Service dog spat flares in courtroom

2 Brookfield officials escalate ongoing feud

BROOKFIELD – A dispute between two local officials spilled into entanglements with police and the court.

Christopher Kelleher claims John D. Holdcraft has repeatedly harassed him over Kelleher’s disability. Kelleher relies on a service dog named Rosie for posttraumatic stress disorder and clinical depression that was diagnosed in 2001. Past verbal and physical abuse by a stepmother and foster parents are the root of Kelleher’s challenges, he said.

What antagonizes Kelleher is that he has repeatedly asked Holdcraft not to approach Rosie and say hello to the dog, a greeting that startles the dog, but Holdcraft continues to do it: “I just want him to stop calling out the dog’s name. He’s calling out to Rosie, saying, ‘Come here’, and I tell him, ‘John, you can’t do that. It’s a working dog.’”

Holdcraft said he loves dogs and questions Kelleher’s disability. He believes the dog is simply a companion and that Kelleher is not fit for local office.

“The dog serves no purpose. It’s a companion, not a service dog,” Holdcraft said.

Hostility hits the boiling point

The animosity spilled over into a recent Board of Health meeting. Kelleher serves on the elected board. In separate interviews both men said Kelleher started shouting at Holdcraft after he approached Rosie before the meeting started to say hello to the dog.

Holdcraft then blasted Kelleher during the public comment portion of the meeting. His comments were recorded by Kelleher, who records the meeting for a local newspaper he started called The Brookfield Examiner. Holdcraft is heard on the video telling the board that Kel