Shooter says dogs’ deaths avoidable

A Spokane Valley man who on Thursday shot and killed two pit bull mixes he described as threatening has had previous run-ins with the dogs and with Spokane County animal control officers.

Gene Strunk had spoken to a Spokesman-Review reporter the day of shooting about a story that had run about an alleged dog-fighting ring. At that time, Strunk said pit bulls were inherently dangerous and added that the paper would hear about him again.

He said Friday that the statement didn’t mean he planned to kill his neighbor’s dogs, but he said that he did intend to organize residents to regulate pit bull ownership in Spokane Valley.

“I think when we put animal rights above human rights, something is out of whack,” Strunk said.

Strunk killed the two dogs Thursday when they came into his yard. He said that a small black dog ran off but the other two dogs acted aggressively, with one charging him and the other following behind.

He said he rushed his children into the home when the dogs entered the yard, but he feared for his mother, who was still outside. That’s when he took his shotgun out to protect himself, he said.

Strunk accused Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service officers of doing nothing to protect his family from the dogs despite numerous complaints.

“I’ve said over and over to the animal control people, if these pit bulls came onto my property and I deemed them dangerous, I would kill them.”

Strunk began complaining about the dogs in August, said SCRAPS Development and Program Manager Trisha Simonet.

At that time, SCRAPS officers cited Strunk’s neighbor for having a dog at large. SCRAPS officers returned in February and issued citations for having a dog at large and having an unlicensed dog. Officers declared one of the dogs potentially dangerous.

Simonet said that Strunk was combative and verbally abusive during repeated calls to SCRAPS offices.

“Mr. Strunk has made several threats against officers,” she said.

Simonet said Strunk once told the agency that any animal control officer on his property would be considered trespassing and that he would take “appropriate action.”

Strunk called the description of that incident “an absolute lie,” and that the only action he might have taken was calling police.

“I did ask an officer to leave one time because she was ineffectual and not getting anything done,” he said.

Strunk said the dogs did not need to be shot. If SCRAPS had done its job and enforced laws prohibiting them from running loose, he wouldn’t have shot them, he said.

“Every time he called, we took action,” said Simonet, adding that she wasn’t surprised to hear that Strunk killed the dogs. “He had been saying all along that he would.”

The Sheriff’s Office released a statement Friday saying it was still investigating the shooting.