Post by Currmudgeon on Nov 24, 2003 11:02:57 GMT -5
AR-News: (US-WI)Dog Returned to Owner facing Cruelty Charges
Dog returned to owner; charges downgraded to misdemeanor counts
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By KEVIN BRALEY - GM Today Staff
October 28, 2003
A dog injured when its owner allegedly dragged it behind a pick up truck in September was returned to the family Monday after a judge ruled the dog does not need to be held for evidence - something Assistant District Attorney Holly Bunch fought. Approximately 50 people in the courtroom cheered when Washington County Circuit Judge Andrew Gonring ordered Buster, a 2-year-old chocolate Labrador, back to a town of Addison man, Gary Klink, 42. Buster has been held at the Washington County Humane Society since Sept. 18, when authorities allege Klink dragged the dog behind his pick-up truck after the dog allegedly ran away.
Bunch fought the order, hoping to keep the dog as evidence in the care of the Washington County Humane Society.
"And I have to ask, why he is evidence?" Gonring said. "Nothing is going to change physically with the dog. We have pictures of the injuries. He could walk out of here after court today and, God forbid, be hit by a bus. But this case could proceed with Buster or without.
"Why shouldn't the dog be returned to the Klinks?" Gonring said.
"Because of what this defendant did to the dog, your honor," Bunch said.
Klink was charged in September with a felony charge of mistreatment of animals, but Monday Gonring ruled the case should proceed as a misdemeanor charge, based on the lack of permanent injuries to Buster. Klink faced 3 and a half years in prison if convicted of the felony charge; he now faces up to nine months in jail if convicted of the misdemeanor mistreatment to animals charge.
Gonring's decision was based on the definition of animal cruelty as a felony charge, which requires the animal to be dead, mutilated or disfigured.
"Obviously, he isn't dead," Gonring said about Buster who appeared in court Monday. Gonring also inspected the dog along with Bunch, Klink's attorney, James Danaher, and Robert Poetzel, a veterinary at Country Veterinary Clinic in Rubicon and found the dog not to be disfigured.
Poetzel also testified that the dog was not permanently disfigured and would have likely healed on his own without medical attention. When the dog was brought to the Country Veterinary Clinic on Sept. 18, the dog walked to Poetzel, although the dog seemed "sore and stiff."
Poetzel said the appointment book said the examination was for a dog that "was unable walk."
"After we took the dog off the stretcher, it came on its own willingly and his tail was wagging," he said. "The dog did have abrasions on its legs, but the appointment for a dog who couldn't walk didn't fit very well.
"The dog was not suffering and not in excessive pain," he said. "He would have healed with no problems even if he hadn't seen me."
Beth Miller, a neighbor who eventually called authorities, said she saw the dog behind the truck.
"When I saw the dog being pulled or dragged, I saw it being pulled on its paws," she testified.
After the driver of the truck stopped, Miller said she never saw the dog walk to the truck, but saw bloody footprints and noticed a lot of blood. She admits she was distracted by the school bus picking her children up for school.
"I was concerned about how injured the dog was," she said.
Trial dates were set for the misdemeanor case on Jan. 6.
This story appeared in the West Bend Daily News on Oct. 28, 2003
lists.envirolink.org/pipermail/ar-news/Week-of-Mon-20031027/008914.html
Dog returned to owner; charges downgraded to misdemeanor counts
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By KEVIN BRALEY - GM Today Staff
October 28, 2003
A dog injured when its owner allegedly dragged it behind a pick up truck in September was returned to the family Monday after a judge ruled the dog does not need to be held for evidence - something Assistant District Attorney Holly Bunch fought. Approximately 50 people in the courtroom cheered when Washington County Circuit Judge Andrew Gonring ordered Buster, a 2-year-old chocolate Labrador, back to a town of Addison man, Gary Klink, 42. Buster has been held at the Washington County Humane Society since Sept. 18, when authorities allege Klink dragged the dog behind his pick-up truck after the dog allegedly ran away.
Bunch fought the order, hoping to keep the dog as evidence in the care of the Washington County Humane Society.
"And I have to ask, why he is evidence?" Gonring said. "Nothing is going to change physically with the dog. We have pictures of the injuries. He could walk out of here after court today and, God forbid, be hit by a bus. But this case could proceed with Buster or without.
"Why shouldn't the dog be returned to the Klinks?" Gonring said.
"Because of what this defendant did to the dog, your honor," Bunch said.
Klink was charged in September with a felony charge of mistreatment of animals, but Monday Gonring ruled the case should proceed as a misdemeanor charge, based on the lack of permanent injuries to Buster. Klink faced 3 and a half years in prison if convicted of the felony charge; he now faces up to nine months in jail if convicted of the misdemeanor mistreatment to animals charge.
Gonring's decision was based on the definition of animal cruelty as a felony charge, which requires the animal to be dead, mutilated or disfigured.
"Obviously, he isn't dead," Gonring said about Buster who appeared in court Monday. Gonring also inspected the dog along with Bunch, Klink's attorney, James Danaher, and Robert Poetzel, a veterinary at Country Veterinary Clinic in Rubicon and found the dog not to be disfigured.
Poetzel also testified that the dog was not permanently disfigured and would have likely healed on his own without medical attention. When the dog was brought to the Country Veterinary Clinic on Sept. 18, the dog walked to Poetzel, although the dog seemed "sore and stiff."
Poetzel said the appointment book said the examination was for a dog that "was unable walk."
"After we took the dog off the stretcher, it came on its own willingly and his tail was wagging," he said. "The dog did have abrasions on its legs, but the appointment for a dog who couldn't walk didn't fit very well.
"The dog was not suffering and not in excessive pain," he said. "He would have healed with no problems even if he hadn't seen me."
Beth Miller, a neighbor who eventually called authorities, said she saw the dog behind the truck.
"When I saw the dog being pulled or dragged, I saw it being pulled on its paws," she testified.
After the driver of the truck stopped, Miller said she never saw the dog walk to the truck, but saw bloody footprints and noticed a lot of blood. She admits she was distracted by the school bus picking her children up for school.
"I was concerned about how injured the dog was," she said.
Trial dates were set for the misdemeanor case on Jan. 6.
This story appeared in the West Bend Daily News on Oct. 28, 2003
lists.envirolink.org/pipermail/ar-news/Week-of-Mon-20031027/008914.html
