The following was reprinted (with some changes) from The Eternal Pet
Beavercreek, Oregon officials are at work to destroy a family's environment by applying restrictions on the number of dogs they can have in their home.
by Robert Day
On January 16, 1998, a hearing council in Beavercreek, Oregon passed judgement on 5 rottweilers, owned and cared for by Kathie Price -- 2 MUST GO by March 18th.
This was the decision handed down to Price after the Department of Transportation (DOT) in Clackamas County received a complaint from Price's neighbor.
The DOT took it upon themselves to charge Price with having too many dogs. According to DOT, any family with an excess of three dogs must file for a kennel license. However, this law only applies for anyone who lives within city limits. Price and her family live fourteen miles outside of Beavercreek, far from the city limits.
This did not change the minds of the county officials and the DOT. The Price family now faces several choices: give away two of the five dogs or have them euthanized.
Price and her neighbor have been going through an 8 year property dispute. In 1990, Price purchased land from the neighbor's brother, signing a "lease-to-own" contract. This consists of a large down payment to move into the home, with monthly payments made until paid in full.
However, in 1992, the lessor took it upon himself to end the contract, demanding that Price pay the remaining amount in full. This was a ploy to return the land back to the lessor.
Price immediately turned the tables when she found a lender to pay off the remaining amount. This angered the lessor. Since that time, the lessor's brother, who is Price's neighbor, has harassed and tormented the Price family. In 1992 alone, Price was forced to call the police on three different occassions because of threats she received from this neighbor. In 1993, the police were called upon four times, ranging from the neighbor attempting to assault Price, to pointing a gun at her.
Although the council will not disclose who filed the complaint, it is speculated that Price's neighbor was the one who reported it to the DOT in September, 1997. This started the departmental investigation of Price's dogs.
When Price appeared in front of the hearing commission about her dogs, several things happened. The commission refused to hear evidence as pertaining to Oregon laws 603-15-025 through 603-15-050 wh ich clearly states what constitutes a "kennel". They also refused permission for Price to enter the long history of abuse by the probable complainant into evidence.
Price then explained that finding new homes for the 2 dogs would be an almost impossible task because of their ages, the youngest being 5 years old. The commission was not swayed in the least. The decision that 2 of the 5 dogs must go was rendered. If homes could not be found for them, Price was ordered to take the dogs to a vet and have them put to death, obtain written verification, and submit the verification to the commission.
One irony is Clackamas County Animal Control's actions throughout the years. Price has licensed her 5 dogs every year and the staff at Animal Control have never mentioned any limitation on the number of dogs or licences she could obtain. In fact, they advised her that if she had less than 10 dogs, she should purchase individual licenses rather than obtain a single "multiple-dog" license that was much more expensive. They never mentioned she was in violation of ANY laws, and if she were, Animal Control would have been in violation as well.
The Eternal Pet talked with the supervisor at Clackamas County Animal Control and his response to these events was, "We do not handle the zoning laws for this town. That is left up to the Zoning Compliance office at City Hall". He added that because he was not aware of the zoning laws, a determination could not be made as to whether Price violated any laws.
The Zoning Compliance office could not be reached for comment. However, the latest news from Price is that the commission has charged her with a newly created zoning law, in place of the previous violation to the kennel law. Evidently only the commission knows the details of this law, and will not discuss the law with Price.
Where does this leave the Price family? "We are living under constant stress." said Price. "My 20 year old is threatening to leave the state with her dog, my 14 year old has spent the last three days crying, and most heartbreaking of all is seeing the anguish in the eyes of my 11 year old son, Andy. These dogs have been in Andy's life since he was an infant".
Andy's best friend and one of the rottweilers, Ciaya, would go wherever Andy went. "The sweetest sight you will ever see is Andy and Ciaya sleeping together" said Price. "You alwyas knew it was bedtime because Ciaya would drag her baby blanket around, telling Andy 'come on bud, it's time for bed'."
Andy has been tormented by the recent events. Price commented that she would see Andy, tears streaming down his face, just hugging the dogs or tryping to figure out a way for them to run away. needless to say, Price has been watching Andy very closely. "After the hearing, it took three days before Andy would eat again".
Price has hired attorney Robert Babcock, the same attorney that worked to win the release of Nadas.