Animal lover. Family provider. Budding entrepreneur. Practical joker.
Curtice Gordon was that and more to the people that loved him. The 23-year-old manager for Kraftwerk K9 in Rochester had found his calling training and caring for dogs, and was even preparing to take over the business.
On June 3, Gordon died when his boss, Wayne Curry, owner of Kraftwerk K9, shot him in the face during the filming of a video advertisement.
Curry faces one count of first-degree manslaughter. According to the affidavit of probable cause filed in Thurston County Superior Court, Curry denied having intentions to hurt Gordon.
A trial confirmation is currently set for Feb. 26, 2026.
When interviewed by detectives, Curry allegedly stated he was trying to show why someone should get a dog instead of a gun, and that the dog could be trained to not react to gunfire.
Instead, Curry took the life of a promising young employee.
Much has been written about the way Curtice Gordon died. The details will remain important during the course of Curry's impending trial and any further investigations that could bring justice for Gordon's family.
Makaela Hearn, Gordon’s 17-year-old sister, wants people to remember how Gordon lived.
“He was literally the most innocent 23-year-old man you’d probably ever meet,” Hearn told The Chronicle on Sept. 2.
Both Hearn and Gordon’s fianceé, Leira Wilson, described Gordon as shy, at least initially.
“But when he talks to customers, it just goes away, and it's so weird because I never imagined him like that,” Hearn said. “He was always so shy and to himself, and likes to be home. And then you would hear him on the phone with a customer, and he just had this professional voice.”
Gordon's passion revolved around his work with animals. And it wasn’t limited to dogs, either.
“He'd always bring home, like, quail or turkeys or chickens,” Hearn said. “Ducks, anything.”
He’d go to great lengths to protect them, too, according to Hearn and Wilson. Even if it involved something as offputting as an open septic tank.
“If you ask someone if they had a nickel for every time they jumped into an open septic system to save a small animal, Curtice would have 10 cents,” Wilson joked. “He had done it once at Kraftwerk. They were doing what they call puppy runs, and it's just where they let all the puppies out and then they run around and have their toys and they get a video of all the puppies running together. One of the puppies ran into a septic cap and flipped it open, and then a puppy was right behind it and just fell in.”
Luckily, Gordon was right behind the little ones. He dove in and rescued the submerged puppy, which was no longer so golden anymore. On another occasion, Gordon performed a similar feat to save three ducks after they fell into the family’s open septic system while it was being worked on.
Gordon had a humorous side, too, which included a slight penchant for mischief. One day while in high school, Gordon filled an empty motor oil container with water and drank it in the school’s parking lot.
“And one of the teachers saw it and freaked out and called our mom and was like, ‘Your son's drinking motor oil in the parking lot,’” Hearn said with a laugh. “But it was really just a prank and it just so happened a teacher sees it. He got in so much trouble. He thought he was so funny.”
There was also the time he bought his sister a styrofoam head for Christmas, “just to be funny,” along with a disco ball.
“And I think it was the best gift I could have got from him,” Hearn said.
Beyond the playfulness, the former W.F. West and Adna student displayed an entrepreneurial spirit, whether it involved selling Pop-Tarts on campus or vapes from his street corner. He held more conventional posts at such businesses as Venables Pest Control and Chick-fil-A.
“He would drive to Lacey every day to work at Chick-fil-A because he wanted to own it,” Hearn said.
Gordon met Wilson in a history class as a senior at Adna High School. According to Wilson, Gordon stole her seat. They became fast friends. She convinced him to join the school band.
“And then I got him to play bass clarinet,” Wilson said. “So for the marching band he was on the clarinet, and then (for the) regular band he was bass clarinet. And I played the saxophone, so the sections are, like, right next to each other, so we got to sit next to each other.”
Wilson said Gordon was one of the smartest people she’s ever met. Hearn, meanwhile, said Wilson brought out a different side to Gordon that she hadn’t seen before.
“He was the happiest I’d ever seen him when they started dating,” Hearn said.
Shortly after high school, Gordon applied to work for Curry at Kraftwerk K9. No interview came. He took on other jobs. Years later, he finally got that interview, and Curry offered him a position.
According to Wilson and Hearn, Gordon excelled at his job, despite his style differing significantly from Curry’s, which they said was frequently abusive toward the dogs. When Curry was cold and indifferent, Gordon showed compassion. If an older female dog was set to be put down after years of breeding, Gordon took it upon himself to find her a home.
“He loved to travel with the dogs,” Hearn said. “His favorite thing was to train them. He was going to own the business soon, and he was so excited about that. He wanted to take care of (Leira) and me and my mom, like our whole family.”
Gordon even helped their 21-year-old brother, Connor, get a job at Kraftwerk K9.
“Curtice kind of just took him under his wing and helped him there and started him off as a kennel cleaner, and then finally, like recently, Connor was starting to move up a little bit,” Hearn said. “Curtice was excited to train him.”
Gordon worked with Curry for about three years. He and Wilson lived on Curry’s property in what she called a mother-in-law suite. Gordon had become a manager. Wilson said Curry had indicated he was planning to retire, but never did. Filming videos became his main contribution to running the business.
“But Curtice did like everything else,” Wilson said.
“Curtice would just keep his mouth shut hoping one day soon he'd own the business and then change it for the dogs, change it for the better, obviously,” Hearn added.
So he kept working, and took advantage of opportunities to advance his career and knowledge. In May, Gordon and Wilson traveled to Canada to visit a renowned dog trainer. They had made previous work trips to Germany with Curry and his wife, but this one they made on their own accord.
Wilson said Gordon was filled with excitement throughout the trip, scribbling notes across little pieces of paper. Preparing for their future.
The other day, Wilson found those notes in her purse.
According to Hearn, Curry has not reached out to the family since the incident in June. In July, they hosted a celebration of life for Gordon. Nearly 200 people came.
“It was amazing,” Hearn said. “There were actually so many people that came that (Curtice) sold dogs to and they came and brought us cards. And we get letters in the mail from them, and they are just so nice. And they put Curtice into words perfectly.”
For Hearn, perhaps nothing sums up the difference between Gordon and Curry than a recent comment made on a Facebook post that appeared to show Curry mistreating dogs.
“Somebody commented on it and was like, ‘That week I met Curtice and Wayne. And I met the best person I've ever met and the worst person I've ever met — all in the same day,’” Hearn said.
