Lost Labs of Star Valley remain a mystery

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

By Ben Cannon

When Lindsey Ross tied up Marley, a lab-border collie mix, under the shade of a tree with a bowl full of water at the Sheep Gulch boating takeout, she had no idea she would not see her beloved one-year old pup again.

Marley, who looked like a young black lab but with a few spots of white on her paw and under her neck, was left next to Ross’ SUV, which she often crawled under to sleep while her human went kayaking.  When Ross returned from paddling the Snake River, little Marley was gone – collar, chain, and all. 

The mysterious disappearance of Marley, a very friendly dog, was unusual not only in that it happened at a popular river access on a busy day August day, but also – as it was later revealed – because she was one of over a dozen dogs to go missing around Star Valley, and, more startlingly, was one of seven Labrador or Labrador mixes to disappear within a few weeks time.

“When this many dogs of a particular breed go missing, it’s real unusual,” said Carol Holdeman of the Animal Humane Society of Star Valley.

Holdeman said many rumors about why this is happening have passed through her office. One is that docile, easy-natured Labs are being used as bait to train fighting dogs. More sensational is speculation that the dogs are being used as test subjects for the lethality of methamphetamine batches. 

None of those allegations have been substantiated, she said.
James and Lucina Lurz were visiting friends and family in the area when their black Lab puppy, “Izzie,” was taken from their locked car while they ate in an Alpine restaurant.
“The window was cracked and they forced it down,” James said from the couple’s home in Nebraska. 

Eyewitnesses reported seeing a young man running across the parking lot holding a small dog, though authorities were not able to produce any further leads.

In rural Elvira, Iowa, at least eight Labs disappeared in April of last year.  County officials there did acknowledge a dog-fighting issue in that area, though never linked the missing dogs to brutal, highly clandestine gambling operations.

Lt. Brian Andrews with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Afton office, said only two missing dogs had been reported to his office since late in the summer.

“Two reports of missing dogs makes it pretty hard to pin a trend down,” Andrews said.  “We urge people that if they report something to the Humane Society, they should report it to us.”

Andrews, who said he worked for the Sheriff’s department for 14 years, has heard rumors of dog-fighting but has never known it to be documented by law enforcement in the Star Valley.

“The more we could make people aware they need to keep an eye on their dogs either
in the car or in their yard, the better,” Holdeman said.

PERMALINK:
Lost Labs of Star Valley remain a mystery | Planet JH News Article: Afton/Star Valley

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