Loose dogs kill seven sheep in Garfield area

Second time herd attacked this year

By Evan Jensen

The Estacada News, Jul 16, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (3 Reader comments)

Last month, a Garfield sheep owner lost seven sheep after they were attacked by dogs. The woman who owns the sheep lives on 45 acres outside of Estacada and returned home after work to find five of her sheep dead and two so badly injured they had to be euthanized.

“I live on 45 acres on a dead-end street, and I’ve never had any problems like this,” said the woman, who asked to remain anonymous. “Now, twice in the last three months, dogs have attacked my sheep. I’ve lost 10 sheep since the beginning of the year because of dogs.”

In March, the same Garfield sheep owner reported two Airedale dogs to the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office after they killed three of her sheep. Earlier this year, the Airedales were spotted on southeast Tracy Road and also off of southeast Coupland Road, above southeast Divers Road. In the most recent attack on June 26, the woman believes that three dogs attacked the remaining sheep she keeps on her property.

“There were no collars on these dogs,” said the woman, who had fired a shotgun when she spotted the dogs on her property. “These dogs were not hunting for food, they were just playing. It was a game to them to kill the sheep. I got one shot off when I saw them. I know they’ve been shot at before, because they were gone when they heard the gun go off.”

According to a Clackamas County Sheriff’s report, the woman reported the incident just before 7 p.m. on June 26. Deputy Griffith responded to the address on southeast Rhodes Road and found the woman in the process of burying the sheep that were killed. Five of the sheep suffered extensive facial injuries that led to their death, and two other sheep were seriously wounded. Griffith identified several possible areas where a dog or animal could access the sheep, but most of the property is secured by stock fencing, according to police reports.

“I’m sick of this,” the woman said. “I won’t get any more sheep because of this. These sheep are part of an original flock I started 25 years ago. The original herd ran the entire valley out here and never had any problems. Each generation taught the next how to handle predators, but now I’ve only got six left of the original herd. They used to do a lot for me for fleece and locker lamb, and they’ve done a job for me by keeping back the blackberry bushes on the property.”

According to Clackamas County Code, there is no leash law outside of incorporated areas within Clackamas County. However, dog owners are responsible for the behavior of their dogs, regardless of whether the owner or another person allowed the dog to behave in a way that would be considered a violation, such as attacking and killing sheep.

“There is no leash law in a lot of areas in the county,” Detective Jim Strovink said. “But owners take a big risk if their animal gets out and causes harm to another person, animal, livestock or property. We get a lot of calls for this type of situation, but if someone’s animal gets out and endangers people or livestock, people have a right to protect their property. … It’s an issue that arises quite often, and can create some bad feelings among neighbors.”

The woman who lost seven sheep on June 26 told Deputy Griffith she suspected her neighbors dogs were responsible, according to police reports. Griffith talked with the neighbors and learned the dogs are kept in a kennel while the owners are at work. He also inspected the dogs and found no evidence of the dogs being involved in the sheep attack.

“If I see a dog cross my fence line, I’m going to shoot it,” the woman said. “If I can find the dogs that did this, I’m going to shoot and kill them.”

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