Robert Northrop

Aloha,

I am starting this fundraiser on behalf on my dear friend Shannon Matson and the passing of her father Robert Northrop, after suffering devastating injuries from a dog attack.

While walking to a friend's home from his home in Ocean View Estates on the Big Island, Bob, as he was known to friends and family, was fatally wounded by 4 loose neighborhood dogs. As a life-long animal lover, the passing of Bob in this tragic way has been difficult for Shannon and her sister Anna to understand and accept.

Because of the nature of Bob's death, and the ongoing investigation, we are trying to prepare any resources needed for cremation costs, medical costs, possible lawyer fees for charges filed, and/or other possible unforseen costs that may arise from these sad circumstances.

Shannon is truly a giver herself, and is one the most selfless people I know. She regularly organizes and runs food drives for needy families and keiki, she ran for state house and is heavily involved in her community. Any help, in any capacity, is greatly appreciated.

Here is a little more about what Shannon had to say about her dad to the press:

"My sister and I are absolutely shocked and devastated to find out this news about our dad.

Our long-standing family joke is that Robert "Bob" Northrop has more lives than a cat, because he has survived catastrophic surfing accidents, construction accidents, car crashes, motorcycle crashes, and most recently last year- an electric bike crash into the lava fields in HOVE that hospitalized him at Queen's Medical for 3 weeks.

It is so tragic for him to finally meet his end in this way, especially as he is a life long animal lover and would frequently rescue strays. He was born in Connecticut where he and my mom met and went off to explore the world together.

One quick story that shows both the nature of his spontaneity and his passion for doing good for others is that he was prompted to move to the islands and help rebuild Kauai after hearing a news story about the destruction from hurricane ‘Iwa. He has a background in glass work and construction and has always been good at building things. He also worked for the County of Hawai'i for many years as an inspector for DPW.

Once he arrived on Hawai’i island in the late 80's he knew he never wanted to live any where else and lived in many locations in Kona and ended up living in Oceanview after my parents divorced in 2005. 

While we don’t know all of the details yet, our family is committed to making sure that the dog owners are held accountable and we will be doing everything in our power to stop this sort of tragedy from happening to anyone else on our island home.

There is a huge over population of unwanted and stray dogs and we want to see all animals treated with compassion and also all residents to feel safe walking and biking in their neighborhoods. While our County has recently enacted stricter laws on animal control issues we are hoping that they will truly be enforced by our officers and upheld in court to prevent future loss of life or injury."

Mahalo, mahalo, mahalo for reading and your kindness. Please share this story if able.

-Aleui, on behalf on Shannon and Anna.