Dog owner apologizes, tells own version of story
Ralph Bartholdt Staff Writer | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 years, 1 month AGO
Robert L. Darakjy is sorry.
The man who spent time in jail after he threatened commissioners because they wanted to euthanize his dog for killing a neighbor’s cat took time Wednesday to publicly apologize for his actions.
Wearing an American eagle button-up shirt, slacks and sandals, and peering from under bushy eyebrows, Darakjy articulated his duress.
The 73-year-old Vietnam-era veteran several months ago threatened Kootenai County commissioners who considered having his dog euthanized after it chased and killed a cat in a neighbor’s house in east Coeur d’Alene.
Because of the incident, Ranger, a 10-year-old German shorthaired pointer, was on death row for a while, as commissioners considered options.
Ranger and another of Darakjy’s dogs have since been adopted to new homes.
Darakjy said Wednesday he is glad for that.
“They went to good homes,” he said.
Ranger was condemned after escaping May 31 from Darakjy’s Stanley Hill property, which lies on 4 acres outside city limits in Kootenai County. Darakjy said the dog escaped during a pending storm because of an open gate.
“Lightning struck, thunder clapped and my dog took off,” he said. “It ran down the street and saw the neighbor’s cat and chased it.”
The cat ran into its owner’s house with Ranger, a hunting dog, in pursuit. Ranger went through a screen door, killed the cat inside the house and bit the neighbor’s hand, requiring two stitches, according to reports.
“I am sorry for that,” Darakjy said.
Animal control officers said Ranger was found loose on multiple occasions and commissioners placed the blame for the incident on Darakjy.
“There are no bad dogs,” Commissioner Bill Brooks said at an October hearing. “There are only bad dog owners.”
Darakjy threatened to sue the county and told commissioners he would “die defending my dog.”
The threats during the commission meeting were fueled by emotion, Darakjy said Wednesday.
“I mean, what would you do if someone said they were going to kill your dog?” he said.
In addition to being charged with two misdemeanors for harboring a dangerous pet, Darakjy, who is hard of hearing and who asked the judge twice Wednesday in First District Magistrate Court in Coeur d’Alene to repeat what a witness said, was arrested on a warrant for threatening a public official. He spent more than five weeks in jail before being released by a magistrate.
His cases were continued Wednesday and a Jan. 13 jury trial has been vacated.
Darakjy took responsibility Wednesday for the array of incidents and said he is now on medication and enrolled in anger management classes.
“I said things I shouldn’t have said, and I am sorry,” he said.
He doesn’t want to be painted as a crazy Vietnam-era veteran, he said. And he apologized to Brooks — himself a Vietnam-era veteran.
Darakjy said he plans to acquire a golden retriever as a therapy dog.
“My psychiatrist says it’s a good idea,” he said.
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