A lawyer representing Nancy Bucciarelli, the woman accused of pushing her dog into a lake and watching it drown, is asking the public to stop rushing to judgment without all the facts and to end the harassment of his client.
Rusty Chadwick, the attorney representing Bucciarelli, said aside from the hundreds of online comments expressing rancor toward the Merrimack resident and Hudson business owner, she has received feces in the mail as well as letters attacking her and calling her names.
“It just hasn’t stopped,” Chadwick said. “She’s living in fear of people coming to her house or people following her around.”
One person wrote, “I hope your children and grandchildren drown,” Chadwick said.
He said Bucciarelli is buying home security cameras and lights, all to feel secure amid the threats.
In a news release, Chadwick said Bucciarelli did not purposely hurt her dog and that the drowning at Naticook Lake, for which she was arrested on June 14, was an unfortunate accident, and pointed to examples of how the 11-year-old golden retriever was well-loved and cared for by Bucciarelli.
Chadwick said Bucciarelli took her dog, Bailey, to the veterinarian’s office for a rabies shot just three days prior to the incident and groomed him twice a month. He said he has text messages from Bucciarelli to her daughter while at work asking her to put Bailey’s stress vest on during a thunderstorm. All this points to Bailey being a beloved member of Bucciarelli’s family, he said.
Bailey also was always a fan of the water, Chadwick said. He said they have videos of the dog swimming to retrieve stones, one of the games he would play.
“I’m just asking for people to dial it back, take a breath,” Chadwick said. “I don’t want to be forced to comment on the case and provide facts, but that’s what I did because there’s a whole other story here.”
Some of the people threatening and harassing Bucciarelli are using their real names, Chadwick said. He said he will be sharing a list of at least a half dozen names to police for possible follow-up.
“Whenever there is an animal case, people will throw caution to the wind and assume the worst of somebody,” Chadwick said.