Dear Editor;
Hopefully you will print my story in sincere hopes to stop these
type of people from killing land owners pets including visiting
city pets. This sick person not only outright killed my pet but
also destroyed MANY OTHER PETS THE SAME WAY. And perhaps owners
of pets need to know the truth about what goes on the foothills
and mountains regarding the "KILLING OF DOGS".
In Memory of Simka Tells, My Canine
Daughter
Anyone who has taken his or her pet on a trip and
returned back safely is a very lucky and fortunate pet owner. Personally,
I myself have been very fortunate in taking my pet Simka everywhere
I went 24 hours per day, seven days a week for the last four years,
with no incidents until recently. The last trip we took was to go
see friends on a 166-acre ranch north of Latonville California.
After hearing the TV news the week before last my son and I decided
to go visit friends in Latonville whom own a very large ranch there.
We agreed that it's better safe then sorry so we visited our friends
and everything was great until the day I found out my Girl Simka
was murdered.
Simka and I have visited those same people at least
fifty times in the same place for the last two years and there was
never any type of incident that occurring during our visits until
this very last time. Because this time someone I never knew existed
decided the fate Of Simka's life and has also changed my life as
well. Background: Simka was a four year old wolf whom I raised since
she was weaned from her mother. We lived in Petaluma and Gilroy
California for the last four years as Simka never knew that she
was a wolf but rather a little girl loving attention and loving
to play with children and other critters. She had never attacked
children, people, cows horses or any type of farm animals in her
life, I know because I was with her 24/7 for the last four years.
We ate at the same time, slept in the same bed and went for walks
together and kept Simka close to me as well as not straying off
anywhere. I was a school inspector in Petaluma and in Gilroy and
Simka used to go to work with me every day of the week. Simka never
stayed to far away from home or work in any of those four years
so getting to know her personality and habits became quite easy
and I soon realized that she really believes she is a person!
We moved to Gilroy in 1999 so I could inspect the
new Antonio Del Buono Elementary School and provided inspection
services for the Gilroy Unified School District in 1999 through
July 2000. During that time we lived at the Comfort Inn and we went
everywhere together including work. When the school was finally
opened I even took her to school for the children to meet and she
became their mascot. Everyone loved her because she was so sweet
and loving.
During the period of construction, Simka would
go sniffing across the creek where there were cows, horses, lambs,
chickens, rabbits and ducks and never once in the 14 months we were
there was there an incident of Simka attacking any animals or critters.
She was curious creature but not a malicious one. She loved to chase
after a tennis ball, which was the only thing she chased after.
After completing the school project, Simka and I worked in Vacaville
at another school district for six months and stayed a motel up
there with no incidents with Simka as well. We returned to Gilroy,
California to the Comfort Inn where we lived while I was trying
to find a place to rent that allowed pets. Simka was so well behaved
and even the Motel Manager and staff loved her and gave me a letter
identifying the fact that the motel made an exception regarding
pets because Simka was so good around everybody and created no problems.
There have never been any incidents or records
indicating that my pet was vicious, unpredictable or attacked live
stock or any other animals in all of Simka's life of four years.
Mendocino County: I had met and got together with
three other musicians whom played music each weekend on a 166 acre
Ranch that was owned by one of the musicians. I started going up
there every weekend (258 miles one way) to play music and let Simka
sniff around the ranch house area. In all of those times she was
never out of my site for more then ten minutes as she loved to lay
outside on the lawn while we played music and NEVER wondered off
until Halloween day. One would expect that taking your pet to a
166-acre ranch for a visit would be a very safe thing to do, wouldn't
you? What I didn't know was that there is a well known DOG KILLER
living up there whom has killed many dogs and the local's are terrified
to death because some of their pets was killed by this man. To better
understand this person, the local people up there call his ranch
"DEAD DOG RANCH". Had I known about the DOG KILLER man,
I would have never went up there to play music. I loved Simka too
much to let ANYBODY hurt or kill her. In all that time there was
never any incidents of Simka attacking anything up there!
On Halloween day about 9:00 A.M. in the morning
Simka woke me with her usual friendly kiss because she needed to
go pee so I let her out of the house. After about 20 minutes I became
worried because she never came back from going outside like she
always did in the past so I went looking around for her yelling
her name but no response. Because of the Holiday I waited until
the next day to call the animal control officials in Willits, California
hoping someone found my girl Simka. The person took down a report
with my phone number and said they would call me if anything that
looks like Simka were brought in. I didn't really dawn on me that
something was seriously wrong at that time but later that evening
I started to get sick to my stomach for over 6 hours.
Thursday morning I called the animal control people
in Willits California and reported Simka missing including a description
of her collar color. I was advised that no dog meeting her description
was found or reported. I then make up flyers and drove to Latonville
and handed them out as well as drove around the entire mountain
looking for her.
Nothing.
Friday morning I again called the animal control
people only to be told that no reports of Simka being found or located
had come in and that I should contact a Mr. Chris Brennon who worked
around the Spy Rock Road area and he may be able to help me find
my pet I called his phone number several times from Latonville and
my cell phone, he never returned any of my calls. Later that day
about 4:00P.M. I received a message on my cell phone from a Mr.
Steven Whitney, the cattle Foreman whom stated "he thinks he
has my pet" but he was going out of town and I would have to
contact him later that evening. I continued driving around the area
in case he was wrong and at about 5:00 P.M. one evening as I was
heading back to the ranch when a man armed with a handgun stopped
me on the road and asked me if Simka had a collar on that was red
and I stated yes! Do you know where she is? He told me that Simka
and another dog she was with had attacked two one-week-old drop
calves killing one of them and injuring the leg of the other one.
Needless to say I was in shock because this was completely out of
character for Simka. Then he said he had to kill both dogs and quickly
added that there was a lease law up there and since Simka was and
the other pet were running loose that he had the right to kill them
both. I asked if that was true then why did you shoot her when you
knew she had a collar on her. His reply was "I wasn't going
to try to capture your dog and walk down there because she would
get away". I then asked why didn't you shoot them with a tranquilizer
gun and he stated that knowing the right dosage was a problem and
that too much could kill a animal'! Mind you although she had a
collar on he stated that he wasn't doing to try to catch both dogs
but rather kill them was easier then catching them. I asked him
where Simka's body was and he stated that it was in rough terrain
and that the critters probably already finished her off. I asked
about the calves and he told me that I owe the rancher for two drop
calves and when I asked to see them he stated that it would be a
6 hour hike to see their bodies and the critters problem already
ate most of them by now. That night I finally reached Mr. Steven
Whitney and he stated that he wanted $ 500.00 apiece for each calf
for damages. We agreed to meet the next day at an area he suggested
at 1:00 P.M. Saturday 1:00 P.M.: I met with Mr. Whitney and Mr.
Chris Brennon was also there. I asked again for Simka's body and
was told by both men that first I had to pay $ 500.00 for the one
calf before they would give Simka' body back to me or give them
a agreement stating that I will pay. I went back to the ranch and
out together agreement as specified and returned to the meeting
place. Both men read the agreement and finally agreed to get Simka
for me. Both men including my friend and myself walked to area where
he killed both pets. I took pictures along the way to show the area
where he shot both pets. Simka lay there still as Mr. Brennon put
a noose around her neck and drug her up to the road (about 100 yards)
where my friend put her into the back of his truck and took her
to the ranch. After seeing where he murdered both dogs I asked again
why he shot her and didn't try to catch her instead and his answer
was "I'm not going to run after both dogs and try to catch
them as they promptly would have gotten away, anyway they were killing
cattle so I have the right to kill them". After leaving the
meeting I again called the animal control in Willets California
and stated that I wanted to file a formal complaint against Mr.
Chris Brennon under the penal code section Ss597, cruelty of animals
and the person stated that he would pass the information on to his
supervisor.
Saturday evening, 4:00 P.M. My friend and I buried
Simka there on the ranch and I packed up my things getting ready
to go back to Gilroy without my baby girl.
Sunday morning Mr. Whitney called me three times
wanting his $ 500.00 and I told him that I had to go back to bay
area to get that kind of money. When I asked to see the dead calves
he went into a big deal about having to walk six hours to the place
where the calves were and kept stalling me. I soon realized that
something was very wrong with this entire picture and realized that
both Mr. Brennon and Mr. Whitney were hiding the truth of what happened
to both pets. Although Simka had her collar on when she left the
house her collar was gone when I received her body.
"More Fuel to the Fire": What I didn't
know all those times when I was going up there to play music was
that other property owners dogs were being killed as well! The local
folks up there call Mr. Brennon the "Dog Killer" and they
nicknamed his ranch "Dead Dog Ranch". Mr. Brennon even
showed me that all of his dogs were branded with his name on them.
My question is what good will that does since Dog Killers kill for
sport they won't care what's on the pet!
I have pictures of the area up on the ranch including
pictures of Simka.
Hopefully I will be able to get them on the Internet
within the next two days.
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