Man charged in slaying of West Side dog trainer
Victim worked with pets of Northwest celebrities
ANACORTES, Wash. – Mark Stover was the Pacific Northwest’s dog trainer to the stars. He taught obedience to the pets of Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz and Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki. He also trained his own dog, Dingo, for protection.
But when Stover’s killer came last month, there was nothing Dingo could do. She was shot in the face, and when deputies arrived, the only signs of her master were smears of blood in a downstairs bedroom and hallway.
Investigators have yet to find Stover’s body, but prosecutors have charged his ex-wife’s boyfriend with murder in a case that may have stemmed from their divorce two years ago.
Stover’s friends said they knew little about the breakup.
“We never talked about that – just about the dogs,” said Anacortes police animal control officer Marie Padovan. “Dogs that were uncontrollable would go to Mark and they could be controlled. It’s a big loss for all of us dog people.”
Stover, 57, and ex-wife Linda Opdycke, 45, opened Island Dog Adventures in the early 1990s on an island her wealthy family owned 55 miles north of Seattle. Opdycke’s father was a founder of Washington’s biggest winery, Chateau Ste. Michelle.
The kennel offered massages, pedicures, a raw-meat diet and weight-loss programs. The dogs roamed the island freely. Clients included Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder; former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic; Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell; moviemaker Cameron Crowe and his wife, singer Nancy Wilson of the ’70s group Heart; and Costco CEO Jim Sinegal. Suzuki brought his Shiba Inu there.
When Opdycke filed for divorce, Stover refused to hire a lawyer, claiming he didn’t need to go through anyone else to deal with someone he loved. They agreed on dividing their assets.
In early 2008, Opdycke took out a restraining order against Stover, accusing him of harassment. She said he showed up at her home uninvited and a neighbor had caught him going through her garbage, for which he was arrested.
On Oct. 28, a neighbor reported a trespassing at a Grange hall a half-mile from Stover’s house. Two cars were parked out back – one was Stover’s, and the other belonged to Opdycke’s boyfriend, Michiel Oakes, authorities said. The neighbor reported that a man by the cars – Oakes, it turned out – had a large piece of plastic.
A deputy later saw Oakes’ car and pulled him over. The deputy noted dog hair on his sleeve and piles of blankets in the back.
The next morning, Stover’s fiancee reported him missing. At the house, his employees found Dingo, a Belgian malinois, bleeding profusely from gunshot wounds. The dog is recovering.
A sheriff’s deputy found Oakes and Opdycke at her home. Oakes asked to go outside and then threw a plastic bag containing a .22-caliber pistol over an embankment, authorities said. He was also carrying a 9 mm pistol.
Investigators have not said whether they believe Opdycke was involved.