CORRECTION: Somerville man who killed neighbor's dog will not be prosecuted

Mar. 5—A Somerville man who fatally shot his neighbor's dog in November will not face prosecution.

Dannie L. Peaslee, Sr., 61, was charged with animal cruelty after telling police he shot Spot, a bulldog, because the dog was in his driveway and he was afraid it was going to attack him, the Kennebec Journal reported.

Chris Fernald, deputy district attorney for Lincoln, Knox, Sagadahoc and Waldo counties, confirmed to the Kennebec Journal that his office determined the shooting was justified because the dog was on Peaslee's property and declined to prosecute.

However, Lincoln County Sheriff's deputies wrote in police reports that Spot was shot in the rear hip, which would be inconsistent with Peaslee's claim that the dog was coming toward him, the newspaper reported.

The dog's owner William Poulin, 35, found out that the charge had been dropped when he went to a hearing Jan. 28 for a dog-at-large charge against him related to shooting. That charge has also been dropped, the Kennebec Journal reported.

"My family and I feel unsafe and continue to be devastated that our beloved, gentle, innocent, family dog Spot has not received the justice he so deserves for being so cruelly executed for the 'crime' of belonging to [Poulin], whom Dannie angrily realized he could not sue, i.e. get any money from," Poulin's fiancee, Lindsay Grady told the Kennebec Journal.

Walter McKee, Peaslee's attorney, maintains that his client shot the dog in self defense citing that the dog was 'hyper-aggressive' and had attacked other people, according to the Kennebec Journal.

Both parties have filed protection orders against the other amid the ongoing dispute.

Correction: A previous version of this story had the incorrect title for Chris Fernald.