A judge will hear a Franklin County prosecutor’s appeal of a city order requiring her to rehome her dog, which has attacked pets and people, most recently at Burlington’s Leddy Park.

But Judge Samuel Hoar Jr. also said Diane Wheeler’s dog, Moose, needs to be placed in a kennel until the court can hear her appeal.

Wheeler had tried to argue that she didn’t need to surrender the dog because she plans to move out of Burlington. Until then, Wheeler wrote, Moose would remain leashed when outside her home on Roseade Parkway in the city's New North End.



The judge, however, said Wheeler hasn’t shown she can keep the public safe from Moose. The Leddy Park incident happened despite a court order requiring the dog to wear a muzzle and restrictive collar in public.
It’s unclear whether Wheeler plans to heed the court’s latest order. She didn’t immediately respond to an interview request from Seven Days. Her neighbors, though, worry that Moose will continue to wreak havoc — if not in Burlington than elsewhere.

“Is there no accountability?” said Llu Mulvaney-Stanak, who lives two doors down from Wheeler. “If they let this lady take this dog somewhere else, it’s going to keep happening.”

Moose's troubles started in early 2023, around the time Wheeler brought him into her home. Neighbors say that over a span of six months, the dog bit a pedestrian and two dogs.

Five households filed a formal complaint with the city in January. That led to a city order telling Wheeler to find Moose a new home within 30 days. Until then, the city ruled, the dog needed to remain leashed and in the control of "a capable adult" while in public.

Wheeler appealed the city’s order to Vermont Superior Court, where Hoar ordered Moose wear a muzzle and restrictive collar while outside. He also gave Wheeler time to make a case to keep the dog.

Less than two weeks later, Moose attacked a man and his dog at Leddy Park, biting the man’s hand and sending him to the emergency room.

At a hearing last week, city attorneys asked the court’s permission to impound Moose until the court can rule on Wheeler’s appeal. Wheeler didn’t show up for the hearing.

Hoar granted the order, which required Wheeler to bring Moose to Top of the Hill Kennels in Highgate Center before 4 p.m. on September 30. If she didn’t surrender the dog, the judge wrote, Burlington police or another law enforcement agency could retrieve him.
Wheeler’s deadline came and went. It’s unclear if Burlington police tried to contact Wheeler or seize Moose; Police Chief Jon Murad didn’t respond to an interview request on Friday afternoon. A civilian staffer, who oversees unarmed officers that respond to animal control calls, said she wasn’t authorized to speak to the media.

On October 2, Wheeler filed a motion asking the judge to reconsider his order to impound Moose. She wrote that she'd been "ill in bed" for days, causing her to miss the court hearing. She hadn't checked her work or personal email, Wheeler wrote, and had only just heard about the order from a colleague.

Wheeler says the kennel issue is moot because she and Moose “have temporarily relocated” and are planning to live “anywhere but Burlington.” Doing so would comply with the city’s original order to rehome the dog, Wheeler wrote.

“Moose is being rehomed out of Burlington [with] his ‘mother,’” she wrote. “It will just take some time.”

Wheeler said that in the interim, she wouldn’t bring Moose to Leddy Park or walk him in the neighborhood. She also asked the judge for more time to argue her appeal and hire an attorney.



In his order, Hoar agreed to hear Wheeler's appeal but denied her other requests.

As of Friday afternoon, Seven Days was unable to determine whether Wheeler complied with the order. A call to Top of the Hill Kennels was abruptly disconnected, and employees didn’t return a voice message seeking comment.

Meantime, there are no visible signs that Wheeler is moving, Mulvaney-Stanak said: “It’s not like there's a U-Haul out front.”