An Anchorage couple say reckless behavior on a Kenai beach is responsible for the death of their service dog, who was hit by a speeding ATV last week. Daniel Charlie Cortes had traveled from Anchorage to dipnet when two-year old Juana was struck.
Cortes remembers Juana, a mixed breed rescue with black fur, as well behaved and attentive. Cortes has a medical condition that makes him lose consciousness. Juana was trained to alert him before an episode, wake him up after losing consciousness and seek help from others if needed.
“This dog was the most perfect dog,” Cortes said Friday. “It was in her nature.”
Kenai limits ATVs to 10 miles per hour when driven near people. Cortes said he didn’t see law enforcement patrolling the area when Juana was killed, and while a friend spoke with police, officers didn’t arrive before he took Juana to the veterinarian.
“Definitely in situations like with Kenai Beach and Kasilof Beach, where there’s a lot of dipnetters and a lot of movement, I think it’s hard when there’s no enforcement,” he said. “It’s like the Wild West.”
Although Kenai's personal use fishery is managed by the state, the City of Kenai helps facilitate day-to-day operations on fishing grounds inside city limits. That includes seasonal enforcement by the Kenai Police Department. Police Chief Dave Ross said Tuesday his department hires five extra officers each summer specifically to patrol the fishery. They're the ones who write parking tickets and check fishing permits. They're also in charge of monitoring how fast ATVs, dune buggies and other beach vehicles are traveling.
Ross said no charges were against the driver of the ATV in this case, but he’s asked Kenai’s seasonal officers to more closely monitor beach traffic. Ross said the department annually assesses how it can improve safety in the busy summer months.
Claire Cortes, Daniel’s wife, said Juana’s tragedy could happen to anyone. Next time, she says it could be a person who gets hit.
Claire is a born-and-bred Alaskan. She said reckless behavior on the beach threatens what makes summer fishing in Alaska so special.
“We, as a community in Alaska, need to help protect one another,” she said. “And, if we do see somebody acting recklessly or somebody driving when they shouldn’t be, things like that, it’s important to speak up.”
Since Juana’s death, Daniel and Claire have experienced an outpouring of support. They’re asking people who want to help to donate to Kenai Peninsula Animal Lovers – the rescue organization that brought them Juana exactly two years and one day before she died. Daniel described the experience as poetic – the same veterinarians who treated Juana the day she died also took care of her as a puppy before she was adopted. And he said they’re grateful to see the community love Juana as much as he and Claire did.
As Cortes goes through the process of finding and training a new service dog, he hopes her story will be an enduring call for vigilance when Alaskans take to the beach each summer.
