HAVERHILL — The crowd at City Hall didn't gather last night because somebody had died. But Roseanna Stickney said it was a pretty close call.
"Thank God we are not attending a funeral this week. I can tell you we came pretty close," said Stickney, grandmother of Robert Stickney, 11, who was mauled by a mixed breed mastiff-pit bull on High Street late last month.
Stickney, a fifth-grader at Silver Hill Elementary School, is still in a Boston hospital after two surgeries to seal a wound in his left leg. He also received 200 stitches in one of his arms.
Last night, four dozen residents met to air their views on how dangerous and vicious dogs in the city should be handled. They recounted a variety of attacks, questioned city and police procedure and talked about the need for a dog park where canines can run unleased.
"That's why dogs are getting vicious, because they are not interactive ... They are not allowed to play," said Gerald Gischier, a Washington Street resident who said he has owned pit bulls for 30 years.
Meanwhile, a host of city officials said they don't want to see injuries such as Robert Stickney's happen to another child.
City councilors want to push through a new ordinance regarding dangerous dogs. Mayor James Fiorentini attended last night's meeting and pledged his help, saying he will provide police Chief Alan DeNaro with more manpower and money if necessary.
The city currently has full- and part-time animal control officers. On a daily basis, those officers respond to anywhere from 40 to 60 calls.
"If we need more people, we'll add them," said Fiorentini. He also offered additional overtime money to the Police Department.
"Whatever we need to do," he said.
The Public Safety Committee didn't endorse a new ordinance last night. Instead, its members agreed to meet again in the near future.
"By June, something will be in place," said Councilor Mary Ellen Daly O'Brien, the mother of four children and a dog owner. She described last night's meeting, which was standing-room only in the City Council office, as productive.
"It gave people a chance to talk," she said. Also, the meeting identified folks in the audience who can help streamline the new ordinance and look for possible dog park spots around the city.
Jennifer Reynolds, Robert Stickney's mother, attended the meeting with her attorney. She thanked rescuers who attended to her son after he was attacked April 24 outside 44 High St.
She, along with several others, blamed the issues with the dogs on their owners, not the animals themselves.
One woman, a social worker, recounted being attacked by a dog outside a school. A grandfather spoke of his daily walks with his granddaughter and a pit bull that snarls at them from behind a fence at Washington and Davenport streets.
Domenick Roveto, of 9 Patricia Ann Drive, asked how a new ordinance would affect a long-term dog problem he's had on his property. He said a neighbor's 80-pound Rotweiller runs loose in the neighborhood and he and his family carry Mace when they're outside.
"The dog hasn't bit anybody yet, but we are very fearful it's going to happen," Roveto said. "It's unfair to us to live in fear, to have to carry Mace just to rake leaves on our property."
Shirley Ingham asked the councilors not to let history repeat itself. She held up a 25-year-old Eagle-Tribune front page, which featured a large photo and story about her son, then age 7, getting mauled by a dog.
She talked about the outrage and fervor of that time and how the city was going to crack down on dangerous dogs.
"We are right back to where we started," said Ingham, of Moody Street. "You might as well send us all home and wait for the next child to get bit."
Twenty-five years later, she noted, "it comes down to not having enough people to enforce the laws you have."
Robert Stickney might be back at school next week. He could come home from the hospital today.
"His wounds are healing, but it will take time to heal the emotional scars," said Sarie Joffree, Stickney's grandmother and legal guardian.
She had hoped to attend last night's meeting but chose instead to stay with Robert at the hospital, she said.
