Dog Trainer To Seattle's Famous Presumed Murdered

GENE JOHNSON

ANACORTES, Wash. (AP) — Mark Stover was the Pacific Northwest's dog-trainer-to-the-stars. He taught obedience to the pets of Pearl Jam and 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 but believed he had moved on and was engaged to another woman when he disappeared.

"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."