Ternimation Called For ' Animal Controller Angers Citizens A crowd of angry Summit County residents called on the County Commission for immediate action Jan. 18 to curb what they say are abuses and harrassment mounted against them and their dogs by county animal control officer Barry Shoda. According to several people, peo-ple, many of whom said they witnessed Shoda walk on private property and remove dogs from chains, porches and take pets away while they played with their family's children, Shoda has mounted vendettas, against anyone who has questioned his methods of animal control. Shoda told the commission that the charges were largely "heresay" and unsubstantiated. unsubstant-iated. But 22 people at the hearing, including a Salt Lake City private investigator investiga-tor who is compiling evidence evid-ence for a possible civil suit against Shoda and the county, contended that there is a lot of abuse in Shoda' s behavior toward county residents resi-dents and dogs. According to John and Sherry Allen, Shoda has mounted an assault against them and their dog. In one instance, the Allen's challenged one Shoda dog-at-large citation and won in court. In that case, Shoda removed the Allen's golden retriever from the possession of the Allen's children. Peggy and Pokie Richardson Richard-son charged that Shoda entered their property on a private lane, went on their deck and removed their elderly pomeranian. "He took our 13-year-old pomeranian with six teeth right off the deck," Peggy Richardson said. 'That sheep killer wasn't going to go anywhere." Summit County Attorney Robert Adkins said it is against the law for a dog catcher to go on a person's property and remove a licensed dog and also said it would be against the law to walk into a person's house or on a porch and remove a dog, leashed or unleashed. Gilbert Meyhue asked Summit County Sheriff Fred Eley to "protect" people who complain about Shoda from retribution. Commission Chairman Gerald Young told the citizens not to worry. But Rachel Kinsella of Park City said she is worried. She said her husband attempted to bar Shoda from taking their dog from their property and was cited for interfering with a peace j officer. " What are you going to do about this?" she asked the commission repeatedly. Shoda' s troubles have a lengthy history. Last year, one dog he picked up jumped from the rear of his truck while hooked to "the wrong chain," and hung itself. Citizens also have charged that Shoda has not returned telephone calls that were aimed at gaining admittance to the pound to retrieve impdunded dogs. Some of those animals have been killed after the expiration of the three-day waiting period. In one case, a friend of a family whose dog had been impounded while the family was away was refujed possession of the dog a$$icy he attempted to free itGn the dog pound. . r Before the ownersc3l return, the dog was kS The complaints als9 fofts- ed on the county's kacof a policy concerning tfedjrs of the pound, whjcj Js a ramshackle building fit &im-oall &im-oall Junction. cj The commissicg4xlitted that the pourf hgs no regular business howjrs and - Shoda said it is ftot h&fault if sheriff's dispaiers "don't : Please turn to page 4A ! - i r- ' . ' - sr. Vince Desimone said he twice chased Shoda away from his property "while he was trying to get my dog." Desimone also said he witnessed"5hoda"go on people's porches twice and remove dogs, one time while the dog was chained. When asked what the commission would do concerning con-cerning an investigation of Shoda, Young said, if anybody any-body can prove the charges, "they should file a complaint against the county and Mr. Shoda." That's what Ron Gunder-son, Gunder-son, a private detective and founder of the World Animal Foundation, said would be the next step if Shoda is not dismissed. "We have the evidence," he said, "and the people want something done about it." Six of the people at the Tuesday hearing said they have already committed the funds to press the case in court if Shoda is not dismissed. Some of the blame also landed on the county anima! control ordinance, which was termed unworkable by the citizens in the audience and by Commissioner Cliff Blon-quist, Blon-quist, who said "I don't live by it." Blonquist said it is difficult to chain a dog in rural areas and also difficult to determine deter-mine when a dog is not on private property in Park City, where property boundaries are usually undefined. An effort was made to determine how citizens might go about getting new language into the animal control law, while still protecting everyone's rights. It was also revealed that the Humane Society had written a letter that followed an investigation of the county dog pound and; animal control system that made the three specific recommendations to the commission. Young, however, told the hearing that no such letter had been mailed and that he had not seen it. He was corrected by Clerk Reed Pace, who said he had filed the letter. "But I don't know where," Pace said, "I'll see if I can find it. You don't know my filing system," he chuckled to the crowd. Reportedly, the letter contained con-tained recommendations that included the upgrading of the dog pound and the establishment of regular hours so citizens could retrieve their dogs. Young accused the Humane Hu-mane Society of being a radical group that "likes to stir things up," but not make any constructive recommendations. recommen-dations. The hearing adjourned without a firm committment by the commission on what course of action it planned to take concerning the situation. situa-tion. Commissioner Ron Perry said discussions would be held with Shoda and Eley and Perry also said no immediate decision , should ' be made because "we don't want a lynching." Barry Shoda: the charges made him smile. More Dog Hearing Continued from Page -j give me messages" when people call to learn of their dog has been impounded. In one recent case, Salt Lake City school teacher Linda Pierce, a Summit Park resident, had her dog impounded im-pounded by the county. Pierce told the Record that she attempted numerous times to contact Shoda to learn if tier dog was in the pound. Before she could receive confirmation from the county, coun-ty, the dog was killed. "My dog had just been spayed and she still had the stitches in," Pierce said. Shoda blamed the policies of retired Summit County Sheriff Ron Robinson for many of what he called' "misunderstandings. "I hope you don't think I am trying to whitewash anything here," Shoda told the crowd in the .commission , chambers. "I here where you folks, are coming from. " Shoda said he does not enjoy seeing people pay as much as $52 to bail out their dogs. Shoda denied he was involved in the activities that many of the people at the hearing said they witnessed. He also denied he picked up friendly dogs as an easy way to generate county revenue. "As far as these accusations, accusa-tions, a lot of them are heresay and they are just not accurate," he said. But Summit Park resident