Out-of-control dogs point to neighborhood problem

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Lynn Gladman found the ears of her ewes lying on the ground after attacks by neighbor dogs in January.Bob Pennell

CENTRAL POINT — To Gibbon Road farm owners Dennis and Lynn Gladman, two dogs euthanized on Saturday were large, intimidating animals, caught in the act as they killed and injured sheep and lambs intended to pay for their son's college tuition.

To West Gregory Road property owners Carmen Cota and Tiburcio Rios, the dogs were family pets, Dingo and Duke, a Rhodesian ridgeback and a pit bull they said rarely left the yard and played with visiting grandchildren.

To animal control officers, Dingo and Duke were part of an ongoing problem that's plagued the rural north Central Point neighborhood for years.

The two dogs were impounded on Jan. 27 by animal control officers after being caught chasing and attacking sheep and cows. They were euthanized after Cota and Rios didn't pay fees totaling $420 that would've kept the dogs alive until a hearing, said Colleen Macuk, program director for the Jackson County Animal Care and Control Center.

Cota said Tuesday the family declined to pay the fees because animal control officials could not guarantee the dogs would be returned.

Macuk said the hearing will be held as planned and citations against the dogs' owners could be issued. County codes specifically forbid dogs to chase livestock, and their owners can be held accountable for damage and in some cases prohibited from owning animals.

On a recent afternoon, Lynn Gladman tended to her injured animals, some missing ears from the dog attacks. The survivors "look pretty good compared to the ones we lost," Gladman said.

A few feet from a dead sheep, three orphaned lambs awaited a bottle-feeding while a 5-week-old lamb beckoned to his mother from behind a blood-stained bandage wrapped around his head. Missing both ears and scraped raw on one side, the mother bellowed back from across the barnyard, unable to see her baby.

"I had to separate them so the baby has a chance to heal," said Gladman.

Another sheep was so badly injured, it had to be clothed in a T-shirt to keep the insects away.

Gladman said the attacks began on Jan. 7, when nine sheep were lost and a dozen injured during the night.

Evidence that the attacks were by dogs, and not coyotes or cougars, were found in thrown-up dog food mixed with sheep's wool and discarded ears.

A second attack, during the night of Jan. 17, produced two more dead sheep and more injuries and scattered ears. On Jan. 22, a neighbor witnessed Cota and Rios' dogs chasing four pregnant cows down Gibbon Road.

A final attack, on Jan. 27, in broad daylight, ended with animal control officials seizing the two dogs, which were found leaving a blood-splattered sheep pen to chase pregnant cows and a llama.

More than 15 sheep died either directly in the attacks or afterwards from injuries.

The Gladman family endured two attacks around Thanksgiving from another neighbor's dogs. A prized 650-pound sow was killed and 4-H rabbits were maimed.

Within days, those dogs killed a neighbor's goat and were impounded and euthanized. Gladman said the family thought "we wouldn't have any more problems."

Contacted at her home on Tuesday, Cota said the family believes its dogs did not attack the Gladmans' animals but merely chased the cows and llama, and that the two previous attacks were by coyotes.

Cota voiced frustration that DNA evidence was destroyed with the two dogs that could "prove they're innocent." Cota said her family had owned dogs in the past with few issues other than "maybe the dogs getting out of the yard" on occasion.

According to county records, Cota and Rios have faced animal-related charges in the past. Rios was sentenced to two years' probation and a $312 fine in 1980 for a wildlife violation.

Cota pleaded guilty in October 1998 to having a dog running at large and two counts of having a dog that was a public nuisance. In April 2003, Cota pleaded guilty to a charge of killing or injuring livestock and was fined and ordered to pay restitution.

Neighbor Judy McCulloch said last week that her ex-husband's dog was attacked by Cota and Rios' dogs in the past. During the 2003 incident in which Cota pleaded guilty, a pet goat named George was attacked and killed.

"These people had these dogs and they were constantly on the property no matter what you did," McCulloch said.

"I can tell you that, in this area, most of the people who live here are really bad about keeping their dogs tied up. I have a fenced yard and if I don't shut the gates even the neighbors' dogs will come on my property."

Neighbors Greg Gonzales and Jeff Venables said wandering dogs and livestock attacks have been all too common for the Gibbon Road area for decades.

"We've had this over the years pretty continuously," said Gonzales.

"We've caught dogs chasing our cattle before "¦ I follow them home and let the owners know I caught their dogs chasing my cattle and next time I'm gonna have to shoot them."

Gonzales added, "When it comes down to it, you've got money wrapped up in these animals. This family is out a lot of money after all this."

The Gladmans estimated their losses, including killed livestock and veterinarian bills, at about $10,000 so far.

Venables said the problem exists in areas around the valley where farm animals and irresponsible pet owners co-exist.

"The area that Lynn and Dennis live in, they have dogs that have been a problem on a continuous basis for years and years and years," said Venables.

"Maybe not the same dogs in years past, but people seem to get dogs and not manage them very well, and then they get out and cause damage that the owners don't want to pay for."

Lynn Gladman said the attacks on her animals stopped when Dingo and Duke were impounded.

Twenty-year-old John Gladman, contacted by the Mail Tribune at Oregon State University on Saturday, said he was frustrated that his animals were made to suffer and that his investment was "completely lost."

"My biggest thing is that it's really hard on my family emotionally but, in addition to that, there's a lot of investment," he said.

"I bought all the ewes with my own money"¦ in just 24 hours, that money is gone as if I'd just burned it. It's just really frustrating. People need to be responsible pet owners."

Lynn Gladman said, while she's skeptical she'll reclaim the family's damages from the dogs' owners, she hopes her story will prevent loss for other farm owners.

"If I could just get the word out," she said.

"People who own dogs need to check their fences and make sure their dogs aren't out causing this destruction."

Buffy Pollock is a freelance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at buffypollock@juno.com.

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