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1988-00116-Minutes for Meeting November 25,1987 Recorded 1/4/198888"00116 DOG HEARING MINUTES DESCHUTES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONER3'~;{1 November 25, 1987 KENNEDY DOG HEARING Before the Board was a public hearing to consider whether a dog (Pit-Bull) owned by Timothy Kennedy, had been engaged in the wounding, injuring, or chasing of a horse which was owned by Tammie Hickey. Chair Prante called the hearing to order at 11:05 a.m. Board members in attendance were Lois Bristow Prante, Tom Throop, and Dick Maudlin. Also present was Karen Green, Assistant Legal Counsel. Tammie Hickey of 1900 S.W. Forest Ridge Avenue, Bend, Oregon, was called to testify. She had been the victim of the attack. Ms. Hickey stated her horse was attacked while she was riding. She tried to make the dog go away by yelling at it, but it kept biting at the horses' necks. Ms. Hickey stated that the owner showed up finally and tried to contain the dog, but it kept attacking the horse and chasing it. Ms. Hickey let her horse go and the dog continued chasing it. John Moe of 20012 Beaver Lane, Bend, Oregon, testified that he had seen the incident from his residence. He had looked out the window and saw a pitbull biting at the heels of a horse being ridden by a female. She was also leading another horse with a rope. The dog caused the rider to fall or jumper off of her horse, and the horses ran off with the dog in pursuit. The owner of the dog chased the animals in her car, and Mr. Moe saw another man stop to help contain the horses. Michael J. Williams of 19800 Connarn Road, Bend, Oregon, testified on what he had seen. Mr. Williams had been driving by when he observed a horse being chased by a large pitbull dog. He observed a brown Toyota car following the horse and dog. The driver of the Toyota stopped and got in between the horse and dog and managed to get the dog into the car. Mr. Williams drove on further and was able to stop the horse. He noticed that the horse was injured. The driver of the car approached and stated that she knew her dog would attack livestock and that she was not able to control the dog. Deputy Alan Muise of the Deschutes County Sheriff's Department read his report which contained the report of Mr. Moe. Deputy Muise went to the home of the owners, Tim and Terrie Kennedy, and KE'i-PUN .HED MICROFILMED IAN 6 `1888 KENNEDY DOG HEARING/11-25-87 PAGE -2- 0090-00 spoke to them about the incident. Tim Kennedy stated that he had owned the dog for two years and had always been able to control him. Terrie Kennedy made statements to the effect that she wanted to get rid of the dog and that she had seen the dog chase the and bite the horse. Deputy Cynthia Komurka of the Sheriff's Department also testified, stating that she had been unable to respond to the call initially because she was in LaPine. Upon arriving at the scene, however, Deputy Komurka learned that rider and horse had gone to the veterinarian. She encountered Tammie Hickey as she was about ready to leave the vets, and interviewed her at that time. Deputy Komurka took photos of the injured horse, and noted that the horse Ms. Hickey had been riding had injuries on the front chest, leg area, and in the rear hocks. Deputy Komurka and Deputy Hamilton then went to speak to the owners, at which time Terrie Kennedy stated that her husband would not release the dog. After unsuccessfully searching for Mr. Kennedy, they returned to the Kennedy residence and cited Mrs. Kennedy for failure to license, trespassing, and damaging property. Mr. Kennedy was issued a citation for knowingly harboring a dog that had injured livestock and a citation to appear. Deputy Les Hamilton of the Sheriff's Department testified, basically stating the same things as Deputy Komurka. He had gone with her to look for Mr. Kennedy. Timothy Kennedy of 20007 Beaver Lane, Bend, Oregon, was the owner of the pitbull. He stated that his dog had never attacked anything. Mr. Kennedy claimed that he has had six pitbulls, and this particular one was the best of all of them. Terrie Kennedy of 20007 Beaver Lane, also owner of the dog, testified, stating that she never actually saw any contact between the horse and dog. She felt that the dog had been provoked by the horses kicking at it. She also claimed that a Sheriff had threatened to shoot the dog and that she had been misquoted in the Sheriffs' reports. Commissioner Prante closed the public testimony portion of the hearing. Assistant Legal Counsel Karen Green clarified to the Board that their decision had to be based upon two issues: (1) whether this was the dog, and (2) whether the dog was wounding or chasing livestock. Commissioner Maudlin explained to the public that this dog may well have been provoked at the beginning of the encounter, but it did in fact chase livestock. MICRORLIVIED JAN 6 1988 w KENNEDY DOG HEARING/11-25-87 PAGE -2- 0090- (.t MAUDLIN: I would move that based on this, that the dog be put to death in a humane manner. THROOP: Second. VOTE: MAUDLIN: YES THROOP: YES PRANTE: YES Being no further business, public hearing was closed and meeting adjourned. DESCHUTES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS L is Bri tow Prante, Chair f Tom~Throop, Commissioner ~ D MB OCC/slc MICROFILMED ,JAN 6 1988