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East Oregonian
ATTACK: Gunman reportedly motivated by opposition to abortion
HERMISTON
Woman weighed
jail against saving
starving dogs
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Robin Barker of Herm-
iston feared she would be
charged with a felony after
she took three underfed
dogs from their owner.
Then another animal rescuer
helped save the day.
The Umatilla County
6heriff¶s Of¿ce received a
call Friday, Nov. 20, from
a woman who said a dog
escaped its chain on the
2000 block of Geer Road,
Hermiston, and ate one of
her chickens. Barker serves
on the board of Fuzz Ball
Animal Rescue, a small
rescue nonpro¿t in Herm-
iston, and said she saw a
posting about that dog on
Facebook, so she went to
check out the scene.
She said she found wet,
cold and underfed dogs; four
adults and four puppies. They
had no shelter nor food. One
dog, she said, had vomited
sticks and plastic it had tried
to eat. She took videos and
a partner took photos of the
dogs.
She also took videos of
interactions with the dog’s
owner, who the East Orego-
nian was not able to contact.
Barker confronted him with
the conditions the dogs were
living in. In one he asserted
he cared for and fed the dogs.
But Barker said he also relin-
quished two dogs and four
puppies to Fuzz Ball, and in
one video he seems to imply
he was OK with her taking
the dogs.
Sheriff Terry Rowan said
the following day the man
reported Barker had stolen
his dogs and he wanted them
back. Rowan said pets are
property under Oregon law.
So a deputy told Barker to
return the dogs or she could
face an arrest for theft.
That threat, Barker said,
turned her world upside
down. She said she lost sleep,
cried, worried about her own
pets and what would happen
if she could not attend to her
aging father.
But she also said she
could not return the dogs to
a place where she felt no one
fed or cared for them.
Suzanne Phillips is the
director of Fuzz Ball. She
said Fuzz Ball often accepts
animals that law enforcement
seizes, then ¿nds the pets
temporary homes and works
to ¿nd them permanent
homes.
“We don’t have a shelter
but since we have foster
homes it works pretty much
the same way,” she said.
She said she did not
understand why the sheriff’s
of¿ce did not do more to
help the dogs. Fuzz Ball has
previously worked with the
agency to ¿nd homes for
animals in need and it can
do that while the outcome
of a criminal case is pending
and at no cost to the county.
Fuzz Ball works entirely off
donations, Phillips said.
Barker, Phillips and
others then took to Facebook
with photos of the dogs and
directed viewers to contact
the sheriff’s of¿ce, which has
it own Facebook page. Jodi
Lambert of La Grande has
helped Fuzz Ball earn grants,
and she started an online
petition to push the sheriff’s
of¿ce to take action. 0onday
evening it had about 3,500
backers, though many are
anonymous.
Rowan said he does not
monitor the Facebook page
nor comment on it, but will
direct staff when appropriate.
He said it is a good tool to
spread a message, and the
sheriff’s of¿ce did that with a
response Saturday to address
concerns about the dogs.
Rowan called that an unusual
move, but people needed to
know the sheriff’s of¿ce was
investigating the case.
But Barker said she grew
so worried 0onday morning
that she called District
Attorney Dan Primus to ¿nd
out if charges were pending
against her, and he referred
her to the county commis-
sioners. She then spoke with
Commissioner Bill Elfering
and he brought it back up
with Rowan.
Later that day, volunteer
Carri Curtis of Hermiston
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
said she spoke to the dog
owner and offered to buy
all four animals if he relin-
quished ownership. The man
asked for $500, she said,
but in the end took $150.
And, she said, he signed the
paperwork.
Barker said she still wants
to make sure law enforce-
ment knows not to arrest her,
and she planned to check
in with an attorney. But for
moment she felt relief.
condition of anonymity because the
of¿cial was not allowed to publicly
discuss the ongoing investigation.
Planned Parenthood has said witnesses
believe the gunman was motivated by his
opposition to abortion. But Dear has been
described by acquaintances as a reclusive
loner who did not seem to have strong
political or social opinions.
The Colorado district attorney
said he has been in touch with U.S.
Attorney John Walsh’s of¿ce about
the case. Walsh said investigators
have been consulting with the Justice
Department’s civil rights and national
security divisions, a move that suggests
authorities could pursue federal
charges in addition to state homicide
ones. He did not elaborate.
One possible avenue could be the 1994
Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances
Act, which makes it a crime to injure or
intimidate clinic patients and employees.
Whatever authorities decide about
Continued from 1A
shooting a university police of¿cer
who responded to the attack, as well
as an Iraq war veteran and a mother of
two inside the clinic. Nine other people
were wounded.
After 0onday’s hearing, District
Attorney Dan 0ay said Dear could face
other charges, but he did not elaborate.
Late 0onday, the husband of
Jennifer 0arkovsky, a woman who
was killed in the assault, released a
statement recalling how she read to
their two children and helped them
with their homework. “We will miss
her; her cooking, crafting and adven-
turous spirit,” Paul 0arkovsky wrote.
Police have declined to speculate
on a motive for the attack. A law
enforcement of¿cial said Dear told
authorities, “no more baby parts”
during a rambling statement after
being arrested. The of¿cial spoke on
motive is sure to be controversial,
given the political murkiness of Dear’s
statements and the debate over Planned
Parenthood, which was reignited
in July when anti-abortion activists
released undercover video they said
showed the group’s personnel negoti-
ating the sale of fetal organs.
A
Republican
congressional
leader on 0onday defended a House
investigation of Planned Parenthood’s
provision of fetal tissue to researchers.
But House 0ajority Leader Kevin
0cCarthy, a California Republican,
also indicated that the GOP-run
Congress will not risk a government
shutdown ¿ght with President Barack
Obama over GOP efforts to halt federal
funding for the organization.
0cCarthy contested suggestions
by Planned Parenthood defenders that
harsh language from the organization’s
critics has helped create a hostile polit-
ical environment.
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