Two of the three dogs rescued May 1, 2024, near Tipton Summit after being abandoned near the mountain pass the previous day. The two remaining dogs were rescued on May 7.

Dick Haines peered into the culvert beside a forest road and wondered if he had found the last two abandoned dogs still missing in the snowy woods about 40 miles southwest of Baker City.

One pair of eyes glowed in the gloom.

Then a second pair.

The ordeal wasn’t quite over, but nearly so.

A couple hours later, on the evening of Tuesday, May 7, Haines and Deputy Matt Rosin of the Baker County Sheriff’s Office were driving to Baker City with the two dogs safely ensconced in cages.

Those two, along with three other dogs, were abandoned near Tipton Summit, along Highway 7, a week or so earlier.

A local couple rescued three of the dogs on May 1.

But the two others had proved elusive over the next week despite the efforts of Haines and others.

He returned to the area on six of seven days, including Tuesday, to search.

The search starts

The incident started on April 30 when a Forest Service employee, Morgan Solomon, saw five dogs near Tipton Summit and reported the sighting.

The 5,124-foot pass is the highest point on Highway 7.

Haines, who lives near Baker City, works with New Hope for Eastern Oregon Animals and has rescued dogs for many years, said he started searching on May 1 after receiving a phone call from another Forest Service employee, Dan Story.

(Haines is a retired Forest Service official.)

On May 1, Haines said he and Sumir Brown of Best Friends of Baker, another local animal rescue organization, found tracks of five dogs in snow near Patrick Creek.

Megan Kendall, another Best Friends volunteer, also joined Haines on one day.

On Tuesday, May 7, Haines said he made the now-familiar 40-mile drive to Tipton to resume the search.

He was driving on the 1040 road when he saw a culvert that he hadn’t previously checked.

As he knelt on the cold, wet ground, around 3 p.m., he saw what he thought was the glow of eyes.

“I had no idea if it was a coyote or a pup,” Haines said.

Eventually one of the dogs crept to the culvert’s opening.

Haines had dog treats and enticed the dog to gobble the food. But he ran out of treats before he could secure either dog.

Haines said his cellphone was dead, so he decided to drive the 10 miles to Austin Junction, the nearest store, to try to buy food.

On the way, near the Middle Fork of the John Day River, he saw a Forest Service vehicle parked beside the highway.

He stopped, hoping the employee could use a radio to alert the sheriff’s office that Haines had found the two dogs.

The employee not only made the radio call, but when he learned of the dogs’ plight, he offered Haines the turkey sandwich from his own lunch.

“It takes a village to make positive things happen,” Haines said.

He continued to Austin Junction, but the store was closed so he drove another 15 miles to Prairie City, where he bought dog food.

When Haines returned to the 1040 Road, Deputy Rosin was there and ready to help.

They worked together to lure the dogs from the culvert.

Haines lauded Rosin’s efforts.

“He radiated kindness to dogs,” Haines said. “They trusted him.”

They returned to Baker City around 6:30 p.m., Haines said.

He said the dogs, which he described as “young adult” age and “medium” size, were fortunate to survive for more than a week during which snow fell on several days and the temperature dropped below freezing.

He said it was “horrible” to imagine the animals in the cold, dark woods for so long.

Haines said the dogs were of mixed breed. He said he detected border collie, hound and Australian shepherd among the breeds.

Haines, who works with inmates at Powder River Correctional Facility in Baker City who train rescued dogs for adoptions, said some of the five dogs from Tipton could join that program, known as Powder Pals.

A Baker City man, 29-year-old Joseph Wallace Berkheimer, has been charged with animal abandonment for leaving the dogs in the mountains southwest of Baker City in late April.

The rescued dogs will be evaluated by a veterinarian, and more charges are possible against Berkheimer, according to the sheriff’s office.

A Baker City man has been charged with animal abandonment for leaving five dogs in the mountains southwest of Baker City in late April.

Joseph Wallace Berkheimer, 29, was cited for the offense.

All five dogs were rescued, three on May 1 and two on May 7.

The dogs were abandoned near Tipton Summit, along Highway 7 about 40 miles southwest of Baker City.

According to a press release from the Baker County Sheriff’s Office, this is the second time Berkheimer has abandoned dogs this year.

During the investigation, a police dispatcher recognized the dogs rescued from the Tipton Summit area from photos from a February incident in which people recreating near Virtue Flat, about 6 miles east of Baker City, found six dogs. Berkheimer told police he had been exercising the dogs, which belonged to him, when they chased a deer.

The sheriff’s office posted on its Facebook page in February that a deputy had reunited the dogs with their owner.

Based on that incident, Sheriff Travis Ash contacted Berkheimer regarding the dogs abandoned near Tipton Summit. The sheriff determined that Berkheimer had left the dogs there.

According to the press release, based on an Oregon law that determines whether people cited can be held in jail, Berkheimer does not meet the requirements. He was cited and released.

The rescued dogs will be evaluated by a veterinarian, and more charges are possible against Berkheimer, according to the sheriff’s office.