Chicken owner charged after shooting dog.

Ed called the police, for heaven's sake.

The police didn't see ANYTHING but a dead dog (sans leash) with which they obviously sympathised and injured chickens with which they obviously did not sympathize.

A calm chicken owner and a hysterical dog owner. How long had they been talking with Ed before the dog owner showed up? Had they contemplated arresting Ed BEFORE the dog owner showed up? I bet not.

I also agree that the police must have known about the leash law since that is a fairly basic law and ticketable offense. Police invariably know the laws for which they can write a ticket.

Three officers that showed up did know the leash laws.

They told Mr. Gapp “he could be charged with Dog at large and nuisance” 2 counts each 4 counts total.

Mr. Gapp then asked. “Can I walk the dogs at a nearby school off leash”? They stated that the “dogs must be on lead at all times”.

The three officers clearly new the law, but choose only to arrest me. I was arrested but they did not take me in. By giving me the ticket I was arrested. They never told me that I was being arrested, never read me my rights, only after I said something about not talking to them did they tell me I did not have to cooperate, but it looks better if you do.

My attorney say that means that there will be a line note stating I cooperated you can still hurt yourself with what you say more than it can help

This is the statement give to my attorney

Friday, June 19, 2009 in the morning

The kids and I are watching and discussing a movie on TV. Like most mornings we had all the doors open to feel the morning breeze. Bryce (7 years old) is in the chair between the couch and the French doors. Alyssa (10 years old) and I are on the couch, cuddled in a blanket. I thought Makenzie (9 years old) was on the other side of Alyssa.

We hear this loud banging and barking and look out the French doors. Bryce jumps towards the door yelling, “Dogs, dogs, dogs! Dad, dogs are attacking the chickens.” I stand up and see a dog jumping on hind legs against the front right side of the chicken run birds flying jumping trying to get out under over the pen. I grabbed the BB gun, the pellet gun, and pellets from the shelf. Bryce ran out ahead of me yelling, “Hey! Hey!” I stepped out the door and saw two dogs, one working each side of the run. I’m yelling at the dogs and clapping my hands, doing everything I can to scare them away. Nothing is working. Chickens are jumping. Turkeys are flying up, almost over the top of the run. One dog is jumping at the front-left-hill side of the run. The other dog is at the back of the run scaring the birds to the first dog. The back dog moves with birds until the dogs are together with the birds right in front of them. The dogs begin aggressively running around and jumping into each other-- barking, biting, spinning around, hitting the run and each other. They are acting crazy and insane. The birds are screaming, flying up almost over the top of the pen. Alyssa is yelling something, “Dad! Dad!” There is a lot of noise and chaos from the birds, dogs, kids, and TV. I scanned the run and yard for everything. I don’t know where everyone is. Is she outside? I don’t see Makenzie! The dogs are moving so fast. I feel shock! Surprise! Fear! I can’t keep up; the dogs have always just left. Never attacked like this before.

The dogs split up again. One runs to the left-side hill and looks like it is going to jump over the side of the run, and the other runs to the back-side and around to the front again. I am struggling to get the BB gun loaded while yelling at the dogs. I can’t get the BB in. I yell as the dog stops and turns toward us, moving forward and looking at me. I shoot the BB toward the backside hind leg. The kids are yelling but I have lost track of them. I don’t know where Makenzie is. I don’t hear her. I am trying to load the BB gun again. Shaking it, I can’t get it to work. Bryce is yelling and the other dog is coming around the left side of the run. I grab for the pellet gun. The dogs jump at each other and turn towards us. Spinning! Barking! Birds flying dust lots of noise.

Then they head for the back of the run. I shoot towards the tree, knowing the gun makes a lot of noise and hoping to scare the dogs as they run towards the open area near the back of my pen. The gun was not loaded, just pumped, as I was hoping to scare the dogs with just the noise. The dogs are fighting each other. Jumping, barking and growling, they seem to be running away. Knocking each other over, dust is flying; they are still attacking each other. Spinning as they start to circle around and come back. They are still fighting as they reach the side of the run. Bryce is yelling again as they are looking at us. I yell at Bryce to “Shut up and get inside the house!” I can’t see anyone else. One dog splits off at the back of the run and the other is running and spinning at the right side of the run. Chickens try to fly away. I am trying to break the gun open, but can’t. I have to take it across my knee to load it. I am yelling as the dog runs forward fast, about 20 feet from me. I am yelling as it is moving towards me. I get the gun loaded, shut it, point it towards the dog, and shoot not truly aiming. I can’t see the other dog. I don’t know if it coming back around. I don’t know where the kids or the other dog are. Everything is happening so fast. Dust is flying, a turkey is almost over the top. Birds bouncing off everything! Lots of noises.

The dog spins and runs around the front. There was no sign I had hit it. It turns runs down the side and into the woods on the left side of the pen. I scan for the other dog as I yell for the kids. I turn and see Alyssa and Makenzie on the stairs as I back into the house. I later learned that Makenzie had been upstairs asleep. I grab the phone with the police number already programmed. I shut all sets of doors as I call dispatch yelling and confused as he tells me it’s illegal to fire a weapon I tell him we were being attached many words said out of fear and anger and disbelieve. I wait inside until the police arrive. I pace, trying to slow down. I can’t believe what just happened and how fast. I’m shaken and it seems like forever before the police arrive. Are the kids all right they could have been out there? I watch out the door for the dogs to come back. The police drive past my house and come back to the driveway. I go outside to meet them.

I told Officer Powers that we have been having problems with dogs and I had a couple attacking the chicken run this morning. I explained how I tried to shoo them away and shot one with a BB gun towards the butt, but they came back attacking two more times. I started to say more when I saw a guy coming out of the woods and across my yard. He was yelling something. I did not hear him clearly, so I put my hand to my ear and he said again, “ Have you guys seen a golden retriever?” I yelled, “No, I saw two retrievers in my yard.” He held his hand to his ear and said that he was hard of hearing and that we would have to move closer. He asked to come into the rest of my yard. I motioned him toward me and started to walk towards him. As we drew closer he said, “I’m sorry, I’m really hard of hearing.” The rest of the conversation went like this…

Gapp: Have you guys seen a golden retriever?
Harris: I had two golden retrievers in my yard attacking our chickens and turkeys and acting crazy. I was scared for me and my kids.
Gapp: She would not hurt your kids. They are great dogs.
Harris: They were jumping around and fighting each other and came back three times.
Gapp: Oh, I’m sorry, those are my dogs. I’m sorry, I have two and they are mine. I was walking them out there. I did not know your home was here. I did not know you had kids and I did not know you had chickens. I let them off the leash to run. I walk them all the time over here. I did not know they would come this far. I live over there (pointing towards Cascade View Estates) on the far side. I am sorry, I will have to walk farther over that way from now on.
Harris: I have seen the dogs before. They were running from over there (pointing towards the direction of the woods). I’ve also seen down the hill by the road and across the road.
Gapp: They wouldn’t cross the road. I’ll have to walk them farther away. I am sorry they have done this.

I told him I was very upset, that it was crazy, insane. He started to say something about the chickens and I said…
Harris: The chickens are not the biggest problem. It is my three small kids. They scared us.
Gapp: They would not hurt the kids.
Harris: I have had dogs chase me twice now out here and this is the third time. Your dogs kept coming back and fighting each other. I was angry and confused. There have been a number of dogs around chasing the deer, rabbits, quail, and now the chickens and me. What I’ve been told, it is a $3000 fine for chasing deer. Did you know that by letting your dogs go, a deer could attack them. (Gapp was surprised by this.) It happened to a neighbor. Their dog was almost split in half.
Gapp: Oh, really.

At some point, Officer Powers comes up….
Powers: Sorry, I needed to get a phone, because I can’t get a signal out here. (He was holding up a yellow and black phone.)
Harris: Tell me about it. I lose signals out here all the time.

Gapp told us many times that the dogs were his and that he had let the dogs off leash while on his walks, letting them run. He said he could not see or hear them. Repeatedly he said that the he didn’t know the house was here, and that he was sorry.

Powers: You could get a fine for having them off-leash (Dog-At-Large) and a ticket for menacing.
Gapp: They are good dogs. One dog is still missing and has not come home.
Mr. Gapp asks about letting the dogs run at the school. Officer Powers said they are not to be off leash.

At some point more officers joined us. I told them that we yelled and I shot at the dogs (with my BB gun aiming at the butt) when they would not stop and came up towards the house. I was just wanting to scare them, but they came back again. I never shot to kill. I did not aim at the head, I was just trying to get them to stop. I did not know if I even hit them. I could not tell them apart. It was all so fast. My emotions were off the charts. My head was spinning; I kept saying over and over, “This is crazy. This is insane. I’m afraid to let my kids play in the yard I was afraid for my family. They are not allowed into the forest. We are not free.” The conversation with the Officers and Mr. Gapp continues about dog parks, laws, signs, Dog-At-Large problems, police responses, etc. I tell them, “I want a solution to this problem. I can’t live like this.” We are just waiting for the screams from one of our kids We talked about fencing. I told them that I had someone out to give me an estimate and it was going to cost me $18 a foot. I can’t afford that. We talked about fencing a portion of the 100 acres as a dog park and getting a hold of the owner of the private land beside mine. I tell them I have brittle bone disorder can’t afford to be hit or knotted over.

Gapp says sorry many times. Gapp calls home, but the dog has not yet returned. Gapp asks if he can give me his phone number in case I see his dog. I ask if he has a cell phone on him, because if I see the dog, I can give you a call while you are in the woods. He leaves to continue looking for his dog, blowing a whistle, and calling for his dog by name. We hear him far into the woods.

Officers come back later and cite me. Taking photos and measurements. We talk more I rant the same.
Offering to help fix the problems. I’m told to report everything. I’m told to wait in the house next time and call. I’m asked to consider being part of citizens corps.


Realizations / thoughts after everyone had left….
*At no time before, during or after the attack did we hear anyone call or any whistles.
*Gapp showed up after police had arrived, a long while after the attacks.
*I did not build the chicken run as a pinball machine for dogs to use for their own amusement, but that is exactly what happened.
*The chicken coop is not finished yet because of my back injury and the brittle bone.
*My wife asked if we should get rid of the birds.
*My kids are afraid that they are going to lose their dad because of having the birds.
*My kids are afraid of losing the birds.
*I never knew which dog I was shooting at. It was impossible to tell them apart
*Gapp had only had the deceased dog for 30 days.
*I witnessed a violent dog attack on an off-duty police officer in Hillsboro where I and other neighbors had to try to pull the dogs (2 dogs) off of the officer and his puppy.
*The BB gun does not belong to me, but was on loan because of the increasing dog off leash encounters.
*The pellet gun was purchased two years ago to teach my children about guns because many of their friend’s homes have them. It had been shot ten times at most.
*My children had been taught to act like a tree and stay silent if being attacked or threatened.
*twice before, off leash dogs have face me off while chasing wildlife onto my property yelling and throwing rocks to get them to stop.
The weekend before a friends dog drug Makenzie off by the back of her hair six feet before adults could get to them.

Now THAT'S the info I have been waiting for!!!

So, when did Gapp finally discover his dog lying dead in the woods? The article stated that he said he 'came upon' your residence and made it sound as though he walked up, but a quote from Gapp indicated that he'd in fact returned home and gotten a vehicle because he stated that he "collapsed to the ground" or whatever when he found his dog and then picked her up and brought her back to his vehicle.

None of us could figure out where the vehicle came from if he'd walked over..

Gee, what nice neighbors the Gapps must be. Unfortunately, I have one just like him. After he was convicted in court, he made a scene in the court house screaming that I was dangerous because I had previously threatened to shoot his dogs if they came back and went for my chickens again. Even after they were ticketed, convicted, fined, had to hire a lawyer, and had to pay a civil judgement for damages, they still didn't understand. Some people cannot understand that a person could care more for their own pet than the neighbor's marauding dog. They don't understand that, if they can't meet the dogs exercise needs in a controlled and supervised manner, they bought the wrong dog. They don't understand that a dog's need to run and chase doesn't trump the right of other animals to exist peacefully. They don't understand that, if their neighbor wanted a large rambunctious dog to rampage through their yard, they would buy their own. And here is Gapp still asking the police officer if he can let his dogs run someplace else even after he was already told he couldn't. You just can't cure stupid.

Hey one other piece of info.

The young lady, Desiree Durbin who interview with Nina Mehlhaf at the end of the news report. Just happens to be a beauty queen want to be, that had just lost trying out for either Miss Teen Oregon or Miss Oregon. We believe wanting to get her pretty face on TV, fame at whatever cost.

http://missoregonusa.com/mo/ She is on the webs front photo.

We have been in this home for just over a year, never, never have we seen her outside her home before. Never even knew they had a dog until she walked it in front of our home with it on the day of the report.

She just happened to show up as Nina Mehlhaf showed up at my door. She has never walked this dog before. You have to cross in front our home to get to the private wooded land.

She had come out walking the dog on the street across from our home the length of our property and walked back as Nina Mehlhaf left our drive way. They spoke across from my drive way.

Talk about sit up. My family believes it just may have be her that reported the flyer for her fifteen minutes of fame. Mostly likely has interviewed with the news station given what she was trying for.

Like, you know. Makes you kind of sick. Some of the neighbors you can end up with. I can’t wait to talk to her Grand Mother that she lives with. Grandma is a very nice lady!!!

Amazing, absolutely amazing! Some people are just...oh, I just can't find the "appropriate" words to use on a "family" forum!

Ed, You are a brave man to have dealt with those dogs. Honestly, if they were so frenzied to attack each other, you were in serious SERIOUS danger!!! God bless you for standing up for yourself and your family against such morons as Mr Gapp and the like.

Mr. Harris describes a frenzied dog attack very well.

I have seen it.

Unfortunately, even my own dogs--sweet, gentle little dogs--will go crazy if they are in prey drive mode. I have seen them kill a ground hog, and even a couple of my own chickens.

The dogs are fenced but occasionally a chicken will come over the fence. The heave breed chickens, like BO's, cannot do it, the the banties sometimes made the effort.

The dogs go crazy. They are not even sane.

When the neighbor's dogs, which are much larger than mine, attacked the chickens, it was just as described, except that mine free range so they do not have a run.

It is very frightening.

Catherine

I'm so sorry you had to go through this invasion of your home and privacy, and your family's safety threatened, all because someone doesn't care to keep their dog under their control.

I hope that all the charges are dropped-it is a ridiculous world where someone's attacking pet on the loose should take precedence over human safety & lives.