SPANISH FORK — Dozens of prize-winning purebred sheep are dead after they were hit by a train after being chased to the tracks by a dog.
Jim Jensen, one of four people who own the group of sheep, said eight of the 132 sheep in the flock are still alive. Thirteen immediately survived the accident but five have since died as the result of injuries.
"There's a couple more of those — two more at least — that I'm not sure will make it," said Jensen.
The accident soured the holidays for the owners, who together have been raising the registered Suffolk and Hampshire sheep for about 20 years.
Many farmers raise Suffolk and Hampshire sheep for meat, but the Spanish Fork owners entered the animals in livestock shows and sold them to 4-H and Future Farmers of America clubs, which also show them at livestock shows.
It would cost up to $1,300 to replace each of the sheep, said Jensen, who works for Utah State University's extension service in Provo.
The sheep, many of which were pregnant, were in a fenced area on Jensen's property on the night of the accident, he said. A dog owned by a resident in west Spanish Fork started to chase them.
To get away from the dog, the sheep ran through an electric fence, then onto nearby Union Pacific railroad tracks. They were hit about 9:45 p.m.
"We got home from a piano recital and had a message on the answering machine that a dog had been chasing the sheep and they got out," Jensen said.
Just seconds after hearing the answering-machine message, a neighbor called Jensen and said one of the sheep had been hit by a train. Jensen went outside and met a police officer who had also been called by a neighbor.
"We looked through the fields there and we started looking down the tracks and found more and more," Jensen said.
The sheep were strewn about 800 yards down the tracks, Jensen said.
The hound dog that chased the sheep was still in the area. The police officer allowed the sheep owners to shoot it, Jensen said. "You're responsible to take care of your own dog, to make sure it's tied or kenneled and not bother others," he said.
Among the ewes that were killed were 15 from Iowa, whose owner wanted them to breed with the Spanish Fork flock. All the pregnant sheep were due to start lambing on Jan. 22. Lambing lasts through the spring, Jensen said.
A few of Jensen's other sheep had already given birth and were in another field. They never left the property, and Jensen's children still attend to them morning and night, he said.
"You hate to see that happen with anything," Jensen said. "When you're that involved with the herd, that really gets to you."
Jensen spent most of the last week talking with the other sheep owners and representatives from Union Pacific. Questions also remain about the liability of the dog's owner.
"That's a mess over there," he said. "They're going to come tomorrow (Wednesday) to clean it up. Rightly so, they don't want us cleaning up on the tracks."
Jensen and the other owners are awaiting claim forms from Union Pacific. They hope to get some money from the railroad, Jensen said.
Jensen does not know his immediate plans, but he assumes that he will slowly rebuild the group of sheep. "It is their (Union Pacific's) responsibility to keep the tracks fenced and cattle guard in front of them," Jensen said.
A spokesman with the Omaha, Neb.-based railroad said the incident is still under investigation. "Typically, we do not have fences on our property," said Mark Davis, spokesman for Union Pacific. "Usually, responsibility for maintenance of these fences is that of the property owner."
E-mail: lhancock@desnews.com