Commission Spares Horse-Chasing Dog

After nearly two years of calls, letters and protests seeking to free a dog sent to death row for chasing a horse, officials finally gave in Thursday with emergency action to spare its life.

Jackson County Commissioners passed an ordinance that gives a reprieve to the collie-malamute mix named Nadas if his owner agrees to ship him off to Utah to live out his days at an animal sanctuary.

“I’m sure we will do what’s best for Nadas,” said Sharon Roach, whose 22-year-old son, Sean, raised the dog.

But first, they want to carefully consider the conditions of the measure, which include dropping a lawsuit against the county.

Linda Rowe of the Portland animal advocacy group Watchdog said the ordinance was not a solution. Dog owners still need a chance to correct a problem before a case gets to the point of death or banishment.

“I feel this ordinance is a first step,” she said. “If Nadas can be spared, that’s wonderful. But there are three other dogs in this state on death row.”

Nadas was sentenced to death for chasing a horse in 1996 under a state law that allows counties to destroy dogs that kill, injure or chase livestock.

Sean Roach, who manages a storage business in Ashland, hasn’t seen his dog since it was seized by an animal control officer nearly two years ago. Since then, Roach and his mother have paid the county more than $4,000 to feed and board the dog.

Support for Nadas has been building for months, and peaked this week after the tabloid TV show “Hard Copy” aired the story.

Roach appealed the case all the way to the Oregon Supreme Court, which declined to review the case.

Nadas supporters plan to launch an initiative campaign Saturday at the state Capitol to overturn the law that condemned him to death.

County officials have complained of death threats. Last week intruders broke into the Jackson County pound, apparently in a bid to free Nadas.