To the Editor:

In response to a news item in the Sept. 28 issue of the Blue Mountain Eagle, “GCSO investigates its own special deputy who shot a dog she says attacked her”:

An Interesting point was that Mr. Taylor, owner of the pit bulls, did not put in an appearance until after his dog (who escaped from a “closed door”) attacked and I had walked away to avoid a second dog. He would have been unable to see my dog in his driveway because my dog, an aged yellow Lab, was right by my side in the middle of the street. Self-defense is a great motivator when an aggressively charging dog is less than 3 feet away, and the victim is unable to run or deflect an attack of a 50- to 60-pound pit bull. Dogs of this sort of instability are plentiful in Canyon City and John Day, according to reports provided during the Canyon City Council meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 20, and a featured article in last week’s issue of the BME. I find it ludicrous that the incident has turned into another attempt to smear a local county law enforcement officer. Not sure how being a special deputy equates to a civilian’s self-defense, but we all know this was reported by a skewed media with what appears to be an over-worked personal vendetta. I was very impressed with the quick response by John Day dispatch and follow up by the sheriff’s office. As to be expected, one uninformed female claimed the handling of the investigation by the sheriff’s office as a “good old boy system.” There are those who trespass into unfamiliar territory and are ignorant of the fact that the county sheriff is the preeminent authority in Canyon City. At this point, the media has painted me as the Annie Oakley of the geriatric hordes. More irony exists when a similar incident was reported by TV news last week of a man whose dog was attacked in the Portland area and the owner of the attacking dog was cited.

Judy Kerr

Canyon City