Two dogs who are suspected of killing chickens in Salkum on Jan. 12 are still at large.
Jerett Latimer came home to his place on Fuller Road that day to find three of his chickens killed by a predator and one missing.
“The chicken wire that was stapled to a wood frame was ripped off and that’s how they gained access. Chickens were whole and didn’t have many visible wounds. It looked like they went straight for their necks then left them,” Latimer told The Chronicle this week.
He checked his security camera and found two unfamiliar dogs loose in his yard. Both were brown, and both look like pit bulls, he said. At 6:02 p.m., Andrew Yocom, a deputy with the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, was advised Latimer had called in the incident. Yocom visited the property, but the dogs were gone.
Footage from the camera shows the two dogs meandering around Latimer’s yard. While he does not have security footage of the dogs killing the chickens, the cameras did not film another predator that day.
The chickens were two roosters, a Rhode Island red and a silkie, along with two hens, a Brahma and an Easter egger. After searching, Latimer found the missing chicken, the Rhode Island red.
“We found him barely alive down the road. We gave him the night but ultimately had to dispatch him the following morning because he was suffering,” Latimer said.
Between the four birds and the coop, he estimated the damages would cost him $200.
After posting to Facebook, Latimer said several people recognized the dogs and thought they belonged to a resident at another address on Fuller Road, which Latimer told Yocom. However, after twice searching for the dogs at that property, the deputy was unable to locate them.
According to the case report, Yocom requested the case be suspended until the owner of the dogs was located.
Dusty Breen, field chief officer with the sheriff’s officer, said anyone with information pertaining to the case should call 360-748-9286.
