Dog shot and killed
Livingston, MT (US)Incident Date: Monday, Jan 8, 2007
County: Park
Disposition: Not Charged
Case Images: 1 files available
Person of Interest: Elizabeth Gee
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
A Park County woman allegedly shot and killed her neighbor's dog on January 8, 2007. According to reports, Elizabeth Gee shot and killed the dog when it came onto her property. Gee claims the dog growled at her children, and said she "would do it again in a heartbeat". Gee reportedly sent her children inside the house before shooting the dog.
The dog, named Marbles, was wearing a collar and identification tag indicating it belonged to neighbors Doug and Susann Saarel of Sky Ranch.
Saarels reported that her family is devastated by the loss of their pet, whom she adopted from a local shelter while pregnant with twins. Her twins, now eight years old, have grown up with the dog. "There are no words to describe the pain of losing one so dear in such a horrific way", she said. "Marbles was my heart."
Saarels took Marbles to a veterinarian to perform a necropsy to determine the details of the animal's death. According to Saarels, Marbles was shot from behind with a large-caliber rifle from approximately 25 yards away.
Criminal charges have yet to be filed against Gee.
Case UpdatesMarbles, a 45-pound mixed-breed female, was shot dead by a neighbor near Bozeman Pass on Jan. 8. Now she's becoming what her owners call "a poster child" for their newfound cause -- pet protection.
Susann and Doug Saarels have erected billboards near Interstate 90 that say "Marbles didn't deserve to die," and "Fight pet killing in Montana."
They've started a Web site, www.ourmarbles.com. They say they're forming a nonprofit group called Montanans Protecting Pets "to continue to combat pet killing and/or cruelty to animals issues."
And the issue could wind up in court.
The Saarels are calling for prosecution of Elizabeth Gee, the woman who shot the dog, and said Friday they haven't ruled out a civil suit. Gee also said Friday she'd been in touch with her own lawyer and asked him to check out the Saarels' Web site.
The issue arises from a Jan. 8 incident, when Gee and her three children -- ages 5, 3, and 2 -- were in the yard of their home on Elk Ridge Road, an area steadily filling in with rural subdivisions on the east side of the pass.
Gee was in a small shed in the yard when she heard her oldest child "screaming about a dog," she said.
When she turned, she saw Marbles, hair bristling and tail down, about 20 feet from her kids.
There was a 30.06 rifle in the shed, left there after a mountain lion hunt the day before. Gee said she grabbed it and advanced quickly to protect her children.
"I was screaming at the kids to get in the house," she said. "And I was screaming at the dog."
But the dog wouldn't back off and maintained an "aggressive posture," she said.
"It still wouldn't leave," she said. "So I shot it twice."
The Saarels maintain that was an illegal action because there was no imminent threat to people or property.
"This is a crime! Criminals should be prosecuted," they say on their Web site, which calls Gee's action "murder."
The Web site also contains a life history and photos of Marbles, and even some gruesome pictures of a veterinarian performing a necropsy on the animal.
The Park County Sheriff's Office has investigated, but no charges have been filed more than two months after the incident.
"If they want to prosecute me, write a ticket," Gee said. "At least the kids are safe."
Doug Saarels maintained Friday that local police and prosecutors often don't fully understand or enforce the law, which allows wandering pets to be killed needlessly.
The Saarels also say that they're not convinced Gee's story is accurate.
Later in the afternoon of the shooting, Gee packed up Marbles' body in a trash bag -- she had identified the dog by its tags -- and brought it to the Saarels' home, about 1.5 miles from her property.
That destroyed evidence, the Saarels maintain.
And it might be the only point on which Gee and the Saarels agree.
"I should have just called the police right away," Gee said.
She said she didn't go gunning for the dog, but perceived a threat to her kids and reacted within a few seconds.
"I'm not making my kids a statistic to somebody else's dog that's right in my yard and being aggressive," she said.
The Saarels maintain Marbles never posed a threat to anyone, not their own children nor the children who came to their home. They question whether the dog was even on Gee's property, but insist shooting the dog wasn't necessary even if it was there.
"There were just so many other alternatives," Doug Saarels said. "A cherished family member was killed."
Bill Devine, who lives about a mile from the Saarels' house, said he had seen Marbles on his property about six times over the past two or three years, traveling with another dog that belonged to Saarels.
"I'd always watch myself around the one that got shot," Devine said.
Marbles is far from the first dog to be killed by a neighbor in Montana, and the Saarels already have heard from several people who have posted similar tales on the new Web site.
"It's not just Marbles," Susan Saarels said. "She's our poster child."
The billboards and Web site could be just the beginning.
The Saarels say they plan to buy advertisements in 52 Montana newspapers, march in area parades over the summer, and appear at festivals. They're selling T shirts, tote bags and stickers bearing Marbles' picture and planning a May funeral for the animal, to which they hope to attract 500 people.
The Saarels say they never set out to be crusaders, but are modeling their new organization after Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
Gee said she felt bad for the dog and "bawled all the way to Saarels' house" after she shot it.
But the safety of her children comes first, she said. "I'm not putting an animal above my kids and I'm not going to be second guessed or questioned on their safety." | Source: Bozeman Daily Chronicle - April 13, 2007
Update posted on Apr 16, 2007 - 12:23AM |
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