Animal Abuse: Dog trapped, shot by neighbor - Troutdale, OR | Pet-Abuse.Com Animal Cruelty Database

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Case ID: 17305

Classification: Shooting, Unlawful Trapping/Hunting

Animal: dog (non pit-bull)

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Attorneys/Judges

Prosecutor(s):	Nicole Jergovic
Defense(s):	William Aring Meyer
Judge(s):	Karen Immergut

CONVICTED: Was justice served?

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Case #17305 Rating: 3.0 out of 5

Dog trapped, shot by neighbor
Troutdale, OR (US)

Incident Date: Wednesday, Aug 25, 2010
County: Multnomah

Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Convicted

Defendant/Suspect: David Shonk

Case Updates: 3 update(s) available

A Troutdale man says he made a mistake back in August when he shot and killed his neighbor's 3-and-a-half-year-old husky.

Jeff Freeland says he had to dig his dog, Yukon, out from a small grave in David Shonk's yard.

"In hindsight, I should have done things differently," Shonk said on the phone Wednesday night.

This week, prosecutors said they charged Shonk with felony animal abuse charges after he acted maliciously when he killed Yukon.

Shonk says he shot the dog only after it came onto his property and tried to kill his chickens.

"It happened repeatedly," Shonk says.

Investigators with the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office say Shonk did notify animal control officers.

Freeland says he and his fiancee would allow Yukon to run around their property. They admit Yukon did sometimes wander away, but they say he never tried attacking any chickens.

"He was a good dog and, like I said, he was raised with a bunch of little dogs, so he had no intent to kill or anything," Freeland says.

Back in August, Freeland says Shonk's wife called him and said she needed to speak with him immediately.

"My heart dropped and I knew right then that something had happened," said Freeland, who then called deputies after Shonk's wife told him where the dog was buried.

Freeland says he and deputies walked to the site and that's where he found a grave.

Multnomah County prosecutors charged Shonk with first-degree aggravated animal abuse, first-degree animal abuse, theft and tampering with evidence.

He pleaded not guilty in court Monday.

The trial is expected to start in December.

Case Updates

David Shonk, an organic farmer who killed his neighbor's dog in Aug. of 2010 for eating chickens on Shonk's property, received no jail time, the court decided Thursday.

Instead Shonk will serve 12 months of probation, do 100 hours of community service, and pay his neighbor $400 for killing the man's Siberian Husky.

"Either he kills the dog or he keeps losing chickens, that's really the bottom line," said Shonk's attorney, William Meyer.

Meyer believes his client is well within his rights for shooting the dog since the husky repeatedly attacked and killed the chickens Shonk sold at his organic store. But in court Thursday, Judge Karin Immergut found Shonk guilty of the misdemeanor charge of animal abuse.

According to Oregon law, you may kill an animal only if you catch it in the act of harming your livestock and you would have to kill it on the spot. The judge said since Shonk trapped the dog first, he could have handled the situation differently.

"There were other steps the defendant could have taken to protect his property short of shooting the animal and killing the animal," said Judge Immergut.

Shonk faced three other charges, but the judge acquitted him on those.

"I think he does feel horrible that it had to come to this, but I think he was well within his rights. He's human, he feels bad about it. He's not the kind of guy that's not going to feel remorse for it," said Meyer.

Meyer plans to appeal the judge's decision on the charge of animal abuse.

Source: koinlocal6.com - Jan 27, 2010
Update posted on Jan 27, 2011 - 4:54PM

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A Multnomah County Circuit Court judge is expected to render a verdict on Thursday morning in a case in which an organic farmer has admitted trapping, shooting and burying a neighbor's dog.

After the defense and the prosecution made their closing arguments this afternoon, Judge Karin Immergut said she would announce her decision in the morning.

David Shonk, a farmer and grocery store owner in East Multnomah County, has acknowledged that he set a trap for a gray husky named Yukon, claiming that the dog had been eating his chickens. After trapping the dog, Shonk shot him on Aug. 25 and buried him on his farm.

Shonk's neighbor, Jeff Freeland, said Shonk initially lied to him when Freeland asked if Shonk had seen the dog. But later Shonk left a voicemail message telling Freeland where he'd buried the dog.

Shonk faces charges of aggravated animal abuse and theft, both felonies. He also faces two misdemeanors: animal abuse and tampering with evidence.

His attorney, William Aring Meyer, argued today that his case "stands and falls" on an Oregon law that says, in part, that a dog can be shot immediately if it's on someone else's property and is "chasing" livestock.

Meyer claimed that the dog was a "chicken-killer" and that Shonk was making a reasonable defense of his property. He disputed the theft charge, saying that Shonk didn't gain anything financially in the episode. And he argued that Shonk didn't tamper with evidence. Rather, Meyer said, Shonk explained to Freeland where the dog was buried on Shonk's farm before law enforcement was called.

Again today, Meyer portrayed the dog's death as humane and proper. He did not suffer broken bones in the trap, Meyer said, and was shot immediately.

But Nicole Jergovic, a deputy district attorney, described the shooting as a grisly act that Shonk had planned two days earlier.

"You decided to kill the dog on Monday," she said. "The dog was killed on Wednesday. That's a pre-meditated act."

She argued that Shonk was guilty of aggravated animal abuse because he killed the dog "maliciously," as is required for conviction under Oregon law. She described Shonk as "angry and frustrated" before shooting the dog.

She also said he concealed evidence when he buried the dog. If the dog was attacking his chickens, Jergovic said, Shonk had other options. He could have called Freeland or Multnomah County Animal Control.

Freeland described Yukon as a close friend.

"Nothing will bring Yukon back," Freeland said outside the courtroom this afternoon. "I just want justice served. You can't run around and do things like that."

Through his attorney, Shonk declined to comment.

Source: oregonlive.com - January 26, 2011
Update posted on Jan 27, 2011 - 4:45PM

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A Troutdale man is on trial after he trapped and killed his neighbor's Siberian husky, prosecutors say.

Jeff Freeland testified in Multnomah County Court on Tuesday and told Judge Karen Immergut that his neighbor, David Shonk, shot his dog, Yukon.

Shonk, 35, has requested a bench trial. In a previous interview with FOX 12, Shonk said he was defending his property the day he shot Yukon.

"I really do care about animals," Shonk said in October. "I was simply trying to defend my right to raise food."

Shonk, who runs an organic farm, says Freeland's dog ran onto his property and started viciously attacking and killing his chickens.

Prosecutor Nicole Jergovic says Shonk trapped Yukon on his property and then shot him in the head.

Freeland says there was never any evidence that Yukon was harassing Shonk's chickens.

"He was a good dog," Freeland says.

Freeland's next-door neighbor, Aelly Rice, agreed with Freeland and says Yukon never showed signs of aggression.

"Jeff loved that dog a lot," Rice says. "(Jeff) would always play with him. They would drive around in Jeff's pickup."

Rice testified that she spent a lot of time with Yukon and often drove with him to Starbucks. She says Yukon never showed any signs of abuse or mistreatment.

Freeland says test results on Yukon's stool came back negative for any trace of chicken.

A grand jury previously indicted Shonk on felony aggravated animal abuse and theft charges. The trial is scheduled to last three days.

Source: kptv.com - Jan 25, 2011
Update posted on Jan 27, 2011 - 4:44PM

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Dog trapped, shot by neighborTroutdale, OR (US)

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Dog trapped, shot by neighbor
Troutdale, OR (US)