AR-News: (OR - US) Dog owner loses neglect case; 31 animals still at shelter

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April 29, 2004
Dog owner loses neglect case; 31 animals still kept at shelter  
<A HREF="mailto:jsowell at newsreview.info">JOHN SOWELL</A>     
<A HREF="javascript:NewWindow(540,540,'http://fastads.swiftnews.com/indi/%3Fs=nr%26a=344088');">
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A Drain municipal court judge has ordered the forfeiture of 31 dogs belonging 
to a man who claimed he was operating an animal refuge in rural Douglas 
County.

Russell Trump, a justice of the peace who handles cases filed in Drain 
Municipal Court, ruled in an opinion received Tuesday by lawyers that Bob Stirton 
did not provide minimum care for his dogs as required by Oregon law.

The dogs were confiscated two days before Christmas after county animal 
control officers alleged that the animals, taken from a field in Curtin, were 
suffering from neglect. The dogs were cold to the touch, their coats were saturated 
with water and some of the animals were covered with mud and others covered 
with feces, Deputy Lee Bartholomew testified during a hearing April 20.

Bartholomew told the judge that he had spoken with Stirton several times 
prior to Dec. 23, when the dogs were taken into legal custody and taken to the 
Saving Grace Pet Adoption Center outside Winchester. The officer said he told 
Stirton better arrangements would be needed for the dogs once the weather 
worsened and it started raining.

Some of the dogs were housed in small confined pens. Others had access to a 
small shed, but were tethered to a tree by a short chain. Photos showed the 
dogs had been there for an extended period because vegetation was absent on the 
ground and the bark on the trees was worn away by the chains. Bartholomew 
testified that water given to the dogs came from a pond and was green and slimy.

Although Bartholomew said the dogs were not receiving minimum care, he told 
the court the animals were not being starved and did not appear undernourished. 

Stirton walked out of the hearing after Trump ruled against the defendant's 
motions seeking dismissal of the action. He represented himself after firing 
his attorney, Julie Agee of Roseburg, during an earlier hearing. Stirton left 
before he could provide any evidence on his own behalf.

Trump ruled that the dogs weren't provided adequate protection against the 
weather and that they did not have access to sufficient quantities of drinking 
water. He said the animals weren't kept clean and free of waste and that 
because of the lengths of the chains, they didn't receive enough exercise.

Colin Benson, a deputy Douglas County district attorney, was appointed to 
handle the civil case. He will also prosecute Stirton in June on 31 criminal 
counts of animal neglect.

Stirton was convicted earlier on 26 counts of keeping unlicensed dogs. Those 
charges stemmed from an April 2002 raid on property Stirton was renting near 
Drain. Stirton appealed his convictions but they were upheld by Douglas County 
Circuit Court.

Civil forfeiture proceedings involving animals are so uncommon Benson said 
Wednesday he needed to check with the Oregon Department of Justice concerning 
Stirton's rights to appeal. Stirton could also pay a cash bond of $93 per animal 
per day that they've been in custody to reclaim the animals within 72 hours 
after any appeal rights expire.

For now, the dogs will remain in the care of the Saving Grace shelter. One 
dog died in March, but the others are doing well, shelter officials said.

The shelter has received a number of calls from people interested in adopting 
the dogs when they become available, said Maureen McNulty, the shelter 
director. The shelter cannot maintain a wish list or promise specific dogs to 
callers.

"I tell people to keep checking the media or call us to see when the dogs may 
be available," McNulty said.

The Oregon Humane Society in Portland and other shelters have offered to take 
some of the dogs when they're available for adoption.

"Hopefully, we can divide them up across the state and they can have a good 
chance of finding a good home," McNulty said.

Donations of dog houses have allowed shelter officials to keep the animals 
outside. The shelter, located at 943 Del Rio Road, was overburdened when the 
dogs were brought in. The shelter -- which can be contacted at 672-3907 -- has 
plenty of food from earlier public donations, but could use water bowls and 
metal or 12-quart plastic buckets.

"They're going through a lot of dog bowls," she said. "They think they're 
toys and they chew them up."



* You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at 
jsowell at newsreview.info.




    
    


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