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Bend man dies after dog attack at homeless encampment, deputies say - https://www.bendbulletin.com/localstate/bend-man-dies-after-dog-attack-at-homeless-encampment-deputies-say/article_a57d4570-2670-11ee-ae81-1beb66affe38.html
Been saying for years that dogs are my #1 safety issue while traveling. Just before reading this I was lunged at by 2 pits out of a van on a street in the same area....I was more than 20 yards from said van. Be careful put there folks. Carry protection against animal attacks.
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Oregon State Police forensics personnel and Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office personnel investigate the scene where a man was mauled to death early Wednesday morning by dogs in a homeless camp on the outskirts of northeast Bend.
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Oregon State Police forensics personnel and Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office personnel investigate the scene where a man was mauled to death Wednesday by dogs near Juniper Ridge on the outskirts of northeast Bend.
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An Oregon State Police forensics team arrives Wednesday morning at a homeless camp near Juniper Ridge in northeast Bend where a man was mauled to death by dogs.
A 56-year-old Bend man died after he was severely mauled by three dogs at a homeless camp early Wednesday morning, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office said.
Joseph Taylor Keeton, died after sustaining life-threatening injuries in the area on the northeast outskirts of Bend near Juniper Ridge. People who live in the camp call it Dirt World.
Sheriff’s office deputies responded to the area around 1:15 a.m. after receiving a report of an “unknown problem,” sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Jason Wall said in a news release.
Deputies arrived and found Keeton, who appeared to have been attacked and “had lost a substantial amount of blood,” Wall said. He had been mauled for “a prolonged period of time,” Wall said.
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“This isn’t the case of five bites or 10 bites,” Wall said. “It’s bad.”
Deputies believe that as many as three pit-bull/bull-mastiff mix dogs attacked Keeton. The dogs “were not restrained in any way shape or form,” Wall said.
Deputies put a tourniquet on Keeton, performed CPR and applied an automated external defibrillator, which delivers an electric shock to restore a person’s heart rhythm.
Bend Fire & Rescue paramedics took Keeton to St. Charles Bend. The sheriff’s office was notified at 7:40 a.m. that Keeton was dead.
“It’s horrible,” Wall told The Bulletin on Wednesday. “I’ve been here over 16 years, and I cannot recall a dog attack that resulted in the death of an individual.”
The owner of the dogs, Jessica Rae Charity, 38, helped authorities put the dogs in crates and is cooperating with the investigation.
Charity could face a felony charge of maintaining a dangerous dog, Wall said.
A person commits this crime if the dog “without provocation and in an aggressive manner inflicts serious physical injury … on a person or kills a person,” according to state law.
Sheriff’s office detectives are investigating the incident and are looking for anyone who witnessed the attack, Wall said.
Hundreds of people experiencing homelessness live in the Juniper Ridge area. County officials told The Bulletin in October that as many as 250 people live there, up from between 150 to 200 in 2020, according to city officials.
It’s a 1,500-acre area of publicly-owned juniper forest on Bend’s northeast edge.
There are unofficial roads among junipers, with campers, tents, trailers and other built-up structures similar to ad-hoc houses.
Wall said the sheriff’s office frequently receives calls for service in the area. Many are “high priority” incidents, including disputes, fights, assaults and fires.
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In 2020, a wildfire tore through 39 acres of Juniper Ridge, requiring evacuations and multiple agencies and aircrafts to respond.
In an effort to curb wildfire risk, the sheriff’s office announced Wednesday that it was assigning a full-time deputy to patrol for illegal burning, and unauthorized campfires in the areas around China Hat Road and Juniper Ridge.
“The sheriff’s office is concerned about people who live in the houseless camp and the neighborhoods that are adjacent,” Wall said.
News of the dog attack reached a public meeting with the County Commission on Wednesday, where officials discussed rules around homelessness proposed by Deschutes County Sheriff Shane Nelson and a potential site for people to camp.
Commissioner Phil Chang pointed to the attack while discussing the idea of an authorized site in the Juniper Ridge area. He called the site a “risky” and “dangerous” idea that would make the county liable for an area with few to no rules.
“We didn’t authorize people to be there, but if we actually set it up for people to be there and that happened, what kind of responsibility would the county have for that death?” Chang said.
Deschutes County Legal Counsel Dave Doyle responded by saying: “Any action that the county takes or frankly inaction that the county chooses to take is going to be wrought with some level of risk and liability.”
Commissioner Patti Adair also pointed to the attack while calling for stricter rules to quell what she describes as chaos around homeless encampments.
“I feel really horrible that someone lost their life to a dog attack,” said Adair, who added: “I know you said that makes the liability much greater for the county, and yet we’ve got to do something to protect the citizens that are living in such precarious times.”
But this isn’t only a problem on Juniper Ridge. Stella Larson, who lives near another homeless encampment on China Hat Road, told the commission during the meeting: “We do have roaming packs of dogs and I am sick about hearing of this death.”
Lynne Ouchida, director of community partnership for the Humane Society of Central Oregon, said the organization has no knowledge of an incident like this happening before.
Ouchida recommends dog owners keep dogs on their property, or else on a leash or well-trained in obeying voice-commands. Ouchida pointed out that Deschutes County does not have a leash law, but does have an “at-large” policy, which allows dogs to be off the leash but under the control of their handlers. She said she believed these policies would apply in Juniper Ridge camps.
Efforts to reach Charity by phone prior to press time Wednesday failed.
Johannah Johnson-Weinberg, founder and executive director of Companion Animal Medical Project, a Bend-based nonprofit that supports homeless pet owners, estimated there are 200 to 500 pet owners who are homeless in Deschutes County.
“I feel awful for the community out there. They lost a community member,” she said. “That’s unimaginable.”
Prior to her nonprofit work, Johnson-Weinberg worked for the Humane Society of Central Oregon and recalled many cases of dog attacks whose owners were not homeless.
“Unfortunately and terribly and tragically, it doesn’t matter if it’s someone who is housed or unhoused, this happens,” she said
Been saying for years that dogs are my #1 safety issue while traveling. Just before reading this I was lunged at by 2 pits out of a van on a street in the same area....I was more than 20 yards from said van. Be careful put there folks. Carry protection against animal attacks.
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Bend man dies after dog attack at homeless encampment, deputies say
- By BRYCE DOLE and SUKHJOT SAL The Bulletin
- Jul 19, 2023 Updated Jul 19, 2023
- 2
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Oregon State Police forensics personnel and Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office personnel investigate the scene where a man was mauled to death early Wednesday morning by dogs in a homeless camp on the outskirts of northeast Bend.
Buy Now
Oregon State Police forensics personnel and Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office personnel investigate the scene where a man was mauled to death Wednesday by dogs near Juniper Ridge on the outskirts of northeast Bend.
Buy Now
An Oregon State Police forensics team arrives Wednesday morning at a homeless camp near Juniper Ridge in northeast Bend where a man was mauled to death by dogs.
A 56-year-old Bend man died after he was severely mauled by three dogs at a homeless camp early Wednesday morning, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office said.
Joseph Taylor Keeton, died after sustaining life-threatening injuries in the area on the northeast outskirts of Bend near Juniper Ridge. People who live in the camp call it Dirt World.
Sheriff’s office deputies responded to the area around 1:15 a.m. after receiving a report of an “unknown problem,” sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Jason Wall said in a news release.
Deputies arrived and found Keeton, who appeared to have been attacked and “had lost a substantial amount of blood,” Wall said. He had been mauled for “a prolonged period of time,” Wall said.
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“This isn’t the case of five bites or 10 bites,” Wall said. “It’s bad.”
Deputies believe that as many as three pit-bull/bull-mastiff mix dogs attacked Keeton. The dogs “were not restrained in any way shape or form,” Wall said.
Deputies put a tourniquet on Keeton, performed CPR and applied an automated external defibrillator, which delivers an electric shock to restore a person’s heart rhythm.
Bend Fire & Rescue paramedics took Keeton to St. Charles Bend. The sheriff’s office was notified at 7:40 a.m. that Keeton was dead.
“It’s horrible,” Wall told The Bulletin on Wednesday. “I’ve been here over 16 years, and I cannot recall a dog attack that resulted in the death of an individual.”
The owner of the dogs, Jessica Rae Charity, 38, helped authorities put the dogs in crates and is cooperating with the investigation.
Charity could face a felony charge of maintaining a dangerous dog, Wall said.
A person commits this crime if the dog “without provocation and in an aggressive manner inflicts serious physical injury … on a person or kills a person,” according to state law.
Sheriff’s office detectives are investigating the incident and are looking for anyone who witnessed the attack, Wall said.
Hundreds of people experiencing homelessness live in the Juniper Ridge area. County officials told The Bulletin in October that as many as 250 people live there, up from between 150 to 200 in 2020, according to city officials.
It’s a 1,500-acre area of publicly-owned juniper forest on Bend’s northeast edge.
There are unofficial roads among junipers, with campers, tents, trailers and other built-up structures similar to ad-hoc houses.
Wall said the sheriff’s office frequently receives calls for service in the area. Many are “high priority” incidents, including disputes, fights, assaults and fires.
Subscription only $18/mth
In 2020, a wildfire tore through 39 acres of Juniper Ridge, requiring evacuations and multiple agencies and aircrafts to respond.
In an effort to curb wildfire risk, the sheriff’s office announced Wednesday that it was assigning a full-time deputy to patrol for illegal burning, and unauthorized campfires in the areas around China Hat Road and Juniper Ridge.
“The sheriff’s office is concerned about people who live in the houseless camp and the neighborhoods that are adjacent,” Wall said.
News of the dog attack reached a public meeting with the County Commission on Wednesday, where officials discussed rules around homelessness proposed by Deschutes County Sheriff Shane Nelson and a potential site for people to camp.
Commissioner Phil Chang pointed to the attack while discussing the idea of an authorized site in the Juniper Ridge area. He called the site a “risky” and “dangerous” idea that would make the county liable for an area with few to no rules.
“We didn’t authorize people to be there, but if we actually set it up for people to be there and that happened, what kind of responsibility would the county have for that death?” Chang said.
Deschutes County Legal Counsel Dave Doyle responded by saying: “Any action that the county takes or frankly inaction that the county chooses to take is going to be wrought with some level of risk and liability.”
Commissioner Patti Adair also pointed to the attack while calling for stricter rules to quell what she describes as chaos around homeless encampments.
“I feel really horrible that someone lost their life to a dog attack,” said Adair, who added: “I know you said that makes the liability much greater for the county, and yet we’ve got to do something to protect the citizens that are living in such precarious times.”
But this isn’t only a problem on Juniper Ridge. Stella Larson, who lives near another homeless encampment on China Hat Road, told the commission during the meeting: “We do have roaming packs of dogs and I am sick about hearing of this death.”
Lynne Ouchida, director of community partnership for the Humane Society of Central Oregon, said the organization has no knowledge of an incident like this happening before.
Ouchida recommends dog owners keep dogs on their property, or else on a leash or well-trained in obeying voice-commands. Ouchida pointed out that Deschutes County does not have a leash law, but does have an “at-large” policy, which allows dogs to be off the leash but under the control of their handlers. She said she believed these policies would apply in Juniper Ridge camps.
Efforts to reach Charity by phone prior to press time Wednesday failed.
Johannah Johnson-Weinberg, founder and executive director of Companion Animal Medical Project, a Bend-based nonprofit that supports homeless pet owners, estimated there are 200 to 500 pet owners who are homeless in Deschutes County.
“I feel awful for the community out there. They lost a community member,” she said. “That’s unimaginable.”
Prior to her nonprofit work, Johnson-Weinberg worked for the Humane Society of Central Oregon and recalled many cases of dog attacks whose owners were not homeless.
“Unfortunately and terribly and tragically, it doesn’t matter if it’s someone who is housed or unhoused, this happens,” she said
