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1991-10239-Minutes for Meeting April 03,1991 Recorded 4/18/199191-10239 BRILES DOG HEARING 0106 08'9 9 DESCHUTES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS April 3, 1991 - , , - Chairman Maudlin convened the meeting of the Animal Control Board at 9 a.m. concerning a complaint of dogs chasing livestock. Board members in attendance were Dick Maudlin, Tom Throop and Nancy Pope Schlangen. Also present was Bruce White, Assistant County Counsel. Tori Chilen, Deschutes County Reserve Officer in Animal Control, testified that on March 23, 1991, at approximately 8 a.m. she received a call of a livestock chase in progress. The complainant was Ralph McNulty who lived on Rock Springs Drive. At about 8:25 a.m. she arrived at Mr. McNulty's residence and found that the dogs were no longer on the property. Mr. McNulty described the dogs, identified the owner of the dogs as Judith Briles, and gave directions to her residence. He said the dogs had chased a calf which had not been injured. Officer Chilen was joined by her supervisor at the end of Bull Springs Road. While on route to Judith Briles' house, they spotted both of the dogs. She placed the dogs in the back of the animal control vehicle and continued to the Briles' residence. When asked, Mrs. Briles said she did not know where her dogs were. Mrs. Briles was advised of the situation, and she requested a hearing. Officer Chilen went back to the McNulty residence, but he had left, so she proceeded to the animal shelter. She presented pictures of the dogs which were impounded. Bruce White asked Officer Chilen if she had taken the pictures. She said yes, she had taken them at the shelter at the time the dogs were impounded. She said one was a Lab and the other was an Australian/Shepherd cross. Bruce White asked if these were the same dogs that were involved with the chasing. Officer Chilen indicated affirmatively, and said that both dogs were seized off the property. Ralph McNulty, 64473 Rock Springs Road, testified that he had a small herd of pure bred, short-horned cows. He said this incident was not the first, and there had been seven different occasions when these dogs were at his residence. He had a pure bred Australian Shepherd female which was able to keep the dogs off the property for awhile, but eventually the black Lab would not run. The other, younger dog would run but would come back again. The day he finally called, the two dogs ran a three-day-old calf through a fence and it took them 40 minutes to get him back. The calf ran clear to the old Tumalo Reservoir Dam, and he became wild and crazy because he was separated from his mother. He said he had big cows, 1500-1600 pounds, and they couldn't stand to be run, especially on slick grass. PAGE 1 MINUTES: 4/3/91 0106 0880 Commissioner Throop asked if Mr. McNulty saw the dogs chasing the livestock? Mr. McNulty said the dogs were originally on their deck eating their dog's food. They chased the dogs off the deck, and when the dogs went through the fence, they maliciously started chasing the calves. The dogs singled out one calf. When it got up, it was not well oriented and loped off. They continued to chase the calf into Steve Moody's property. The calf went through a five-wire fence, and then the dogs discontinued their chase. The dogs had been in the area for about 40 minutes. He said the calf still had a scare on its nose since it made a complete flip when it went through the fence. The mother cow could not get to the calf because the area where the calf ran was too boggy for the cow to cross. He said the dogs never bit at the calf, they just chased it. Chairman Maudlin asked if during the seven days when he saw dogs on his property, both of these dogs were seen. Mr. McNulty said he saw both dogs during this time. Chairman Maudlin asked if Mr. McNulty could identify the dogs in the pictures submitted by Officer Chilen. Mr. McNulty said the black lab "looked like a black lab," but the other dog had semi-bobbed tail. He said the dogs in the pictures were definitely the two dogs involved since he had had opportunities to get very close to the younger, bigger dog. Bruce White asked if he recognized the dogs in the pictures as the ones in his pasture. Mr. McNulty said Exhibit A was the back lab. The other dog in Exhibit B was the one with the bobbed tail. He definitely knew the dog in picture B was involved since he had gotten so close to him. He had followed both dogs back to Judy Briles home on a previous occasion. Bruce White asked if when he saw dog "B" if there was always another dog with him. Mr. McNulty said yes, it was always a black lab, and he felt it was the same dog that was in exhibit "A" since they ran as a pair. He said the black lab was the leader of the pair, but he saw both of the dogs chasing. Bruce White asked when Mr. McNulty had last seen the dogs. Mr. McNulty said about 8:20 a.m. that morning before they were impounded. There was another black lab in the area which belonged to his next door neighbor, but he was only in the area when Mr. Moody's brother came to visit. Mr. White asked if Mr. McNulty had ever seen Mr. Moody's brother's black lab off Mr. Moody's premises. Mr. McNulty said no. Commissioner Throop asked Officer Chilen how long after the event were the dogs taken into custody. Officer Chilen said she arrived at Mr. McNulty's at approximately 8:25 a.m. when he gave her a very good description of both of the dogs. She waited at the end of the Briles driveway approximately 20 minutes for her supervisor to arrive. Before they started down the road to the Briles' residence, both dogs showed up. They were off of the Briles' property. They were at the end of the road which was where Mr. McNulty's property started. Commissioner Throop asked if the dogs PAGE 2 MINUTES: 4/3/91 0106 0881 were lathered. Officer Chilen said they were wet, and it had been damp out that morning. They were playing with each other, running down the road, and they were both muddy because it was damp and the driveway was a dirt road. She took the dogs to Mr. McNulty's for identification but Mr. McNulty was no longer there. Judith Maria Briles, 18180 Bull Springs Road, Bend, and owner of the two dogs in custody, said she did not feel that animals should be out of control or disturb anyone's environment. She said she had raised llamas, chickens, cattle and pigs before, and she has had to put dogs down before. She said she asked Officer Chilen if there were any teeth marks on the calf. She said she received no response. She said the officers told her that her dogs "knocked down" the calf. She said the black lab would not have done that so it must have been the puppy. The puppy was a newfoundland cross. She said the dogs were not gone as along as the officers indicated. She had raised the dogs according to a book she had on black labs. She pointed out that the dogs came home after the incident and did not chase the calf beyond the fence to get blood. She said if complaints had been made to her, she would have solved the problem. Commissioner Throop said that statute prescribed that if the Commissioners, acting as the Animal Control Board, found that a dog chased, injured or killed livestock, they were required to have the dog put down. Ms. Briles said she didn't feel that a new-born calf could run very far, and reiterated that the dogs did not pursue the calf after it was knocked down. She didn't feel that the dogs chased the livestock. She said when the officers came to her house, they didn't know which dog was which. Nancy Pope Schlangen asked if when the officers arrived, she had known where her dogs were? Ms. Briles she had seen her dogs 20 minutes before the incident took place, and she was, therefore, surprised at what was reported. She said the lab would never have left the property if the puppy had not drawn him off. The dogs had never gone off the property before this incident except to go to the mail box. The puppy had been chained during that week and the other dogs were caged. She said the lab would never leave the property. Commissioner Throop asked Mr. McNulty if he saw the two dogs chase the calf to the fence line. Mr. McNulty said yes, both dogs had chased the calf for about 60-70 yards. They were jumping at the calf like they were playing with it like another dog. He said calves would run until they dropped. Commissioner Throop said he didn't think there was any question that the dogs had chased the calf, since there was an eye witness, and the dogs were loose at the time. PAGE 3 MINUTES: 4/3/91 1 0106 0882 THROOP: I' 11 move that the Board find that the dogs were pursuing the calf, chasing the calf and that the dogs be put to death in a humane fashion. SCHLANGEN: I will second that. VOTE: THROOP: YES SCHLANGEN: YES MAUDLIN: YES DESCHUT COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ~ lof Tfm hroop, issio r Nancy Po Zschl e a gen, Commission ~ ' - - -,AO%f Dick Maudlin, Chairman BOCC:alb PAGE 4 MINUTES: 4/3/91