5 things to know about celebrity dog trainer Mark Stover × Follow Us Create Notifications New User posted their first comment this is comment text Link Approve Reject & ban Delete Log in Manage your profile Editing Story Queue Video Queue Editing Stats Writer Home SEO Redirection Admin Gaming Wiki Edits Taxonomy Home Edit Site Menu Mapping Dashboard Tag Pages Community Social Feed Queue Feed Center Notification Center Affiliate Home Manage Pages Bottom Tagline Dash Timeless Stories Logout SK POP Feature 5 things to know about celebrity dog trainer Mark Stover By Sourav Chakraborty Modified 01 Aug 2022 Follow Us Comment Share A still of Mark Stover (Image via CBS) Dateline: Unforgettable's upcoming episode will dive into the murder case of Mark Stover, a renowned dog trainer who worked with some big names like Eddie Vader and Howard Schultz. Following a rough patch after his divorce with Linda Opdycke, the daughter of multimillionaire Wally Opdycke, Stover got into a bitter scuffle with his ex-wife that lasted for years. In 2009, the 57-year-old dog trainer disappeared from his Anacortes-area home. His body was never found. As his scuffle with his ex-wife was well known, it did not take long to track down Michiel Oakes, Linda's then-boyfriend. In the trial, Oakes testified to killing Stover but claimed that it was an act of self-defense. The jury was not convinced of this claim, and Oakes was sentenced to 26 ½ years in prison. Sevi@scottidawgs@DatelineNBC #MarkStoverMurder by MichaelOaks Defense Strategy blame the victim How selfish can one man be and Linda gets offScott free@DatelineNBC #MarkStoverMurder by MichaelOaks Defense Strategy blame the victim How selfish can one man be and Linda gets offScott free Ahead of the upcoming episode of Dateline: Unforgettable, titled The Man Who Talked to Dogs, here are five facts about the subject of the episode, Mark Stover. Five quick facts about Mark Stover the victim of Oakes 1 Mark Stover had a difficult childhood and strayed on a bad path TrueCrimeAllTheTime@TCAllTheTimeJoin Mike and Gibby as they talk about the murder of celebrity dog trainer Mark Stover at the hands of Michiel Oakes on the True Crime All The Time podcast. #truecrime #podcast133Join Mike and Gibby as they talk about the murder of celebrity dog trainer Mark Stover at the hands of Michiel Oakes on the True Crime All The Time podcast. #truecrime #podcast https://t.co/XiizKC3S7b Stover reportedly had a very difficult childhood. He was only 18 months old when his father passed away, and soon after, one of his sisters passed away. According to Vicky Simmons, Stover's sister, survival was a big deal for the family. She also said that Stover had initially strayed on the wrong path. Recalling the time, Simmons said: "He was on a bad path...He got kicked out of high school for smoking dope ... I think he was stumbling in the dark for a number of those years." 2 Mark found his calling when he met a German Shepherd named Gunther Hasib Ahmed@amishimulDog trainer to Seattle's famous presumed murdered (AP): AP - Mark Stover was the Pacific Northwest's dog-trainer-to-the-stars. He taug..Dog trainer to Seattle's famous presumed murdered (AP): AP - Mark Stover was the Pacific Northwest's dog-trainer-to-the-stars. He taug.. Mark was a high school dropout with no real purpose until he met Gunther, a German Shepherd puppy who he trained to be a search and rescue dog. In the process, he found out his true calling. Simmons said: "Mark and that dog bonded that very day ... it gave meaning to his life. Gave purpose to his life...That dog saved him." 3 Mark and Linda opened a million-dollar venture together on Kiket Island Investigation Discovery@DiscoveryIDCelebrities called Mark Stover the "Dog Whisperer," but someone wanted him silenced. #BehindMansionWalls at 9E/P1Celebrities called Mark Stover the "Dog Whisperer," but someone wanted him silenced. #BehindMansionWalls at 9E/P The heiress to the huge fortune of Wally Opdycke, Linda, and rising dog trainer Mark Stover found their perfect match in each other. Together, they opened up a dog training business on Kiket Island, a private island owned by Linda's parents. In a few years, Stover & Opdycke grew into a million-dollar business. 4 Mark Stover was charged with stalking Linda after their divorce Big Feelings Podcast@bigfeelingspodMark Stover and his dog Dingo "Ding". She survived the attack, he didn't. She passed away from cancer a short time after recovering from being shot by Mark's murderer. instagram.com/p/BtCo6uDlJcK/…Mark Stover and his dog Dingo "Ding". She survived the attack, he didn't. She passed away from cancer a short time after recovering from being shot by Mark's murderer. instagram.com/p/BtCo6uDlJcK/… After a rocky last few years of marriage and a complicated divorce, Stover allegedly refused to give up on Linda. He allegedly stalked, followed, and threatened her multiple times. Though he was not arrested for the first few months, he was finally arrested when a neighbor caught him fiddling with Linda's trash. The neighbor, Ruthie Hagemeister, described the incident, saying: "As I pull up here, I notice there's a white station wagon here and there's a gentleman over at Linda's trash cans taking the trash out of the trash cans...I said, 'Excuse me, who are you?' He says, 'My name is John.' I go, 'Why are you taking my friend's trash?' And he's like, 'I have permission to take the trash.'" Recognizing Mark Stover, Ruthie called Linda, who in turn informed the cops. Stover was out on a year of probation after this. 5 Stover trained the dogs of Nirvana and Pearl Jam stars Dogs Training@Dogs_TrainingEx-Wife's Boyfriend Suspected in Disappearance of Mark Stover, Dog Trainer to ... http://bit.ly/3rjgYlEx-Wife's Boyfriend Suspected in Disappearance of Mark Stover, Dog Trainer to ... http://bit.ly/3rjgYl Mark Stover was one of the most renowned dog trainers in the area. His high-profile clients included Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, Nirvana's Krist Novoselic, Soundgarden's Chris Cornell, filmmaker Cameron Crowe, and Costco Corp. CEO Jim Sinegal, among many others. The upcoming episode of Dateline: Unforgettable will cover the case in detail when it airs on August 2, 2022. Poll : 0 votes Quick Links More from Sportskeeda Edited by Shreya Das × Feedback Thank You! 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