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Ashland, Oregon HOME Valley & State Sports Nation & World Opinion/Editorial Classifieds Business Columnists Local Issues Obituaries Weather Archive Revels Etcetera Backpage Hot Topics Most Viewed Forum Photo Galleries Video Readers Polls O-Zone Online Games Movie Preview Special Sections Real Estate Guide Menu Guide Shakespeare Subscribe Contact Us Rate Card Place an Ad November 21, 2005 Great Dane shot near popular bike trail By Jennifer Squires Ashland Daily Tidings Tyler Riopelle and Dakota Tyler Riopelle knew something was wrong when Sweetie, one of his two Great Danes, came back to the house alone Thursday. She and Dakota, a two-year-old purebred, liked to wander from Riopelle’s place on the backside of Ashland, up the hill to the mountain bike trails on Hitt Road. Dakota can be quite social, but he always came home. “He likes to go say hi to the mountain bikers sometimes,” Riopelle said. “He’s a real sweet, friendly guy.” This time, however, it would take three days and three men to bring the huge dog back. Sometime on Thursday or Friday — Riopelle thinks it must have been Thursday because he believes his dog wouldn’t stay out all night — Dakota was shot with a high-powered rifle and left for dead near the trail. “He bled profusely for three days up there,” said Riopelle. “We had search parties everywhere.” Biker saved him Riopelle started looking for Dakota on Thursday night. He hoped someone would find his phone number on the dog’s tags and call. The call came around 2 p.m. Saturday. Ed Rogers, a mountain biker taking Hitt Road back into town, had found Dakota. “Dakota was laying in a pool of blood,” Riopelle said. “He was on his last leg.” Rogers lit a smoke signal and Riopelle got another man, Skot McTaggart, to head up the hill with him. The rescue took until nightfall. The three men bushwhacked across private land, carrying Dakota down to a vehicle, then Riopelle drove him to Southern Oregon Veterinary Specialty Center near the Medford Airport, a 24-hour emergency facility. “He has extensive damage all thorough his bones,” Riopelle said. “It was almost like they shot him in the butt and it came right through his hip an shattered the femur.” The bullet broke Dakota’s left rear femur in at least nine places. The dog nearly died of blood loss and still may lose his leg if an operation to fuse the bones together with rods on Tuesday is not successful. “It’s a pretty slim chance,” Riopelle said, adding that the veterinary bills have piled up quickly and are already several thousand dollars. “The dog’s barely alive.” Unknown shooter Riopelle believes his dog was shot by a deer poacher shooting a rifle with scope on it. He thinks the poacher approached the downed dog, realized the mistake and took off. “This person shot him but then, after they realized what they did, they turn-tabled and left without calling,” said Riopelle. Jackson County Sheriff’s deputies found Cool Menthol cigarettes at the shooting site, according to Riopelle. The area where the butts were found can only be accessed by skirting several private gates. They are looking for the shooter and Riopelle is offering a $300 reward for information that could identify the shooter. “There’s always been a problem with poachers in the hills up here,” Riopelle said. “It’s definitely a situation for people to be aware of.” Deer hunting season has ended for public lands in Southern Oregon. “The other thing that makes this really tragic is that’s a trail that children, hikers, and mountain bikers use,” said Riopelle, who has lived in the area for 14 years. Anyone with information about the shooter may call Riopelle at 535-4074. He has said he will not pursue criminal charges if the alleged poacher contacts him directly and helps with Dakota’s medical bills. To donate toward Dakota’s recovery, contact the Roxy Ann Veterinary Hospital in Central Point at 664-1521. Staff writer Jennifer Squires can be reached at 482-3456 x 3019 or [email protected]. --> Copyright © 2006 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers. All Rights Reserved.