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. Im 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 dont know where everyone is. Is she outside? I dont see Makenzie! The dogs are moving so fast. I feel shock! Surprise! Fear! I cant 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 cant 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 dont know where Makenzie is. I dont hear her. I am trying to load the BB gun again. Shaking it, I cant 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 cant 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 cant. 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 cant see the other dog. I dont know if it coming back around. I dont 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 its 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 cant believe what just happened and how fast. Im 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, Im sorry, Im 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, Im sorry, those are my dogs. Im 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). Ive also seen down the hill by the road and across the road.
Gapp: They wouldnt cross the road. Ill 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 Ive 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 cant 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 didnt 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. Im 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 cant 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 cant 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 cant 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. Im told to report everything. Im told to wait in the house next time and call. Im 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 friends 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.
