Auburn Board of Health Orders Fines, Seizure Deadline for Dangerous Dog Owner

AUBURN -- March 26, 2026, Auburn Board of Health orders fines and sets seizure deadline for owner of dangerous dog Faith. The board voted 3-0 Thursday to find Justine Lavalley of 29 Cedar Street in non-compliance with a March 2025 dangerous dog order, imposing recurring fines beginning immediately and setting the board's next meeting as a hard deadline for compliance. Animal Control Officer Kenya Corbo testified that despite hand-delivered notices, phone contact, and assistance arranging low-cost vaccination, Lavalley has not licensed the dog, paid outstanding fines, provided rabies vaccination documentation, or microchipped Faith in more than a year since a child was bitten on a neighboring family's driveway. Corbo warned that seizure would likely result in euthanasia, as most shelters will not accept a dog with a bite history and a standing dangerous dog order. Neighbors Matt and Christina Lavalley submitted photographs showing Faith loose near a school bus stop. The board also voted unanimously to continue a Title V septic variance hearing for 650 Oxford Street South pending a professional third-party well test with chain of custody, after the property's well was found to be only 33 feet from the soil absorption system, well short of the 50-foot minimum.