Cash, a 3-year-old black and tan German Shepherd-mix with a rocky past, sits in a Multnomah County Animal Services kennel in Troutdale, awaiting his fate.
Nearly 1,100 miles to the south in San Marcos, Calif., the man who claims to be Cash’s owner is trying to get the dog released so he can find a new, stress-free home for the animal.
In the middle is a Multnomah County circuit judge, who must decide Cash’s ownership and whether it is safe to release the dog.
It could be a tough call. A 14-page report by Animal Services outlines several incidents in which Cash bit trainers and others, leaving gaping wounds that needed stitches to close. In the report, county employees said they had a “high level of concern” about Cash’s future because it was likely he would bite someone again.
That’s why Bruce G. Krider of San Marcos’ Puppy Coalition Foundationwants Cash returned to his care. The dog was doing fine in February when Krider said he rescued him from a Los Angeles County shelter and began socializing Cash. It was only after the dog was sent to two Oregon trainers that things turned sour, Krider said.
After Cash bit a Southeast Portland trainer hard enough to require stitches, the trainer took the dog to Multnomah County Animal Services, claiming to be the dog’s owner. The shelter took Cash and began investigating the biting, which turned up at least a handful of other incidents in which Cash bit trainers and others, sometimes severely.
During their investigation, however, county staff couldn’t determine who actually owned Cash.
Krider sai
d he did not relinquish ownership of the dog to either trainer, and filed a petition for declaratory judgment April 30 in Multnomah County Circuit Court, requiring the county’s Animal Services to return Cash to California.
“I’m trying to get him out because he’s my dog,” said Krider, who feared that Cash would be euthanized. “The county says they’re not sure I’m the owner. Well, prove it then. Like some people say, ‘put up or shut up.’ ”
Multnomah County officials said the county hasn’t taken action on the petition, and is awaiting a judge’s ruling. No court date has been set in the case.
“We received the lawsuit and are in the process of evaluating the claim,” said Jessica Morkert-Shibley, county spokeswoma
n. “We have a process that we follow to verify rightful ownership in all cases where there are claims of ownership. We will evaluate all the information and if there is any new information we will re-access. Multnomah County Animal Services mission is to protect the health, safety and welfare of people and pets and reunite pets with their rightful owner.”
Krider said Cash was not a dangerous dog when he took him three months ago. In each of the biting incidents, Krider said Cash had been put in stressful situations and reacted like any other dog.
“I think he was a victim of circumstances,” Krider said. “It wasn’t fair to him.”
A history of biting
Cash’s journey to Multnomah County began five months ago at the Baldwin Park, Calif., shelter run by Los Angeles County Animal Control, where he was surrendered Dec. 27 by his owners. The people who gave up Cash told shelter staff that the dog had bitten a family member during the four or five months they had him. (Krider warned that some people in California try to avoid required shelter fees by claiming their dogs are dangerous.)
Prior to that, Cash’s history is unknown. There’s no record of where Cash lived, but Krider is convinced that prolonged shelter stays have left scars on the dog, sometimes leading him to lash out.
Cash was adopted at the Baldwin Park shelter on Jan. 5, but was returned a day later after he bit the person who adopted him.
Patricia Learned of Los Angeles County Animal Control in Long Beach, Calif., told Multnomah County shelter staff that Cash shouldn’t be adopted because of the biting incidents. In fact, Learned told shelter staff that Cash was “unsuitable for adoption.”
(A California law requires animal shelters to send dogs to rescue groups as a last resort before euthanizing the animals.)
On Feb. 2, Krider’s Puppy Coalition Foundation took Cash from the shelter and attempted to reintroduce him to regular life. The foundation is a four-year-old nonprofit group started by Krider, a retired health care administrator and hospital consultant, and a friend. The two have successfully helped nearly 75 dogs make a transition from shelter life to new homes. They have been forced to euthanize only one dog during that time, Krider said.
“We’re not a large organization,” Krider said. “But we’ve had some good success with these dogs.”
After two weeks of care at Krider’s home, Cash seemed calm and relaxed, Krider said. “He was a model citizen. The vets loved him. Everyone loved him. He was fitting in perfectly.”
Krider wanted a trainer to “polish” Cash so he could be adopted, and decided to send the dog to a Medford trainer. It wasn’t uncommon to send dogs out of state for behavioral training, Krider said. The foundation has used several trainers in Oregon and Washington in the past. It has also sent a dog as far away as St. Louis, he said.
In late February, the Medford trainer relinquished Cash to Jackson County Animal Services because he bit her hard on the elbow. The trainer said she was drying Cash after a bath and he bit her when she touched a sensitive paw.
When Krider found out about the incident, he asked that the dog be transferred north to a Southeast Portland trainer. That trainer had Cash for a few weeks when the dog bit into his left arm so severely that the trainer had to hit the animal with a hammer to get away.
On March 20, the trainer asked Multnomah County Animal Services to take Cash, warning that staff might need a tranquilizer gun to calm the dog. County animal services officers were able to retrieve Cash using catch poles that loop around the animal’s neck.
The trainer also signed paperwork to have Cash euthanized.
‘Fearful reactions’
Krider and his attorney, Geordie Duckler of The Animal Law Practice in Tigard, claim that the trainer had no legal authority to surrender the dog, or to request euthanasia.
Krider said he regrets sending Cash north to Oregon. The dog needs a safe, calm home with a patient owner, he said.
Krider also disputes the trainers’ accounts of biting incidents, saying they may have made mistakes in training or provoked Cash with aggressive tactics.
“I believe he could be a spectacular dog,” Krider said.
Cash needs a home “that doesn’t give rise to fearful reactions,” he said.
“If he’s being treated humanely and decent, there’s nothing the matter with him. If he’s being treated aggressively, he might react the way any dog would.”
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