BEND, Ore. — A retired Oregon State Police trooper and his brother have been sentenced to probation and ordered to pay $500 fines after pleading no contest to charges stemming from the killing of three Great Pyrenees sheepdogs in the Ochoco National Forest.
The Bulletin newspaper of Bend reports that Craig and Paul Johnson shot the dogs in August 2012 while hunting elk. Gordon Clark of Madras owned the dogs, and used them to protect grazing sheep from predators.
The Johnson brothers pleaded no contest to misdemeanor animal abuse. Besides the fines and probation, they must forfeit the hunting rifle used to shoot the dogs and each do 80 hours of community service.
Crook County District Attorney Daina Vitolins says the brothers blamed Clark for failing to post signs that his flock was grazing nearby. But the DA says the sheep owner had posted signs.
