Community Corner

Haddonfield Doctor Decides to Destroy Dog After 2nd Attack

The dog was previously cited for biting off part of a 3-year-old girl's ear.

Shortly after 7 a.m. Friday morning, a sleek, muscular dog appeared on a large, well-manicured lawn in a tony section of Haddonfield. A man dressed in surgical scrub pants appeared shortly afterward, clearly agitated by a reporter in a car in front of his home in the 100 block of Upland Way.

It had been a tumultuous night for the man, a former orthopedic surgeon, and his family. They had decided hours earlier that the dog, Duke, would be put down today after news surfaced he had injured another child. 

The latest incident occurred Tuesday, April 19, inside of their home, his wife later said. A friend of their teenage daughter received what was described as a “puncture wound” on her shoulder.

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It seemed like no big deal then, they said. The girl told them she was fine, they said. Her father later had her treated by a doctor and the doctor reported the incident to state authorities.

It wasn’t the first time that Duke, or one of the other three dogs owned by Robert and Michele Taffet, had run afoul of the law. Duke was convicted of biting off a piece of a 3-year-old girl’s ear in 2009 at a farm the family owns in Salem County. 

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A municipal court judge then ruled that Duke was “potentially dangerous” but “not vicious,” according to a published report and the Taffets. But another part of the ruling stipulated that if Duke was involved in any other biting incidents then he would have to be destroyed, Robert Taffett said.

“It has to be done,” a grim-faced Taffet said after agreeing to tell his side of the story. “Nobody’s happy about it.”

Police Chief John Banning said in a statement at 4:15 p.m. Friday that Duke was euthanized. He said a Haddonfield police office witnessed the procedure. 

Rhodesian Ridgebacks were originally bred in Africa as lion hunters, according to an Internet report.

“The Rhodesian Ridgeback is ferocious in the hunt, but in the home it is a calm, gentle, obedient, good dog,” according to Dogbreedinfo.com. “Good-natured, but some do not do well with small children because they may play too roughly and knock them down. They are intelligent, skillful and straight-forward dogs that are loyal to the family.”

Michele Taffet said their dogs, including Duke, fit that description. 

But others tell another tale.

“There was a whole relatively complicated proceeding, involving a number of incidents over a period of time,” said Ed Borden, a borough commissioner and director of public safety.

Some of the incidents include Rocky, a Rhodesian Ridgeback, cited for biting incidents in 2002 and 2004 and for an incident involving one of the Taffet’s four children. That incident led Rocky, who fathered Duke, to be declared a “vicious” dog by the borough. That designation means the Taffets have to take out additional homeowner’s insurance, post signs and have additional fencing around their property. They also have to pay $729 yearly to license their dog in Haddonfield, an additional $700 because of the “vicious” dog designation. Rocky has not been involved in any other incidents in several years, they said.

Rocky is the only dog they have licensed in Haddonfield. The other dogs are licensed in Salem County on their farm. The state only requires dogs to be licensed somewhere in the state, a borough official said. 

Banning said Friday that police are still conducting a preliminary investigation into the incident this month. He said a police report was just filed on Thursday for the incident on April 19. He said he found out about it from Borden on Thursday morning. 

The Taffets said they called Borden at home on Thursday evening after hearing about the pending police report, but could not reach him. Borden declined to comment on whether he knew about their phone call.

Michele Taffet said Duke was part of a litter of puppies they took in after they were found to be abused in a Salem County kennel. They took in Duke and four of Rocky’s other offspring for about six weeks in 2004. They kept two of the puppies, one of which was Duke.

Michele Taffet said some neighbors think their dogs have run unattended through the neighborhood on occasion. She said the dogs only got out once when the puppies lived in their sprawling home. A nearby neighbor also has two Rhodesian Ridgebacks that roam the neighborhood and have been mistaken for their dogs, according to Taffet.

Frances Rushton, a retiree who lives nearby, said the Taffets are “good neighbors.”

“But they do have dogs that are frightening,” she added. “When I come out and walk my dog near there I’m always very careful. I very rarely see the dogs out. But anybody with dogs or children never complains about others with dogs and children.”

But Michele Taffet said some neighbors have made a point of complaining about their dogs. She claims that at one point, at least six dead rodents had shown up on their doorstep over a period of time. She thinks it was some kind of protest.

When this latest incident occurred, she and her husband knew what had to happen with Duke.

“There have been tears since yesterday when we made the decision,” she said, with her voice trailing off. “I told my husband ‘This is it.’ ”


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