Rancher shoots man’s dog. Now Fresno County DA will sort out who’s at fault

The Fresno County Sheriff is referring trespassing charges to the District Attorney’s Office after a Clovis-area rancher shot a man’s dog Wednesday, because he believed the man’s animal was harassing his cattle.

While California law allows a livestock owner to shoot a dog or other animal if it is endangering his property, the dog’s owner, Beau Bjorkman, argued on a Facebook post that that the rancher overreacted. He sought animal cruelty charges against the rancher, who is not being named by the sheriff’s office.

The sheriff’s office initially agreed, but Thursday reversed course and filed against Bjorkman because he entered a locked gate. The rancher is also complaining to deputies that he is being demonized on social media for protecting his cattle.

It began near the 7000 block of East Copper Avenue, where Bjorkman admits he entered a locked gate since he knew the code, to let his dogs run. About 15 minutes later, he said the rancher drove up and expressed concern the animals were chasing his cows. Bjorkman said that he agreed to leave, but the rancher drove about 20 feet forward, pulled out a deer rifle, and shot the dog, then warning he would do the same to the other dog.

Sheriff’s spokesman Tony Botti said that there are calves on the property, heightening concerns that cattle frightened by Bjorkman’s dogs could trample the young animals. He said Bjorkman gained access to the property because of a former job, where he learned the combination.

The dispute took an added dimension after Bjorkman posted his story on Facebook, but Botti said that wasn’t a good thing.

“This is the ugly side of the Internet,” he said. “The dog owner is trying to shame this man and inciting a lot of hate from people who don’t know the story.”

This story was originally published December 3, 2020 at 3:03 PM.