Dog attack leaves sheep dead; owners shaken over loss

On Saturday morning, August 5, Paula and Steve Farrar of Charlotte left their house at 8 a.m. to tend some of the animals at their Done Roving Farm and Carding Mill on the Charlotte Road. As Steve Farrar approached the sheep pasture, he saw that a lamb had been killed. Thinking a coyote had killed it, he called to Paula in the shop where they process the fleece and sell woolen items, saying they needed to check on the remaining 57 sheep and lambs in the flock.

What they saw in their pasture stunned them -- two animals were killing their sheep. At first the animals looked like coyotes, but as the Farrars got closer they could see that they were dogs. Paula said that it was a very quiet kill, and the dogs were not making any sounds as they tore apart the sheep. Sheep were dead or lying on the ground completely exhausted. The Farrars tried to chase the dogs off with the John Deere Gator, but to no avail.

Steve went back to the house to get his gun, while Paula kept the Gator moving as she screamed at the dogs and made as much noise as she could. She said the dogs would come at the back of the Gator and then separate, each one coming at her on either side. Steve returned with the gun but was unable to stop the dogs, but when the farm's llama, Jack, heard the commotion, he joined in the fight and drove the dogs from the pasture. The farm's three llamas and its donkey are kept in the pasture for just this purpose but were in another part of the pasture during the attack. If they had been with the flock, they probably would have driven the dogs out before things got out of control.

After the dogs were driven off, nine sheep were dead, four more were in very bad shape, with one having its neck hanging open, and 10 more were injured. The remaining 48 sheep and lambs were stressed and just lying on the ground everywhere. Many of the surviving animals have ears slit, mouths ripped, legs bitten and faces slashed. One sheep was seen dragging its back leg.

Veterinarian Bill Newcomb of Perry was called to the farm. He advised that the flock needs complete rest to recover and that several may not survive.

The working dogs on the farm, two border collies, will not be used for most of the year around this flock, and it is possible that they will never be able to be near these sheep again. The worst things that can happen to sheep to ruin their fleece are for them to have a high fever or to be traumatized by dogs. The 800 pounds of fleece needed in Paula Farrar's business may not be available this year.

In talking about the attack, Paula explained that while a coyote will separate a sheep from the flock before killing and eating it, a dog will just continue to kill until stopped or there are no more animals left to kill. She said that the previous weekend she and Steve were at the Grand Lake Stream Folk Art Festival. If the dogs had come then, they would probably not have any of their flock left.

The Farrars described the dogs to Charlotte Animal Control Officer Larry Colarusso, who said that he had taken two dogs with the same description home to the owners about a month ago. The dogs were unlicensed at that time, and the owners were told that they needed to license their dogs and keep them at home. Sgt. Lester Seeley of the Washington County Sheriff's Department arrived to check out the situation, and a state trooper was also at the scene.

After helping the Farrars with the dead and injured animals, Colarusso went to the suspected owners' home to see if the dogs were there and found they had escaped the fenced-in area again. He learned the dogs will chew off each other's collars and tear the fence apart to get out and had been seen running at large several times in the last month.
That same morning, the dogs were seen at the home of Bernie Veader on Ayers Junction Road on land abutting the Farrars' land. They also showed up at the home of Lisa and Rusty Edgerly approximately an hour after the attack. The Edgerlys' daughters were playing in their yard when the dogs appeared snarling and showing their teeth in an attack stance, but the girls' mother got them into the house before anything could happen.

Later that afternoon the animals were discovered at the home of Chris Parr, trying to get at rabbits in a cage. Colarusso was called and was able to catch the smaller of the two dogs, but the larger dog bit him and escaped. Colarusso had to go to the Calais Regional Hospital for treatment.

The larger dog was seen at the Farrar farm around 5 p.m. but got away again. The farm animals had been taken to another area for protection and rest after the attack. The dog was later seen on the railroad tracks by Pennamaquan Lake and arrived home sometime after that. It is now being quarantined along with the smaller dog until rabies can be ruled out.
According to Colarusso, Valerie Fenderson, who lives approximately three miles from Done Roving Farm and Carding Mill, is being summonsed to appear in court in October for allegedly having dogs running at large and keeping unlicensed dogs.

In June, Paula Farrar obtained a flock of eight Jacob sheep, a rare heritage breed that came from Kelmscott Farms in Lincolnville, home to the only flock in Maine. Believed to have originated in Syria some 3,000 years ago, the Jacobs are a pure breed animal which farmers in the U.S. are trying to breed to enlarge their numbers. Their wool, which produces a healthy sheen, is especially sought by hand spinners. After the attack, two breeding ewes and a breeding ram are gone, and another is not doing well. Two others are in danger of not making it.

One section of wire at the bottom of the Farrars' fence had been pulled away, and it is believed that is how the dogs got into the pasture. Paula is very thankful one of her prize rams, which cost $800, from a special breed from New Zealand is doing well.

The dogs that attacked the sheep were beautiful, well taken care of dogs, and Paula Farrar hopes this experience will help people understand what harm dogs can do when they are running at large. The attack has resulted in a very expensive situation both to the sheep owners and the dog owners.

During a visit to the farm on Monday, it was observed that the sheep, llamas and donkey were all in a group very close to Paula Farrar's shop in the pasture. The sheep were lying down. One got up but was obviously injured and limping.