Story Photos
 Noel McRae found one of his llamas dead earlier this month. Another three were injured. He believes the culprit is a pack of dogs roaming Rose Valley. Photo by Bill Wagner / The Daily News.
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Dog pack attacks farm animals
Thursday, December 13, 2007 7:42 AM PST
By Tony Lystra
Printable version
E-mail this articleA pack of dogs is terrorizing farms in the Rose Valley area, and neighbors have been trying to shoot the animals.
Since late last month, the dogs have killed two llamas and wounded three, according to residents of this rural area southeast of Kelso. Llama owners in the valley say they've heard reports of the dogs attacking a horse, but that could not be confirmed.
Neighbors suspect four dogs -- apparently a German Shepherd mix, pit bull and two golden retrievers -- have been prowling the neighborhood. The dogs appear to be well-cared-for. Yet, people in the valley are astounded by their aggressiveness and they're searching desperately to find the dogs' owners.
"If these dogs are attacking llamas and adult horses what's to say they wouldn't attack children who are waiting for the bus?" said Susan Calhoun, who keeps llamas and other animals on her property in the 900 block of Rose Valley Road. "They're not going to quit killing until somebody keeps them home or somebody shoots them."
Laura Maria, 44, said two of the dogs were on her property not far from Calhoun's Tuesday morning. She shot at them, she said, but they escaped.
"I like dogs," she said later that afternoon. "I shouldn't have to shoot them because their owners are stupid."
The trouble started Thursday, Nov. 29, when Calhoun's neighbors pulled into her driveway and said dogs were attacking Maria's llamas up the road.
Calhoun sprinted into her house, tried to call Maria, then grabbed a .38 pistol and set out to rescue the llamas. She found Maria's baby llama, Spice Girl, laying in Owl Creek. Four dogs stood on the bank.
A pit bull snarled. She fired three shots. All missed, and the dogs ran away.
Calhoun said she pulled Maria's baby llama from the water. "Her intestines were coming out of her sides and her back legs were a piece of meat," she said. The llama had to be shot.
"The next morning, I took pictures of her and buried her," Maria said, her eyes tearing.
The following Tuesday, Dec. 4, Noel McRae found three of his llamas had been attacked, but they survived. One still had blood dripping down its legs. He found a fourth dead.
"They dragged it down and ate a little bit of its chest," said McRae, a retired Longview School district speech therapist who lives on Rose Valley Road.
"Right now, I'm very angry," he said. "We're very possessive of our animals. It was a personal loss."
McRae and others said they use their llamas as pack animals during hikes. They also keep them as pets. Maria said she takes the animals to schools and retirement homes to entertain children and the elderly.
"We value these animals," said Calhoun, who worries her donkeys, llamas or sheep may be attacked next. "We're devastated when something happens to them."
The retrievers, she said, appear to have been contained by their owner. Calhoun said she spoke with a man whom he suspects owns the retrievers. The animals haven't been seen since. The neighbors, she said, are still searching for the owners of the pit bull and German shepherd.
"The dogs need to be destroyed," Maria said, adding that their owners are "obviously not responsible people."
Calhoun said it's common for pet dogs to start attacking livestock once they're loose and running as a pack.
"It's like a big thrill for them," she said. "Once they start doing it, they don't stop."
Sheriff's Capt. Mark Nelson said the county's ordinances require people to keep their dogs home if someone complains. Owners can also be cited under a vicious dog law that can trigger fines of $500 for a first offense to $1,500 for a third offense within 12 months. Property owners, he said, can also start shooting if they think it's necessary.
"They have a right to protect their property," Nelson said. "That can include everything from throwing rocks to throwing lead."
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