Deputies: Man killed dogs he couldn't afford to care for
EAGLE CREEK, Ore. – A man who said he couldn’t afford to take care of his dogs was arrested for killing the animals, according a Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office spokesman.
Lt. James Rhodes said the investigation started in November when Japheth Daniel Stalcup, 25, reported that his two family dogs had gone missing.
Stalcup told deputies that he found Buddy and Duke dead about 100 yards from his house, Rhodes said. Both dogs had been killed with an axe.
At first Stalcup said he didn’t know who killed the dogs, but as the investigation progressed Stalcup eventually admitted to killing both of the dogs, according to Rhodes.
Investigators said Stalcup admitted that he couldn’t afford to care for the dogs and killed them with an axe when he couldn’t think of an alternative.
Stalcup was arrested on Wednesday. He faces two counts of aggravated animal abuse and one charge of initiating a false police report.
In November, the Stalcup family did a story with KATU about their slain dogs.
"We are taking this very seriously and I pray that whoever did this has the nerve to come forth and maybe confess," Rose Stalcup said at the time. "Or hopefully someone who does know any information about it will come forward."
Rhodes said if you are a pet owner and feel like you can’t care for your animal, contact your local animal shelter or the Oregon Humane Society at (503) 285-7722.
This guy is a danger to everyone. Who next? There are so many alternatives -he is just a cold hearted killer!! Someone needs to check the home and children (if there are some) for safety.
Throw him in jail and throw away the key. We don't need monsters like this on the streets.
This is a sick, twisted man. I could not in a million years imagine bringing myself to kill my dogs in cold blood with an axe. What a monster.
the humane society used to kill around 40 % percent of the animals they take in. it is a litttle less now. but I guess it is okay since they use drugs
What would happen to him if the Clackamas County Jail couldn't care for him?
There is so much wrong with this. The guy reports his dogs missing after he killed them? Why? Did his family know he killed them? Then, the family does an interview with KATU about how "serious" this is and how they are committed to finding whoever did this? Why? He's got some serious mental health issues. I hope his family didn't know the truth until now because to think of a whole family going along with this charade is just too disturbing.
Im sorry, I dont think Oregon can take care of him either...Should we just kill him also?
Investigators said Stalcup admitted that he couldnât afford to care for the dogs and killed them with an axe when he couldnât think of an alternative.
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BULL, there's always an alternative. He WANTED to kill them, for what reason I have no clue. When he gets out, I ask the residents to keep a close eye (And let him KNOW YOU ARE WATCHING HIM)Â until he offs himself...
 @disgustedman I for one will try, but it is SO remote out here and most properties are so far apart from each other that "keeping an eye on him" will be difficult. People move out here because they really like their privacy.  But if I ever run into the guy I'll probably spit on him or something.
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Hope his wife divorces him and keeps the kids far away.
Oh, wow! I remember when this happened, and being very worried about my own dogs as I live in Eagle Creek. They used to run freely on our 33 acre property, and I started confining them to the house or stable at night even though it's fenced, because of THIS incident. They're used to it now but they hated it-they were used to patrolling the grounds to keep the coyotes et al out.
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So thanks, jerk, not only did you brutally kill your own dogs (which I would gladly have taken off your hands by the way-what beautiful labs!) but you instilled a lot of fear into other residents of this community about our own pets.
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Can't even begin to comprehend the axe thing and how someone could kill their own dogs with one. Poor things must have been terrified to be attacked by the man they trusted. Not that it would be right, but don't you even own a gun you dope? I thought everybody did out here. That would've been a lot more humane at least. Of course, I am sure there would have been plenty of others like me who would have been happy to take them in.
 @WhenCowsAttack <'"!"'>--Welcome Back!--<'"!"'>
We've been thinking of you terribly and missing you often . . . . errrr, well . . . something like that. Glad to see you're still among us!
 @Gravity Works! Howdy! Yup, still around and reading every day- but can't do the internet at work so most of my reading is done from my smartphone on weekdays. They said this new commenting system would be better for mobile users but it won't even let me sign in, let alone comment.
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So my commenting is done from home on the weekends.
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Nice to know I'm still thought of, thanks for the WB!
 @WhenCowsAttack Know what you mean about mobile. I'm using an Android Jelly Bean tablet mainly for reading ebooks. It'll load the browser just fine, allow me to read comments (clunky, I'll admit), but I, too, can't sign in.Â
Good to see you back!
Seriously -- this is more than just a case of a guy being brutal and disposing of his pets. Look at what he's done to his family. He has TERRORIZED his wife and children. Not only were their pets MURDERED in a violent, bloody way, but they've been thinking for months that there's an ax-murdering living in their woods. NOTE TO RED-HEADED WIFE: you're living under the roof with an ax-murderer. Get yourself and your kids OUT OF THERE!
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(Seriously -- what member of our society doesn't know that you can take your unwanted pets to a shelter? Or even just post a note on Craigslist or the local grocery story message board saying "Free Dogs"? Instead of rehoming the pets his children loved in a kind way, this man killed them brutally and STAGED their murder for the family -- the police were just a afterthought in the attempt to make it look good for his wife -- in order to frame himself as an innocent party. This guy is NUTS. Seriously, the wife needs to get her children away from this man. Next time, it could be her, or he could attempt to solve their financial difficulties by escalating the violence and closing an insurance deal on the life of one or more of their kids!
 @BrowncoatWhit Yeah, he scared everybody that lives out here, too! I was afraid whatever nut job did that was going to come onto MY property and kill my dogs!Â
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I bet his kids never forgive him for this. How awful.
Wow, that looks like one of my dogs. Burn in hell.
 Why would one report your pet that you do not want missing? if i knew someone who,s pets were not longer there i would not be asking a lot of questions about the matter.Millions of Animals are killed every day (we have to eat) as long as we don,t kill them in that way and report them missing (not a smart thing to do) it is not that big a thing.If i had a pet i would have taken it to the humane society,they might end the same way but they would make it so it is not painful.Â
 @Christian perspective He reported them missing in order to stage the scene for his wife. He was trying to convince his wife and kids that he knew nothing about the fact that their beloved pets were missing, and to make it appear to them that he was innocent in their brutal destruction.
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This man obviously is unstable, and has mental issues -- it is not easy to kill a big, energetic animal with an axe, and he did that deed TWICE. That this event has terrorized his family and scarred his children goes without saying -- they appear to live in a remote environment, and they've all believed there was an ax-murdering living in their woods with them. What do you want to bet this man has been beating chis chest around the house, making a big deal to everyone about how he was going to protect them, be The Man, keeping his guns loaded to make sure the bad guy can't get in their home with them? When in reality -- he's the axe-murderer they've been so afraid of. That's cruel and manipulative behavior, which he's exercised in an attempt to make himself appear like a Big Man to them. That's really, really scary...
 @BrowncoatWhit  @Christian perspective I think I may have been to a yard sale at this man's home last summer- it really looks like the same guy. If it's the same guy, it is a large property with several dwellings on it that I can only describe as yurts. They are populated by several very poor families, and they all have kids so I would imagine the rest of the residents there were even more terrified than those of us who live on property of our own.
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There are some beautiful homes out here, but there are also several similar properties with multiple dwellings such as manufactured homes or this one with the yurts where there is a lot of abject poverty.
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Anyway, I agree with you on all of your posts 100%.
 @WhenCowsAttack  @BrowncoatWhit  @Christian perspective thank you for your kind reply's,it does not happen often on this thing.
Why is this illegal?
 @Oregon7812 Because he cruelly chopped them to pieces with an axe and then wasted police resources.
 @WhenCowsAttack  I'm afraid you're responding to a troll, there, WCA. Keep an eye on that nic.
 @Gravity Works! oh- hah! Thanks!
 @Oregon7812 were you raised by animals ?
 @Oregon7812 Also, he initiated a false report to the police when he called 911 to report the dogs missing. Actually, that's the weirdest part of the story.. If you want to kill your dogs, why would you then report them missing?Â
 @StealthActivist  @Oregon7812 In order to stage the scene for your wife and family, so that they would not know what you've done! To him, his ego was vastly more valuable than the lives of these two loyal dogs -- he wanted to control how his family continued to perceive him, and killing the dogs in a brutal manner allowed him to create an environment of fear in which his family would live while he "protected" them in their remote home. He used as axe because he's seen enough CSI shows to know that bullets can be linked back to the gun in your possession. The cops were just more props in his effort to impress and control his family. Seriously -- this guy is a danger to his family!
 @BrowncoatWhit  @StealthActivist  @Oregon7812 Or he could have just buried them for that matter- the more I think about it the more of a moron he becomes.Â
 @BrowncoatWhit  @StealthActivist  @Oregon7812 He is obviously also not very bright. There is so much forest land out here that he could easily have taken them to a remote area and they would probably have never been found. The coyotes and the other scavengers would have quickly gotten rid of the evidence.
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Coldhearted AND stupid- great combo there.
 @Oregon7812 Because it's cruel.  Those animals had no way to defend themselves.  He couldn't re-home them or find a shelter?
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 @gorge dweller What about their teeth and claws?
 @gorge dweller  @Oregon7812 When the humane society kills animals it can't afford to take care of anymore, that's ok, though, right? You know even PETA  euthanizes animals it can't afford to take care of anymore.Â
 @moej  @gorge dweller  @Oregon7812 There are plenty of no-kill shelters that one can find, given ten minutes of research.  My family tries to help support the one in our county, which we would no do if it were a kill-shelter.  And I do understand that animals are put to sleep even in no-kill shelters when over-crowding becomes an issue (often dozens at a time according to my dogs' vet) but at least those dogs would have had a CHANCE to be picked up by someone else first.  Of course, the kind of mouth-breather that would kill the family dogs with an axe probably wouldn't have even thought of that.
@moej @gorge dweller @Oregon7812 Although I agree with your argument, they don't use axes.
A $ $ hole!
If he wouldn't have reported them missing, this wouldn't have been news. Â He deserves some punishment for being stupid. Â If he couldn't take care of them, he could have taken them to the humane society, where they may have suffered the same fate.
 @Shadow The humane society would not have killed them with an ax.
 @QuandoQuandoQuando  @Shadow The Humane Society would not have killed them at all.
Man, that looks a lot like my dog Jack (from front); when I saw the pic, my stomach just lurched as my dog is about as friendly as you can get.  Half Black Lab, Half Meth Lab, err, Border Collie.
Wouldn't it be a pity if they sent him to jail and ran out of money to care for him? I guess there's always the axe as a backup plan.
 @correct Usually I don't like these types of comments, but man, that hits it dead on, gotta admit.
@brendan  HATER
 @Bill Preston ?
Well, isn't this ironic.  For trappers, it is legal to kill the trapped animal any way they want. They can crush its ribcage with a foot, hold its head underwater with a foot until it drowns, or choke it to death with catchpole.  But if anyone does any of these things with a domestic pet, it is illegal, and the offender will likely face a penalty.  The only difference between the two situations is that one set of animals is wild, and the other set of animals are domestic pets. Now, isn't that a double standard?  Go to youtube, and do a search for "trapping investigation." Â
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U have a very valid point!
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Look at what they do to seal lions on the Columbia.
 @FreerideNOT But they don't have names like Felix or Spot, so they probably can't feel any pain.
 @FreerideNOT haha, are you for real? We don't know if animals have names that they assign themselves?
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We don't know if they have names. We don't speak their language nor do we understand their communication among themselves.
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I believe that all animals feel pain. My dogs will never feel the kind of pain this POS inflicted upon them. If anyone ever tried they would be on the short train to the end of life
This is why I prefer the company of my Boxer over most people...
 @Bob McMasterson I have a Boxer too -- brindle this time.