CROOKED RIVER RANCH – Before heading into her house after school one recent afternoon, Kayley Rogers, 12, made sure to scoop up her black and white cat, Bugsy, from the porch.

Kayley and her family – who own three cats, two dogs and a rabbit – take special precautions with their animals now.

Since late October, residents of Crooked River Ranch, an unincorporated community 4,000-strong in south Jefferson County, have been calling 911 with reports of domestic animals that have been shot or that became suddenly ill and died of unknown causes.

A reward that began with $200 to anyone with information leading to an arrest has climbed to $5,000 – the majority of which is from victims’ neighbors.

Bethany Ball, 15, almost lost her 3-year-old cat, Kiara, to a 22-gauge bullet in late October. The animal was saved, but a back leg had to be amputated.

The family’s other cat, which disappeared a couple days earlier, has not returned.

It is unclear just how many animals have been harmed on properties in and around the Crater Loop neighborhood. According to Jefferson County sheriff’s records, at least four dogs have been shot, two fatally; several cats have been shot, at least one fatally; one pet duck was shot and killed; and at least one pet rabbit was shot and killed.

In addition, at least two dogs, one cat and three rabbits have died of mysterious causes. Most of those animals exhibited symptoms related to poisoning prior to their deaths, according to their owners.

The Humane Society of Redmond has kept only informal notes in the case, and the Sheriff’s Office did not begin taking reports until Jan. 7.

Sheriff Sgt. Ervey Dominguez said there have been many ”persons of interest” in the case but that no strong suspect has emerged.

A lack of clear, tangible information from authorities, residents say, has only heightened their anxiety.

Sheriff’s Deputy Melody Zistel, who was assigned to the case in January, said she and Humane Society investigator Carl Quigley had canvassed key neighborhoods together.

”The neighbors all know what’s been going on,” she said. ”We’ve been going door to door.”

But Bethany’s mother, Tonia Ball, said neither agency has kept her abreast of findings in the case.

”No one’s taking any initiative or letting us know what’s going on,” she said.

Miscommunication

No single list of affected animals and their owners appears to exist.

A partial list from the Redmond Humane Society represents six incidents that occurred prior to the Sheriff’s Office involvement.

The single sheet of notebook paper includes victims’ names, contact information, dates and whether the pets died.

Much of the information is erroneous, according to the pets’ owners.

But it is the only written record the Sheriff’s Office has received from the Redmond Humane Society, according to Dominguez.

Sheriff Jack Jones said that the Humane Society took on the case in October without any participation from his agency.

In January, pet owners began to call his office.

Since then, he said, ”we’ve been trying to coordinate with them.”

”We’re two agencies trying to work together,” said Dominguez, ”and we’re struggling.”

A ”lack of communication” between the agencies, Quigley said, has made the investigation less than cohesive.

He said he sent more complete records to the Sheriff’s Office last week, but Dominguez said no such records have been received.

The apparent randomness of the incidents has not helped either agency piece together its investigation.

Dominguez and Zistel both said they have heard secondhand about a number of additional pet incidents.

But they cannot confirm or investigate because the pet owners themselves did not make reports.

Some of the pets have been shot or otherwise harmed during the day and others, after dark.

And the weapon is not always the same.

Close calls

In the majority of shootings at the ranch, according to sheriff’s records, a high-powered pellet gun appears to have been used.

But Clifford Bidwell cannot conclusively determine what caused the ”pellet-sized hole” he found in his dog’s right front foot Jan. 12.

Bidwell, 52, said he’d let his mixed-breed dog, Jake – ”a lovable shy little dog who likes to sit by the gate and watch people go by” – into his fenced yard, as usual. But when Jake returned, Bidwell said, ”he was limping really bad.”

The dog has since recovered.

But Bidwell said a lack of information from the Sheriff’s Office has created deep anxiety among pet owners in his neighborhood.

”Rumors can get out of hand,” he said. ”We’re not impressed with the way things are being handled.”

”The guy who’s doing this is still out there and we’re all very nervous,” said Vicki Fields, whose dog, Koko, almost lost his life after he was shot in Fields’ front yard Jan. 6 ”in broad daylight.”

Fields told Quigley, and later, Zistel, that she had been in the backyard when she heard a shot and a yelp.

”I looked around but didn’t see anyone,” she said.

The incident occurred one week after a neighbor’s Jack Russell terrier had been found lying dead in a ditch. That dog had been shot in the chest.

Koko, Fields’ 4-year-old Pomeranian, underwent surgery to repair ruptures in his intestines, apparently caused by a pellet gun.

The pellet passed through the dog’s intestine and lodged in his pelvis. Removing it would have been too dangerous, so it remains lodged there, Fields said.

”We didn’t know for a few days if he would make it,” Fields said.

Koko is now back to riding in the cargo hold of Fields’ kayak when she goes out fly-fishing.

”He’s a lucky dog,” Fields said.

Getting the word out

Koko’s lucky owner initially put up fliers in her neighborhood advertising a $200 reward for information about the recent shootings.

The Humane Society of the United States has since pledged $2,000 for information about the incidents at Crooked River Ranch. Quigley said other neighbors then came forward to offer reward money.

Fields also compiled a newsletter titled, Koko’s Club. The newsletter tells the story of her dog’s shooting and encourages ”kindness to animals for kids of all ages.”

The idea, Fields said, is to educate children about animal abuse and encourage them to keep an eye out for abusers.

Fields suspects it is a child or teenager who is targeting the animals.

”We need to get that person some help,” she said.

Shooting is not the only means by which pets have been harmed on the ranch.

Robert Randis, 66, feels certain his cat Reggie died from ingesting rat poison.

Randis said his previously healthy, 9-year-old cat ”never wandered far.” But on Feb. 23, when he found his pet just outside the house ”moping around,” he became concerned. The cat began bleeding from the mouth.

Randis gave his pet some water, but ”he practically fell in the water bowl – he was so weak.”

Soon afterward, Reggie yowled a few times.

”Then I heard the air, and he just died,” Randis said.

”We lost our little pet,” he said. ”And when they’ve been around a long time, they’re practically like family.”

”You just want to cry,” said Ball of the cat her daughter almost lost, ”but then it makes you so angry.”

”It could be anybody doing this,” said Kayley, after checking to make sure her pets were all safely indoors. ”You’ve got to keep an eye out.”