai all called a Springfield animal hospital to ensure they would be able to care for Shirkhan. Massai advised Shvetsov to take Shirkhan directly to the animal hospital and Shvetsov said that he would.
However, both the witness and the Springfield officer were told when they called later to check on Shrikhan that he had not arrived.
Massai reports that Shvertstov brought his dog to the animal hospital approximately two hours and 28 minutes after he left Southwick. He estimated the travel time to be 27 minutes.
He also reports that the veterinarian who treated Shirkhan said that Shvetsov “was extremely belligerent and did not appear as if he was going to follow through and properly tend to Shirkhan’s extensive, severe wounds.”
Massai notes that while Shvetsov “indicated that he was operating at approximately 45-50MPH and pulled over immediately” his statement is inconsistent with both witnesses who each stated that “Shvetsov did not pull over immediately, but rather operated approximately 2000 feet prior to being forced to stop” by the Springfield officer.
Two thousand feet is longer than five football fields and more than a third of a mile.
Massai concludes his report charging Shevtsov with cruelty to an animal by writing that “Although it is not alleged that Shvetsov intended for Shirkhan to become injured in a cruel way, Shvetsov did carry Shirkhan in or upon a vehicle in a manner that might, and in fact did, endanger Shirkhan” and took almost two and a half hours to seek medical attention for his dog.
Shvetstov appeared in Westfield District Court on Tuesday before Judge William O’Grady who allowed his release, pending a Jan. 16 hearing, on $2,500 personal surety.
