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Case ID: 153

Classification: Beating, Choking / Strangulation / Suffocation

Animal: dog (non pit-bull)

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Case #153 Rating: 3.4 out of 5

Dogs abused during training
Marylebone, EN (UK)

Incident Date: Friday, Mar 10, 2000

Disposition: Convicted
Case Images: 4 files available

Defendant/Suspect: Stephen Barry King

Case Updates: 4 update(s) available

Below is a reprint of a two-part investigative report done by Ooze Online, reprinted with permission. You can view of this series on their website.

Part One

This story started with a newspaper article called 'See Spot Hang' by Robin Roth for the Willamette Week in Oregon, USA, telling the tale of a dog trainer who apparently attacked a Bernese Mountain Dog puppy during a training session . "I heard this dog screaming, his trainer had both hands on the leash and was jerking the dog hard to the right and left and holding it up in the air. The dog was fighting for its life, biting at the choke chain trying to get free. I will never forget it," said Janet Kyle Zeider who was there with her own dog. On another occasion the same puppy was unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end when this same trainer lost his temper, "He beat the dog so bad that it shit all over itself. It was bleeding all over the floor," said Kristen Beck, who was an assistant dog trainer.

Although this happened a few years ago in America the dog trainer concerned, Stephen Barry King, is now living and working in London. Using a method of dog training by punishment rather than praise and reward, he may inflict pain and injury on our pets, leaving owners and animals alike distressed and traumatised.

What kind of man can do this? To answer that we have to go back to his home town of Oregon when four times married King was dog training for a living as far back as the 1980s. King's training methods quickly drew attention as one owner after another, complained to the authorities about the damage he had inflicted on their dogs.

Linda Allen of Portland, Oregon, one of a number of cruelty investigation complainants, witnessed in October 1997 an example of King's training methods. Linda was watching TV in her home when she heard, " a choking, gagging sound. I looked out the window to see this man with a puppy (6 month old Rottweiler) on a leash, hanging it about 8 � 10 inches off the ground. At that point I became very concerned about that pup. Then the trainer set the pup back on the ground, the pup immediately laid down. The trainer jerked him up off the ground and screamed at the pup to sit down. About that time another neighbour came running towards him, yelling, 'leave that dog alone'. The trainer handed or dropped the leash and started stamping towards my neighbour, yelling and reaching into his back pocket. He pulled a wallet out, flipped it open screaming, " I am a f***ing cop. Get out of my face or I'll f*** you up, I'll kill you." Two other neighbours were standing in their driveway looking at the confrontation. The trainer then turned to them and yelled, " you want some of this, come on I'll kick your asses too. I could kill you too"." King is not a policeman and has never been a policeman.

Multnomah County Animal Control, the Washington County District Attorney's office, several animal rights groups in Portland and the Animal Legal Defence Fund are just some of the organisations in America unhappy with King. Critics also note his problems extend to wives and girlfriends.

In 1991, wife no 2, Branda, was granted a restraining order against King when she told the court, " He has an anger problem, and has slugged me in the arm, leg and pushed me into shelves, leaving scrapes all down my back. There have been numerous times of violence. He says he is going to kill me and my daughter on an average of two or three times a month. He said he would kill me before we would ever split up. He has also taken a 2 month old son out of my arms and made gestures like he was going to break his neck."

In 1999, King was charged with kidnap, menacing and a felony assault on wife no 3 Kristi. Kristi told the police that King "has a real short temper and can change right before your eyes." When the police arrested King they observed that "several doors had been punched in on closets and rooms." This incident occurred when Kristi had already started divorce proceedings against King, although the charges against him were later dropped.

While still married to Kristi, King started an affair with Sarah, an English girl who fell for his smooth charm. Sarah met Stephen King via the Internet in 1999 and after corresponding with him for some time, agreed to meet King as friends when she was visiting Oregon. During her visit they became lovers and Sarah started living with him. The relationship was stormy and they periodically fought and split up after living together for a few months at a time in both Oregon and London. In the times between the splits King was seeing another woman and also divorcing wife no 3.

Sarah travelled to the States in November 1999 to spend time with King because he had allegedly finally got a divorce and left his girlfriend. On the 1st of January 2000 Sarah was arrested and jailed for fourteen hours in Clackamas County Jail after King told the police that Sarah had assaulted him. When the police arrived at King's house they found King had a wound to his left forearm, which was still seeping blood, his right eye was black (a self inflicted old injury), he had a swollen left cheek and an injury on his left thigh. King had apparently been stabbed and he claimed Sarah was reponsible.

The next day at 4am King finally admitted to the police that he had lied about the whole incident and that he had in fact stabbed himself in the arm and thigh. He told the police he had done this after Sarah had left the house, "because he was afraid she would cause herself injury and make him look like the 'bad guy'". Sarah was released only after King made his statement to the police and King was arrested for making a false report. The police couldn't prosecute King because Sarah left the country and was not available to testify.

By mid February Sarah was back in London, trying to pick up the threads of her old life, when she was surprised by a knock on her front door. Stephen King had followed her home to profess his love for her and by February 22nd had already started dog training here. After Sarah rebuffed King, she began to receive obscene, threatening emails and messages on her answering machine, had death lilies left on her car and occasionally found King waiting for her when she got off the train on her way to and from work. Fearing for her own safety, Sarah sold her house and moved out of the area.
Dog Training

King calls his dog training the 'Revolutionary Real World Training System'. He claims "It is our job to first teach your dog the skills he will need in order to be truly free and happy in life. The only consequence is a tug with a leash and training collar. We do not use food or treats as a reward for your dog's good choices as we find it's not only impractical but in many cases, ineffective as well."

Instead of treats or a tug King trains dogs by 'helicoptering' or 'airplaning'. This technique involves lifting the dog off the ground for several seconds on a choke chain and lead, which could also be referred to as 'hanging'. The dog is suspended in midair and swung to and fro or in circles to keep them from biting the person holding the lead. King says his methods teach dogs to be independent thinkers by praise of desirable behaviour and correction of undesirable behaviour.

King says he uses the technique as a last resort. "If a dog is being helicoptered, it's because I have to be safe and there is no other option, I am not being a Hitler heel clicking jerk-off. I never correct a dog if I am upset, but if a dog is aggressive I'll kick its ass with a leash and a collar." (Willamette Week 1997) You may think hanging a puppy from a choke chain is cruel, but King says the lessons he teaches ultimately help dogs lead better lives.

According to statements made by unhappy dog owners in the U.S.A and Britain, it is not unknown for King to resort to kneeling on a dog's neck while still applying force with the choke chain. Neither does he seem averse to using his fists; his former assistant Kristen Beck says, "When I was living at his house, he was training a dog that wouldn't stop barking, so he punched it in the face." Kristen describes similar incidents in which he would 'pummel' the dogs with his fists.

King charges �50.00 a lesson and �500 for 12 lessons which is usually paid in cash, with no receipt given.

Part Two

CASUALTIES: OOZE is in possession of numerous cruelty reports and videotape of Stephen Barry King in action from the Animal Legal Defence Fund in America and documented reports from here in England. Below are reports of four incidents which took place in Britain from pet owners who felt they had to speak out.

INCIDENT ONE: In March 2000 Dawn Scantlebury, the owner of 11 month old Mitch, a Bichon Frise, hired King after seeing his advert in her local newspaper, because her dog was pulling on the lead. "He arrived with a massive choke chain and began to train him on the pavement. During the training he yanked the dog very sharply on the choke chain and Mitch went flying through the air like a toy dog."

After the lesson Mitch could not jump onto the sofa, had open wounds on his groin and leg, his neck was red raw and his movement impaired for two or three days. Dawn took him to the vet and the vet nurse on hearing the story was shocked and commented that "King could have killed him."

Dawn has subsequently had vet's bills for �1500 for treatment which she feels was caused by King's actions. (Mitch's oesophagus has been damaged and his tonsils had to be removed.) Dawn also feels her dog has been traumatised which shows as mood swings and uncharacteristic growling when anyone attempts to stroke his back end.

King also offered at the same session to train her other small dog to stop attacking the post; his methods were to yank the dog hard, again using a choke chain. Dawn was also told the best method for getting a dog to lie down was to "kick the front legs from under it." Dawn reported King to the RSPCA and commented that Stephen King "is evil." She paid King �50 cash and got no receipt.

INCIDENT TWO: In February 2000, Beryl Brand, a local councillor hired King to train Jack, her collie cross, who chased joggers and bikes. During the first lesson King went through the basics outside her home and for lesson two, King took the dog to the woods where he suspended Jack up in the air on a choke chain. Jack in response to this bit King on the hand. Beryl and her husband who was also present were, to say the least, not impressed by King's training methods. Beryl reported King to the local dog warden, and to Trading Standards officers.

INCIDENT THREE: May 2000 Carol Gargaro booked Stephen King to train her German Shepherd. The idea was to stop Zara barking at people when they walked past her house. During the first lesson King conducted general obedience training which Carol says "was a bit harsh." Carol left King alone briefly with her dog and her neighbour was horrified to see him "yank the dog off the ground with the lead".

Lesson two was more obedience training but after this lesson Zara seemed to have some difficulty breathing. Carol said Zara's breathing " sounded like asthma". When King arrived at her home for the third lesson, Zara hid from him and when he put on the choke chain she wet herself (this was normally a bold, confident dog). Carol told King she was worried about the breathing difficulty that Zara had had after the previous lesson and asked him not to be so harsh this time; reassured by King, Carol allowed the training to continue on the green in front of her house.

King insisted that the dog had to go down in response to hand signals only and when the dog failed to do so, he stamped on her lead to force her head down. King then marched Zara some 30 metres from her owner and 'helicoptered' the dog, swinging her back and forth three times off his knee. Carol rushed over to stop him and paid King to get rid of him. Carol then reported King to the RSPCA.

King uses his leg to physically restrain the dog while jerking him hard on the choke chain. This ensures maximum discomfort for the dog.

INCIDENT FOUR: March 2001, Sharon Ellis was walking with her mother, young children and several dogs in the local park when she noticed two men and a woman with two German Shepherd dogs. Sharon saw King pick up a six month old puppy and fling it to the ground; with his knee on the dog's neck, he pinned it to the floor and proceeded to beat the puppy with a leather lead. Sharon could hear the pup screaming! Sharon was so upset she shouted at King to stop and was rewarded with two fingers stuck up at her. King shouted some obscenity at her and the puppy wriggled free and ran off.

Sharon said to King "Don't hit the dog, you didn't need to do that." King's response was to approach her saying "You shut your mouth, you know nothing." He continued to walk right up to her, put his face in hers and slapped her around the back of the head twice. Sharon was frightened but hit him back on the shoulder using her own dog lead. Sharon reported this incident to the police and to the RSPCA.

SECRET FILMING

We went undercover to film one of Mr King's training sessions which took place in a park in full view of mothers and children and other dog walkers; the resulting video shows scenes of:

a. A small dog being kicked.

b. The dog being constantly corrected with a harsh jerk using a choke chain and lead. The jerks are so powerful that the dog screams virtually every time. At one point the dog was corrected so violently that Mr King managed to break the metal choke chain around the dog's neck and send the broken chain flying across the grass!

c. The dog forced violently towards the ground using the choke chain to initiate a down position. Each time the dog failed to obey, the power of the correction was increased.

d. The dog again corrected for failing to obey the signal for a down position. In this instance, Mr King stood in front of the dog and forced it into the down by repeatedly stamping and pulling violently on the lead. Each time the dog screamed as he was jerked forward and down to the ground and the violence and power of the corrections increased whenever the dog failed to obey.

e. Most distressing of all, the dog was literally hung in the air several times, its body suspended in midair, eyes bulging while it gasped for air.

f. We saw Mr King's assistant, Lotte Stagg, use the same training methods. She is seen on the video jerking the dog violently into the down position, causing it to scream.

The dog concerned was a small terrier cross who at no time showed any signs of aggression or retaliation, rather the reverse, he was terrified.

We contacted Stephen King and Lotte Stagg to ask about their training methods and below are their responses to our questions.

Friday, September 14 2001, 22:09
Phone interview with Stephen King

Ooze Online: Hello my name is Addie, I am a journalist investigating your dog training methods and concerning allegations that you abuse dogs.

King: Who told you that?

Ooze Online: We are in possession of undercover video footage of one of your training sessions during which you are seen to kick, violently pull and hang the dog.

King: What do you mean by hang?

Ooze Online: Hanging the same as with a rope on a person , but in this case using a lead and choke chain to vertically pull, or very nearly, all of the dog's feet off the floor.

King: Well what's this dogs case history, is it aggressive? How can I defend myself if I don't know the dog's history?

Ooze Online: Does the dog's history make a difference to the method of abuse?

King: My training is the oldest and most effective method. It's what happens in nature and until we start hugging every tree and saving every whale, it's what stops the dogs getting into trouble and getting put down. These f***ing people who say I don't want to cause my dog any discomfort are the ones who are inhumane. Thousands of dogs die each year because they have behavioural problems that are f***ing solvable. That's as bad as what's just happened in New York. Chew on that!!!

King put the phone down. (N.B. This conversation took place just three days after September 11)

DATE Fri September 14 2001, 18:07
Phone interview with Lotte Stagg

Ooze Online: Hello, my name is Frances, I am a journalist working on an investigation into Stephen King's training methods. Do you train with Stephen King?

Lotte: I'm not answering that question

Ooze: We know you train with Stephen King, we have seen you on video. Do you approve of his training methods?

Lottie: I wouldn't train with him if I didn't.

Ooze Online: Are you aware that some people would see his training methods as abusing the dog?

Lotte: Some people may find them unacceptable but abuse is when you over feed a dog and let it get run over. We train a dog to keep it safe. It has to be corrected or be run over.

Ooze Online: So you think it's acceptable to hang a dog?

Lotte: What do you mean hang?

Ooze Online: Suspend the dog in midair, all four feet off the ground, or very nearly?

Lotte: When did you see that?

Ooze Online: We have video evidence of King doing that to a dog and you were there.

Lotte: When, what client?

Ooze Online: I'm sorry I can't give you that information.

Lotte: I'm not prepared to answer any more questions.

Lotte put the phone down.

COMPLETE FALSEHOOD

We also checked Stephen King's claim that he trained dogs for the Portland Police Force in Oregon, something he proudly boasts in his promotional literature. This is the response from Ray Turney, Senior Trainer of the Portland Police K-9 Division and President of the Oregon Police K-9 Association.

Ray Turney wrote via email Sept. 2001

"In the mid 80's, King attended a few training sessions with the Portland Police Bureau. At NO TIME did Mr. King work with, or assist us in any manner with our dogs. His only role was as an observer. Any representation other than that is a complete falsehood."

Finally we showed Ann DeRizzio the video and asked for her comments. Ann is President of the Federation of Dog Trainers and Canine Behaviourists and a lecturer on Canine Studies. She said,"I was shocked and appalled by the way that poor little dog was treated. To see a small dog hung in the air several times, kicked and terrified was horrible. The fear in the dog's eyes and body language was plain to see; one wonders how those administering this treatment dare call themselves dog trainers; they are not at all. They are vicious, violent bullies with no understanding of canine communication or how the dog learns. Dog training has moved away from these archaic, unprofessional, inhumane handling methods."

Case Updates

Dog abuser Stephen Barry King was today sentenced for animal cruelty at Marylebone Magistrates Court in London. The sentence is as follows:

1. 8 year disqualification from dog training/ownership
2. 100 hours community service
3. �2000 fine

Update posted on Oct 15, 2002 - 6:58AM

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King is possibly facing jail time. King begged to be disqualified from owning a dog "so this terror can end". Deputy District Judge Julie Cooper said: "I am not just looking into disqualifying you. I am looking into possible imprisonment for this matter." Sentencing is on October 15.

Update posted on Sep 25, 2002 - 2:49AM

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On the 14 of August 2002, Stephen Barry King was found guilty and convicted on two charges, one of inflicting unnecessary suffering and the another of cruelly terrifying and cruelly treating animals.

King was granted a reporting restraint until the second case is heard 15 & 16 September. Case No.3 is
to be held at the end of October.

Update posted on Aug 15, 2002 - 2:19PM

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King had his first court hearing in the UK last week and sent his wife along with a sick note to excuse himself. Next week he has two court hearings - for 2 different dogs. He has been charged with cruelly terrifying and cruelly treating 3 different dogs so he is up against a total of 6 charges.

(Special thanks to Ooze Online for providing an updated photograph and an excellent investigative report)

Update posted on Apr 1, 2002 - 12:00AM

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Dogs abused during trainingMarylebone, EN (UK)

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Dogs abused during training
Marylebone, EN (UK)