Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Family Grieves for Boy Who Tried to Please : Investigation: Entrusted to feed neighbor’s pets, Paul Alsup, 14, apparently died confronting a gunman.

A 14-year-old boy who was fatally shot Friday while apparently protecting a vacationing neighbor’s property was described by his grieving family Monday as a “happy, caring young man” who was anxious to please.

Sheriff’s deputies say Paul Alsup may have been killed when he was caught in a bitter feud between the absent neighbors and another Llano resident, who was firing a shotgun at their cars Friday.

Investigators said Paul called deputies when he heard the gunfire while caring for his missing neighbors’ pets. Although deputies urged him to stay inside until they arrived, Paul was killed when he went outside to talk to the gunman, whom he recognized, investigators said.

Paul’s aunt, Christine Dinsmore of Lancaster, said Monday that she was unaware of any neighborhood feud the boy may have stepped into. Paul had merely been hired to feed the vacationing family’s dogs and cats, a task he took very seriously, she said.

“It was the first time he was asked to do this,” Dinsmore said. “It was important to Paul because the people trusted him. In my opinion, that was his downfall. He took his job very seriously, and when that home was threatened, he felt it was his job to protect it.”

The suspected gunman, Patrice Bucknor, 25, also of Llano, remained in custody without bail Monday. Deputies said Bucknor, who was arrested Saturday, allegedly fired at the teen-ager while the boy was fleeing, fatally wounding him in the back of the head.

Sheriff’s investigators were expected to present their reports today to the district attorney’s staff and ask that murder charges be filed.

Meanwhile, family members are mourning the loss of a tall, blond-haired, blue-eyed teen-ager who loved animals and liked to take apart and rebuild mechanical devices. He was anxious to please other people, they said.

“He was a very happy, caring young man,” Dinsmore said. “He was always asking people if he could do something to help them.”

Paul’s grandfather, John J. Devereux of Palmdale, said the boy would offer to do household chores whenever he visited. “He’d mow the yard, pick up trash and weed,” Devereux said. “He came over to help.”

Last year, he gave away the bride when his mother, Barbara Thibodeau, remarried, and he was learning to care for and train racehorses on his stepfather’s ranch.

He loved animals so much that he once caught large goldfish at a public lake, kept them alive, then set them free in a pond on the ranch, his relatives said. Paul’s dog, Ben, a pit bull with an unusually friendly temperament, was devoted to his master.

“When Paul was killed, Ben ran away, and we didn’t find him for a couple of days,” his grandfather said.

After his death, a family friend, Jodi Moberg of Lake Los Angeles, set up a fund to help the family defray expenses.

“I knew the family is not in the best financial ability and that this would help with the funeral expenses,” Moberg said. “(Paul) was a sweet kid, a loving kid. He was always very inquisitive. He wanted to see how things worked.”

Family members said donations to the Paul Alsup Memorial Fund can be sent to P. O. Box. 500010, Palmdale 93591, or taken to any branch of Antelope Valley Bank.

Funeral arrangements were still incomplete Monday for Paul, who is also survived by an older brother, Charles G. Alsup of Lancaster, and an older sister, Dana N. Alsup of Llano.