A superior court clerk magistrate has upheld an order by the Oak Bluffs selectmen to humanely euthanize two pit bulls that attacked another dog.

In a ruling issued Jan. 18, clerk magistrate Joseph E. Sollitto Jr. said he affirmed the decision by selectmen to humanely euthanize Sasha and Rosie, female pit bulls belonging to Oak Bluffs residents Hillary Seaton and Kaitlyn Seaton.

“I find that the order of the Oak Bluffs board of selectmen was with proper cause and was in good faith,” Mr. Sollitto wrote in the brief decision.

The selectmen declared the dogs dangerous and issued the euthanization order on Dec. 12 after an emotional hearing. According to town officials, the dogs had been the subject of several police reports in the last three years. According to testimony, the dogs escaped from their home in early November and attacked the dog of a neighbor. Other neighbors said they had also had frightening encounters with the dogs.

The selectmen followed advice from animal control officer Patty Grant in ordering that the dogs be euthanized.

The owners of the dogs appealed the decision in Edgartown district court. A hearing was held Jan. 11.