Gages Story
March 12, 2008 was a cool morning (45 degrees) as I drank my coffee on the way to work. Peaceful and calm, with what should have been a great day. The phone rang and my world exploded. My wife was babbling and screaming incoherently on the phone "Gage is dead" he has been shot. She had just watched our son bleed to death in her arms.
Where to start? Gage came into our life seven years ago. Newly married and having almost grown children from previous marriages we decided to get a dog. We were deploying overseas and I work nights mostly so I wanted a decent size dog. So Gage came into our lives. Gage was not a typical Pitt Bull. He loved every one; cats, puppies, and kids he made friends easy. He would endure great pain from a small kid and not get upset.
Gage was about two months old when we moved to the Azore Islands in Portugal. We worked hard at teaching him proper social skills. We made sure he knew what no was and always had him in large groups so he would be used to being around people. A stranger was never a stranger as long as he knew we approved. He was taught what his boundaries were, where he could and could not go. The house had a three foot high wall and didn’t have a gate at the driveway. Gage never left the yard unless he was told he could. By the time he was six months old I knew my family was safe while I was at the base.
Gage traveled the world with us, loved everywhere he went. Gage was an adopted brother to my troops and companion to my friends when they were lonely. The cable guy even loved him. He was loved by everyone who knew him except one person, my neighbor.
Ray Stanfill, the neighbor who had a tree cut across my fence and did not fix it. Ray Stanfill, the neighbor who asked for permission and I had allowed to keep his boat on my property because he did not have access to the lake. Ray Stanfill, the neighbor who asked for permission and I let build a small fishing pier on my land. Ray Stanfill, overheard by my brother in-law, taunting Gage and telling him (Gage) he was going to shoot him if he did not stop barking. Mr. Stanfill’s story for the day he murdered Gage was he had seen a snake on his property and went to get his shotgun to shoot it. Keep in mind it was 45 degrees and snakes are cold blooded. On the way to shoot the snake Gage jumped the fence into his yard and then jumped back into our yard. He thought Gage was going to jump back into his yard so he killed him. "Sorry I had to shoot your dog." In the seven years Gage was on this earth he never bit anyone, never even tried.
My wife was at the back of the house, the dogs were not barking, when she heard a loud noise come from the back yard and went to check on the dogs. The little ones, Yorkshire Terriers, were at the door nervous and scared wanting back inside, but Gage was not there. She called for him, but for the first time in his life he did not obey. He couldn’t he was dying.
Looking at the crime scene Gage was dead on our side of the fence, shot through the neck, collar blown off, and blood everywhere. He died almost instantly and bled out on the spot from a one inch hole in his neck. He was shot at close quarters; the shotgun wadding did not separate from the shot before it entered Gage. Gage was burned from the blast. The fence was not hit from the blast. The only angle the wounds could have been made were for Gage to be standing, all four paws on the ground, and Mr. Stanfill kneeling at the fence and sticking the barrel of his shotgun through the fence and firing into my yard, into Gage. There were suspicious marks on the back side of his collar that lead me to believe either before or after Mr. Stanfill shot him he tried to pull Gage over the fence. No one gets that close to an animal they are scared of, they would shoot from a distance. The Sheriff’s Office issued Mr. Stanfill a summons for Animal Cruelty and told him to get his boat and pier off my property.
The rest off the 12th was a blur spent building a coffin, digging a grave, and laying him to rest. We answered over one hundred phone calls as the word spread to former troops and friend in far off places. Everyone wanted to know what happened to the lovable goofball that was always the center of attention. There was a lot of anger and tears all over the world. A lot for a dog, especially a vicious one, but Gage was no ordinary dog. He defiantly was not vicious.
To add insult to injury, Mr. Stanfill now claims he owns the land and will not move the boat or pier from my property. The sheriff is unable to do anything about the property dispute because they cannot decide the lines without a court order. The legal deed shows none of his property comes close to the lake. If I remove the items from my property I could be at fault. He is going to tie this up in legal fees that I can’t afford.
I have warned the neighbors on the other side of Mr. Stanfill to be careful. He has complained about their dogs as well. They said they have had numerous run-ins with him about their dogs.
I want him to pay for what he has done to Gage and my family. Don’t take that the wrong way I don’t want money just justice. My kids can’t sleep and my wife is a mess. My children want to move and I may have to get them counseling. What was a home is now a scary nightmare. If he will do this to an animal what would stop him from doing it to a human or child he does not like.
This morning I watched my wife let the little ones out and saw her cry at Gage’s grave. I stood there watching the scene from the backdoor not sure if they were safe to be out there. Worried about what might happen. No one should have to live this way. No one should have to die the way Gage did.
I want Justice.
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