Chickaloon dog lot cleared out

Frontiersman reporter

Dog houses, chains, water buckets and other accessories were piled on a trailer and flatbed truck as dog caretakers Tammy and Larry Eaker checked over a diagram listing where the 22 dogs being hauled away were placed in three Mat-Su Borough Animal Care and Regulation trucks.

These 22 dogs were the remainder of what had been a lot nearly 70 dogs strong. The dogs were collected over several years by Anice Williams, Larry's mother. Williams was convicted in August by a jury in U.S. District Court as one member of a six-member counterfeiting ring. According to information from U.S. Assistant District Attorney Joe Bettine, she was sentenced in April to 41 months for one charge of conspiracy to commit counterfeiting and one charge of transferring counterfeit notes. Williams is now serving her sentence in Carswell Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas.

After Williams' August conviction, the Eakers worked with Williams to reduce the size of her dog lot to a more manageable level. Whittled down to 22 dogs, the Eakers had set up a schedule and were making the nearly 100-mile round trip from their home off Knik-Goose Bay Road every day but Monday and Thursday, they said -- and were taking classes as a family on those two days. On those days, they said, they left the dogs with extra water and food or arranged for someone else to feed and water the dogs. But Animal Care and Regulation officers received calls that the dogs were neglected, being left without food and water for three to four days.

"It was an ongoing investigation," Chief Animal Care and Regulation Officer David Allison said Friday. "The problem was the family's ability to care for them and the complaints mounting against them … There were mounting care issues. We worked with the family and came to the realization that the best thing would be to bring [the dogs] to the borough and find them homes."

Although the Eakers said they never neglected the dogs or never left them go without food three days in a row, there were two times, they said, that the dogs missed a day's worth of food. And without the funds it would take -- $6,000, Larry Eaker said -- to pay fines and rectify the situation, the couple decided to take home the dogs they could and turn the rest over to the borough in hopes they'd be adopted. Although taking care of the dogs in Chickaloon cost the family both time and money -- they went through four vehicles, all of which expired with overworked odometers, not to mention the cost in gasoline of driving from south of Wasilla to Chickaloon on a daily basis -- they said they'd have been happy to continue.

"When it comes to love, you don't count the cost," Tammy Eaker said.

Allison said Friday the dogs were checked over by a veterinary technician to ensure they were in good health, and their temperament will be evaluated to see if they're adoptable. Some of those that are adoptable, Allison said, will be placed in the outdoor pens at the shelter to reduce crowding inside the kennel area.

"We'll hold them as long as possible," Allison said. As an added incentive, he said, the shelter is waiving the adoption fee for the dogs, a $20 discount. That means the dogs can go home for $67.50, $30 of which is refundable upon proof of their spaying or neutering.

The Eakers are praying each dog finds a home -- and are asking others to pray for the same outcome. They're good dogs, Tammy Eaker said, and others who have taken animals from their lot have had good results.

"Most have gone to single-dog homes," Eaker said. "People call back and say they're wonderful dogs … These are not abused and neglected dogs -- they're fat; they're happy."

Eaker said those who adopt one of their dogs are encouraged to get in contact with them. In addition to taking a dog house and possibly other items that followed the dogs to the shelter, she said, the family would like to help out with dog food. And because they've kept track of where all the other dogs have gone, she said, they'd like to know where the dogs end up.

To cover the costs of supplying adopting families with dog food, the Eakers said they're hoping to sell what they can from Williams' property. A nest of junked cars, assorted car parts and myriad other items are all for sale, Tammy Eaker said, and they're motivated to sell. Flyers should be appearing around the Valley advertising some of the items for sale, and those interested are welcome to call and ask what's available. The Eakers can be reached at 357-6839. For more information about the dogs, contact the Animal Care and Regulation shelter at 746-5500.