Dog Shot

 

PAGE SPRINGS — The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office responded to a dog being shot at the Page Springs Winery vineyards on Monday, Feb. 17, according to Paul Wick, Public Affairs Officer.

The incident prompted the owner of the dog initially to post a missing-dog poster on social media and then later explain on Facebook that the dog had been located and was recovering at a Prescott animal hospital.

However, the post caught the attention of many local people, who speculated what happened, which then prompted a response from the owners of Page Springs Cellars, Eric and Gayle Glomski.

“I think this whole thing is unfortunate and I feel for them. I am sorry this has happened. I think it could have been avoided,” Eric Glomski said on Thursday, Feb. 20.

He said they have taken steps during the last year because his employees have been harassed by the neighboring dogs. “One guy was bitten twice,” he said. “The guy who is involved in this incident was bitten twice.

“Do I think it’s my employee’s right to defend himself? Yes,” Glomski said. “Would I have liked that not to happen, absolutely.”

The Glomskis were traveling at the time of the shooting on Monday.

“I feel sad he was put in that position. And I think it was sad that the dogs were put in that position,” Glomski said.

The dog’s owners, who are Glomski’s neighbors, Amy and Chris Asbill, explained that on Monday, Feb. 17, around 8 a.m. the rest of their litter of 10-month-old dogs (four total left), which they were in the process of rehoming, “broke out of their kennel and escaped their property.

“Several members of the family spent hours hiking and driving the surrounding area,” Amy Asbill said. “While Dad was driving around posting lost dog flyers, at 2 p.m. the rest of the family heard a gunshot from the house.”

“We immediately knew our dogs were in the vineyard based on previous threats, over the summer, that the vineyard manager would shoot them when given the opportunity,” she explained. Asbill claimed the employee has yelled obscenities at the kids and kicked at one dog.

According to Amy, “Following the shooting, three of the four pups ran home down the driveway while one of the male pups, Stitch, had to be recovered by us from inside the vineyard, injured and bleeding from his mouth.”

“We got him to the Yavapai Emergency Animal Hospital in Prescott Valley with not much time to spare, and credit the excellent staff for saving his life,” she said.

The dog was able to come home to bedrest after one overnight stay at the vets, but will face the rest of his life with a body full of shot/shrapnel, said Asbill, who was disappointed that animal control was not called before the shooting once dogs were sighted.

“We thank everyone in the community for your well wishes and prayers during Stitch’s emergency treatment and recovery,” she said. The YCSO’s spokesman, Wick, said the only citation issued in Monday’s incident was a “warning” to the dog owner for “dog at large.”

Animal Control officers were unaware of any other calls about dogs and that property before Monday, Wick said.

Glomski said the caretaker is “feeling bad about this.”

“The first time I talked to him he was in tears. He didn’t want to shoot a dog,” he pointed out.

The vineyard is on a slope, Glomski explained, saying the caretaker fired over the dogs. The dog may have jumped, maybe the bullet ricocheted, “who knows, I wasn’t there,” he said.

The caretaker tendered his resignation, Glomski said. But the vineyard owner told him it wasn’t his fault and convinced him to think about it for a few days.

“He was afraid he was going to get attacked” on the vineyard property, Glomski said. “Those dogs have come after me,” he continued. “It’s come after me, it’s come after Gayle, it’s come after multiple employees.”

“We were told the manager was allegedly bit two times, one of which was supposed to have happened during the interaction with our kids, which none of them witnessed,” Amy Asbill said. “We attempted to discuss our concerns about the interaction with our kids. Eric expressed his support for his employee and told us Animal Control would be called for any future problems.

“Our three mature dogs (the subject of the complaint) have been confined to the inside of our house for the last seven months, with only brief bathroom breaks supervised by a family member, in order to keep them from getting shot,” Amy said.

The puppies have also been secured in their kennel, she said, denying there as any history of interactions with vineyard staff, especially aggressive interactions.

Glomski said it’s unfair that people have jumped to so many conclusions so quickly, Glomski said.

“Did this guy want to get bitten, did this guy really want to shoot a dog, did these people really want their dog shot at?” Glomski asked.

“We all want to be understood. People make mistakes. And they should take responsibility for them. But when all these people behind their computer screens who don’t know anybody involved really, and they’re bored, and they want to start feeling alive again, they jump into this mess and actually create the mess,” Glomski said, referring to some of the posts on social media.