After six previous disappointments, Marie Meyer-Barton’s luck finally changed on Tuesday evening, and she was a winner in an affordable housing lottery.

But her tears were not only of joy. Her best friend was one of those who missed out on the right to buy one of the four affordable housing units at Lambert’s Cove, by chance.

“It’s just incredible that we finally won one,” she said afterwards. “But it’s really hard to watch, too, because these people who missed out are our friends.

“Really hard. I think they should do it another way. I don’t believe a lottery is right. People should qualify, go on a list and then, when your name is at the top of the list, they give you the opportunity,” she said.

“The last one we were in, both houses went to people who had applied for the first time.”

Whatever the fairness of the system, this time it worked for people who had been persistent. The other lottery winners, Benton and Emily Coulter, were third-time lucky.

The remaining two homes were awarded without a lottery to Eric and Kristina Alexander, and to Julie Brand, who were the only eligible applicants.

The housing lottery was only one part of an epic, three–hour meeting of the Tisbury selectmen on Tuesday evening.

Issues relating to the licensing of restaurants for beer and wine sales also took up substantial time. Five licenses were finalized. And one more, for Le Grenier, on Main street, was approved and now will go to the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission for further vetting.

Selectmen also approved an enforcement policy for beer and wine, formulated by new police chief Daniel Hanavan.

The most time consuming, emotional and contentious issue, however, was the one which resulted in the selectmen ordering a dog to be euthanized.

The decision split the selectmen, with Tristan Israel abstaining from the vote to have the dog put down, after Geoghan Coogan and Jeff Kristal would not support his motion, which would have given the owners time to find a home for the dog elsewhere.

The selectmen heard that on May 28 this year, the pit bull was being walked by Joyce Staruk, near the corner of Leland and Franklin streets, when it pulled the leash from her hand and chased and killed a cat belonging to Nancy and Gordon Massingham.

The dog cornered the cat, then ran home, with bits of the cat still in its mouth.

The dog, which has been involved in previous attacks on other animals, does not belong to Joyce Staruk, but to her son Ed.

Ms. Massingham told the board that some days after the attack, Ms. Staruk came by to apologize. But they never heard from her son.

Animal control officer Laurie Clements said he did not walk the dog, did not pay the bills for it or the violation tickets, but had instead handed responsibility for the 80-pound dog to his mother, who was not strong enough to control it. There had been complaints from frightened neighbors, she said

Mr. Staruk-Gillies denied that he never walked the dog, said that the three incidents where it had gone after other animals all occurred while his mother was walking it, and offered a guarantee it would not happen again.

But his mother clearly had her doubts. She said he was heading off to college in September, and she was unsure how she would cope.

“I’m nervous,” she said. “I don’t know what to say.”

Ms. Clements said she wanted the dog euthanized, but Mr. Israel pushed for a reprieve of five days, so the owners could look for someone off-Island with experience in taming large and savage dogs, who would take it.

But Mr. Kristal was having none of that. He said the selectmen had been lazy in the past about animal control issues. Mr. Israel bristled at the suggestion.

Mr. Kristal maintained that previous leniency by the board had only brought further problems, a clear reference to the Garde family, whose chicken-killing dogs remained a problem despite numerous warnings by the selectmen.

The third board member, Geoghan Coogan, sided with Mr. Kristal, saying some dogs were “just not good dogs” and could not be rehabilitated.

“Laurie doesn’t think the dog can be fixed and I’m inclined to believe that too,” he said.

And so the dog was ordered killed, with Mr. Israel abstaining from the vote and both mother and son weeping.

Ms. Staruk pleaded for time to make a few phone calls. But Mr. Kristal was terse.

“No. You’ve had since May 28 to do that. The hearing is closed,” he said.