Llama owner blames Portland police dog for livestock death

The case highlights a growing debate nationally over how law enforcement should respond when working dogs turn on their handlers or other animals.
As temperatures in Warren, Oregon, hit 99 degrees on July 25, 2022, Portland Police Officer Christopher Verbout brought his narcotics dog Stitch inside his home to help keep the animal cool.

Normally, and in accordance with the Portland Police Bureau canine unit’s standard operating procedures, Stitch was kept in a fenced-in kennel at Verbout’s home 20 miles north of Portland in Columbia County. That day, Verbout chose to make an exception.

According to a written statement Verbout later gave to the Portland Police Bureau, when his wife came inside, Stitch “pushed by my wife through the open front door and ran out of the house.”

Stitch is a Belgian Malinois, a breed of smart, loyal working dogs frequently used by police and military. Verbout told investigators he chased Stitch as she jumped a 6-foot-high fence, entered his neighbor Yvonne Pea’s property and pursued Oreo, Pea’s 14-year-old llama. Stitch chased Oreo over two more fences. The dog latched on multiple times, biting Oreo’s legs and clamping her jaws around Oreo’s neck, according to witnesses.