Hi, My name is Sherry Kidwell and I am doing a memorial page for Gage Anthony Burke.  A family companion who was shot and killed point blank in the heart on March 12, 2008 by thier neighbor Ray Stanfill. Gage's family is like a second family to me and since day one it is one nightmare after another. I and Gage's family want to thank all of our supporters. A big thank you to the over 9,500 signatures on the Petition that I started. (This petition was a big help in court and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. It has been a very rough 7 months and to me there isn't any form of punishment that could be harsh enough for what this man has done to my friends...He took a very precious family member from them. Gage was a son, a brother and a friend to so many and I wish everyday that I had the power to bring Gage back to this wonderful family but we all know that is not possible. So, we fight in Gage's honor and memory..We fight for the life that no one had the right to take away...And we forever hold Gage in our hearts, for when it is all said and done, no one can take away the memories..Not even Ray Stanfill!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you very much
Sherry Kidwell

In Loving Memory of Gage Anthony Burke (Gage's Memorial that I did)

Gage's Story (Written by Britt Burke- Gage's Daddy)

March 12, 2008 was a cool morning (45 degrees) as I drank my coffee on the way to work. Peaceful and calm, with what should have been a great day. The phone rang and my world exploded. My wife was babbling and screaming incoherently into the phone "Gage is dead". "Gage has been shot.

Shortly after I left for work, my wife had let our Yorkies and Gage out for a quick "potty" break. My wife was at the back of the house when she heard a loud noise come from the back yard. She immediately ran to the back door but Gage was not there. The Yorkies were standing at the door frantically trying to get inside. You could see the awful look of fear in their eyes. She opened the door and yelled for Gage, but for the first time in his life he did not obey. He could not...for he was dying. (Keep in mind, our backyard is over an acre-fenced in)

Where to start? Gage came into our life seven years ago. Newly married and having almost grown children from previous marriages we found the house was getting quite (despite our loving Yorkies) so we talked and decided that we wanted to add another dog to our family. We were deploying overseas and I work nights mostly and I wanted my wife to feel safe. So precious little Gage came into our lives. Gage was not just a "dog" or just a "pitbull" to us. He loved everyone; cats, puppies, bunnies and kids. He made friends easy. He would endure great pain from a small child "as long as he was the center of attention" he was happy.

Gage was about two months old when we moved to the Azore Islands in Portugal. We worked so hard at teaching him proper social skills. We made sure that he knew what "NO" meant and we always had him in large groups so that he would be used to being around people. A stranger was never a stranger as long as he knew we approved. He was taught what his boundaries were, where he could and could not go. The house in Portugal had a three foot high wall and Gage never left the yard unless he was told he could and then he was on a leash. He never showed any interest in trying to escape the safety of our backyard. By the time he was six months old I knew my family was safe while I was at the base.

Gage traveled the world with us. He loved everywhere he went. Gage was an adopted brother to my troops and companion to my friends when they were lonely. The cable guy even loved him. He was loved by everyone who knew him except one person, my neighbor.

Ray Stanfill, the neighbor who had a tree cut across my fence and did not fix it. Ray Stanfill, the neighbor who asked for permission to keep his boat on my property because he did not have access to the lake. Ray Stanfill, the neighbor who asked for permission to build a small fishing pier on my land which I had no problem letting him. It was later that I learned that Ray Stanfill, overheard by my brother in-law, taunted Gage on many occasions telling him (Gage) that he was going to shoot him if he did not stop barking.

Mr. Stanfill's story for the day he murdered Gage was that he had seen a snake on his property and went to get his shotgun to shoot it. Keep in mind it was 45 degrees and snakes are cold blooded. On the way to shoot the snake he say's that Gage jumped the fence into his yard and then jumped back into our yard. He said that he was "scared" that Gage was going to jump back into his yard so he shot him. "Sorry I had to shoot your dog." was all he said to us "after" he came back outside when he saw me home. Gage had never attempted to jump our fence. In the seven years Gage was on this earth he never bit anyone, never even tried.

Looking at the crime scene, Gage was dead on our side of the fence, shot through the neck, collar blown off and blood was everywhere. He did not die instantly, for my wife was holding him, trying to stop the bleeding as he breathed his last breath. He was shot at close quarters; the shotgun wadding did not separate from the shot before it entered Gage. Gage was burned from the blast. The fence was not hit from the blast. The only angle the wounds could have been made were for Gage to be standing, all four paws on the ground and Mr. Stanfill kneeling at the fence sticking the barrel of his shotgun through the fence and firing into my yard, into Gage. There were suspicious marks on the back side of his collar that led me to believe either before or after Mr. Stanfill shot him he tried to pull Gage over the fence to his yard to try to prove his story that Gage had jumped the fence. No one gets that close to an animal that they are "scared" of. They would shoot from a distance. The Sheriff's Office issued Mr. Stanfill a summons for Animal Cruelty and told him to get his boat and pier off my property.

The rest off the 12th was a blur spent building a coffin, digging a grave, and laying Gage to rest. We answered over one hundred phone calls as the word spread to former troops and friend in far off places. Everyone wanted to know what happened to the lovable goofball that was always the center of attention. There was a lot of anger and tears all over the world. A lot for a dog, especially a pitbull, but Gage was no ordinary dog to us. He did not have a mean bone in his body.

To add insult to injury, Mr. Stanfill now claims he owns the land and will not move the boat or pier from my property. The sheriff is unable to do anything about the property dispute because they cannot decide the lines without a court order. The legal deed shows none of his property comes close to the lake. If I remove the items from my property I could be at fault. He is going to tie this up in legal fees that I can not afford.

I have warned the neighbors on the other side of Mr. Stanfill to be careful. He has complained about their dogs as well. They said they have had numerous run-ins with him about their dogs.

I want him to pay for what he has done to Gage and my family. Don't take that the wrong way. I don't want money. We only want to see the right thing done. My kids can't sleep and my wife is a mess. My children want to move and I may have to get them counseling. What was a home is now a scary nightmare. If he will do this to an animal what would stop him from doing it to a human or child he does not like.

This morning I watched my wife let the little ones (Yorkies) out and saw her cry at Gage's grave. I stood there watching the scene from the backdoor not sure if they were safe to be out there. Worried about what might happen. No one should have to live this way. No one should have to die the way Gage did.

Hi, my name is Hailey Beth Kidwell. You can call me "Hey Hey" or "Who Who"or "Hailey Who" which is my daddies favorite. I don't know why my mommie and daddy gave me a name and they rarely ever use it..But that's ok..I remember the first time I say my potential "to be mommie".  It was on August 31, 2007 and I was living with my other brothers and sisters in this small cage with nothing but pee and poo and a huge mud hole. I am very big into being "clean" and I hated my home. They wouldnt even let my furry mommie in the same cage with us. That mad me sad. 

Anywhoo's, when I saw this lady with blond hair pull into the driveway I stood real tall and proud. I so wanted a new mommie and daddy because the ones I had barely fed me and never let me out that cage. They were not good to me at all. I often times wondered why I was even born. 

Then there she was.  My heart pounded really hard and fast. I felt the hair on my neck moving. I didn't know what was going on with my body but I knew that I like the feeling and this pretty new lady made me feel funny things.  I watched as she walked up to our "cage"  and I tried to look like such a good girl but I have to admit I was so happy when she reached down and picked me up, I didn't mean to but I wee wee'd on her a little. I was so scared she was gonna throw me back in that cage like my daddy did so many times. Sometimes I hurt my back or one of my legs when he did that.  I looked into this ladies eyes and it was no look I had ever seen. She looked at me and said "Don't worry girl,  I'm going to take you away from this awful place and am gonna take care of you forever".  I costed her $100.00 and she paid that mean man and we left. I don't know what a backyard breeder is but my new mommie kept saying that's where I came from. I don't think its a good place because I was always hungry and me and my brothers and sisters were left all alone for days. I heard that bad mom got in trouble with something called Animal Control and they took my fur mommie and brothers and sisters away from him.  My mommie doesn't know that I know that she called about how I was living. She wanted to save my family and this was the only way she knew. She told me they all went to wonderful new mommies and daddies like me. It was then that I knew that I had a very special Mommie and I never ever wanted to hurt her and I wouldn't let anyone else hurt her. She saved my  life and she tells me so much that "I saved her life." That I was her "little angel."  I loved her so much from that day on and promised myself that "I was going to make sure she knew she was special every single day of her life". I also got really lucky because my new mommie, Mrs. Sherry, never leaves me alone. She is home with me and if she goes anywhere she takes me with her.  Is is possible that she might know that I love her so much. Could she tell that by the way I give her "love kisses" every single day...or by he way I know when she is down and I stay right by her side, kissing away her tears as they are falling.  I don't ever give up till my mommie smiles.  I love her so much...