Quiet Weldon community outraged after vicious dog attack
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Susan Barr
Kern Valley Sun
Editor’s Note: Honoring requests from the various agenicies involved in the case, this story was held last week so as not to compromise their investigation.
The peaceful quiet of a hot and lazy afternoon in Kelso Valley was shattered on July 10 as a pack of frenzied dogs brutally attacked and killed a defenseless miniature pony in its pen. The animals were all owned by Keith and Sandra Irons of Cottontail Lane and occurred on their property located off of Kelso Creek Road. The couple were not at home at the time of the attack.
Neighbor Terry Berry heard a ruckus from her next door property and went to investigate. She and her husband, Don were used to hearing the frequent dog fights that occurred on the Iron property, but something was tragically different on that afternoon.
As she looked over their common fence, the sight that awaited her was both shocking and sickening. Approximately 15 of Iron’s estimated 30 to 50 canines, ranging in ages from mere puppies to full grown large dogs were viciously attacking the pony as it lay on the ground trying uselessly to fend off its’ attackers.
Berry ran into her home and immediately called Animal Control to ask for help. She yelled for husband and the two of them ran outside and began banging on the wooden fence in attempt to scare the dogs off of the injured animal or to at least distract them. Their attempts failed and the pack of crazed dogs continued with their bloody attack.
Concerned for their own safety, the couple realized they couldn’t dare enter the neighboring property. Although they wanted to shoot the horse to put it out of its misery, past history with Irons made them decide against it. The best the couple could do was to document the awful incident by taking photos. Berry recalled, “It was like witnessing something out of a documentary about wild animals in Africa. We were so shaken up it took me and my husband five minutes to try and remember how to turn our camera on.”
The couple estimated that it took 20 to 30 minutes for the small pony to die from its horrendous injuries. All the while, dogs with blood stained muzzles fought over pieces of the animal. Sadly, the Iron’s other miniature pony “Rosie” stood nearby witnessing the entire attack.
The attack, although shocking, did not come as a total surprise to Berry and neighbor, Pennay Johnson who lives on the other side of the Iron property. Johnson and her own husband, Don, who have lived in the quiet Kelso Valley community since the 70’s have had issues with Iron and his dogs since he and his wife moved there in 2003. The dogs have been an ongoing source of contention between the Iron’s and several of the nearby residents.
Johnson and Berry both maintain that the dogs have been neglected in that they rarely have enough food. According to the two women, the animals are not socialized at all and frequently exhibit aggressive behavior, with fights occurring at all hours of the day and night. Not surprisingly, the women also stated that the smell from the animals’ excrement is often overpowering. Both neighbors have put up expensive fencing to keep the dogs off of their property.
Commenting days later in a telephone interview, Iron expressed his regret about the incident stating, “The situation caught us by surprise. I feel horrible that my neighbors had to witness such a thing.” He added, “My wife is in very poor health. She is just devastated by what happened.”
Iron’s wife, who is disabled from a prior car accident, is paralyzed from the waist down and recently lost a leg. The leg had sustained damage by a puppy chewing on it, but that was not the reason her leg was ultimately amputated. An existing infection was the cause and the injury inflicted by the puppy led to its discovery, according to Irons.
Iron stated that he voluntarily agreed to destroy several of his animals himself after the July 10 attack and has in fact done so. The destroyed dogs and the miniature horse have been buried on his Weldon property, which in itself has been a cause for concern amongst owners of surrounding homes. Iron’s property houses a communal well that is used as the primary source of water for several of the other homes.
Kern County Animal Control allowed him several days to take care of the situation and returned on Tuesday, July 22 to remove the majority of the remaining dogs. Both Animal Control workers and Iron and his son, Allen had difficulty catching the animals as they ran around evading capture on the property. As a result, many had to be tranquilized. Iron confirmed that he did not allow Animal Control to enter his home. He brought out several animals, some of whom he had to use a snare to remove. Iron’s stated, “I cooperated fully with the authorities. This has been a horrible situation all around. It won’t happen again.”
Iron has been allowed to keep six dogs, though he admitted that he also has puppies that were not included in that original amount. He stated that the puppies will be given away. Iron claimed that the remaining dogs were not ones that were involved in the attack, but neighbors believe otherwise and are still very concerned that some of those animals were actually allowed to remain.
Chuck Nordstrum, Public Relations Director of the Bakersfield SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) is all too familiar with such situations and stated, “Responsible pet owners should never have more animals than they can take care of financially or in terms of feeding and housing.” He went on to add, “When you start getting into these types of numbers (animals), it is a cause for concern. It is definitely out of the norm and raises a lot of questions.”
Nordstrom spoke about the risk of such large numbers of animals developing a pack mentality solely for survival. He believed that the attack was evidence that this had occurred with Iron’s animals.
Guy Shaw, Director of the Kern County Department of Animal Control commenting on Iron and his animals stated, “Kern County is seeing more and more cases like this.” Shaw went on to add, “We will do our best to get out to the Iron property regularly. Although he has been allowed to keep some dogs, we are hopeful that we can talk him into surrendering the remaining animals.” Shaw confirmed that Iron has been given vouchers for low cost spaying and neutering for his remaining animals.
Judy Hyatt, Assistant to Supervisor Jon Mcquiston was also familiar with the case. She has heard from Johnson more than 30 times over the past few years as the Weldon woman sought help to resolve the ongoing situation with her neighbor. “Our hands were unfortunately tied.” Hyatt stated, “There is no law regarding the number of animals that you are allowed to have in this area.” She was referring to Weldon being an unincorporated area. The city of Bakersfield has different laws that limit the number of animals residents can have.
Johnson provided detailed documentation of all of the incidents that have occurred over the years with Iron and his animals, as well her many attempts to have Animal Control and McQuiston’s office do something to remedy situation. Johnson stated, “Most of these animals are not spayed or neutered. They breed so often that they have become inbred. They are aggressive towards anyone walking by and to each other.” Johnson went on to add, “Of course we are concerned for our own safety, but after seeing what happened to that little horse, we are terrified that a child walking by the property could be attacked if the dogs were to get out.”
Susie Bishop, another neighbor who has horses, offered to give the other miniature pony a caring home. Irons eventually gave her permission to take the animal and when Bishop went to pick her up, she was appalled at its condition. Rosie’s hooves had been so neglected that they were turned up like elves shoes and her canine teeth appeared to never have been floated. Bishop immediately took the pony to see Dr. Laura Blanton at the Bakersfield Veterinarian Hospital. Blanton too, was shocked at the condition of the horse and was uncertain if the animal would even survive as result of the neglect it had suffered. Blanton stated, “Her feet were in such bad shape that she has suffered bone loss. We had to put her under full anesthetic to work on her.” Although Rosy has shown signs of improvement in her new home, Blanton said, “I am guardedly optimistic at this point. If she survives, she will come back in a month for more work on her feet and her teeth.”
In the meantime, Bishop gives the little horse pain and anti-inflammatory medication and replaces the makeshift Styrofoam booties daily that the horse must wear to protect her healing feet. Custom made booties should be arriving soon. Bishop has incurred $815 in vet cost so far and the estimated total will be in excess of $2500. Iron’s has not offered to help pay for any of the cost.
Although memories of that horrendous summer afternoon are mercifully starting to fade, the whole affair is far from being over. Animal Control will continue to monitor Iron and his remaining dogs. Neighbors will remain vigilant in their observation of Iron to assure that the number of animals doesn’t get out of control. Bishop will continue in her kind-hearted attempts to nurse Rosie back to health. Other governmental agencies have also taken an interest in the case. Kern County Environmental health visited the property just this last Tuesday and informed Iron that he had to dig up the destroyed dogs and re-bury them in a deeper grave.
We would like to set up a donation fund through our organization for Rosa's medical expenses which are estimated to be around $ 2,500. Tax deductible donations can be made either through paypal via our website at: www.hswhs.org or checks can be mailed to:
High Sierra Wild Horse Sanctuary and Gentling Center
PO Box 941
Weldon, CA, 93283
High Sierra Wild Horse Sanctuary and Gentling Center is located in South Lake, Lake Isabella, California. Susie Bishop is one of our organization's foster homes and currently has three of our horses in her foster care.
Nadia Lane – Founder
High Sierra Wild Horse Sanctuary and Gentling Center
(760) 401-1098
