Therapy goats on the mend following dog attack

Farming for the Future Academy at the Montana Veterans Home in Columbia Falls is a quiet and peaceful place where young and old folks can receive therapy from animals.

But on Saturday, Aug. 21, it was the site of a dog attack by two huskies on the goats that live there. While some of the animals were severely injured, none were killed and they appear to be healing well.

The dogs’ owner has paid for the veterinarian bills and said he has made efforts to make sure the canines don’t get loose again.

Sherry Lewis-Peterson began the academy in 2013. The working farm and school features an educational program for children with autism and other learning disabilities.

A paved path helps veterans get to park benches where they can watch the animals, including pigs, a llama, a burro and sheep.

The farm also produced 1 ton of fruit and vegetables in 2020 that was donated to the state Veterans Home as well as the veterans food pantry and others in need.

But the attack in August has Lewis-Peterson seeking a better way to house her animals.

“People may think it’s no big deal, but these goats aren’t just an average pet. They have another purpose,” Lewis-Peterson said.

Her goal now is to buy a low profile barn where the farm animals can be kept at night to keep them safe.

“We have many programs so all may be involved that need us, but with the recent attack on our animals we are not able to continue programming without a safe place for them at night,” Lewis-Peterson said.

She said one of the volunteers who works at the farm saw the attack.

“The dogs dug under two fences to get to the goats,” Lewis-Peterson said. “It was really awful. One had to have several staples to its genitals and back, another had injuries to its throat and a third had its ear torn off.”

According to a Columbia Falls police report, the witness who saw the attack said he walks in the area nearly every day and hadn’t seen the two dogs in the area before.

The next day, Sunday, Aug. 22, a Columbia Falls officer was called to the area after Lewis-Peterson’s husband, Chris Peterson, saw the dogs inside the fence.

“I observed the two dogs attempting to climb through the fence to exit the garden,” officer Vincent Smith wrote in his report. “As I approached the dogs from the other side of the fence, the dogs stopped and allowed me to pet them. The dogs stayed sitting for a couple of minutes before a lead could be retrieved and put on the dogs.”

Smith said he didn’t have any problems with the animals while he took them to the police department for food and water before a trip to the county animal shelter.

Detective Gary Denham learned the dogs belonged to Columbia Falls resident Jamie James.

James told the Daily Inter Lake he has paid for the vet bills of the injured animals and he had apologized for what happened.

“I was out of town when the dogs dug under our fence and got loose,” James said. “My wife was busy with the kids when it happened.

“It’s just so unfortunate it happened,” James said. “I paid all the vet bills and I know it was a very traumatic thing for their animals and I’m sorry for what took place.”

James said he has taken steps to make sure the dogs didn’t get loose again.

James was cited for dogs running at large and vicious dogs.

Lewis-Peterson has organized a GoFundMe account at https://www.gofundme.com/f/farm-without-a-safe-barn?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1 to help raise money for the new barn.

“We just want people to control their animals,” Lewis-Peterson said.

Scott Shindledecker may be reached at 758-4441 or sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com.