Ticket, no criminal charge, resolves dog death case

Criminal charges against a White River Junction therapist who kicked a Springfield dog to death last summer were dropped.

http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20110630/NEWS02/706309960

Published June 30, 2011 in the Rutland Herald
Ticket, no criminal charge, resolves dog death case and rebuke from judge

By SUSAN SMALLHEER

WHITE RIVER JUNCTION – A White River Junction marriage counselor’s refusal to apologize to a Springfield couple for killing their son’s dog last year prompted sharp words from a judge Tuesday.

Criminal charges of animal cruelty against Mark Koch of Hartland were dropped in exchange for a ticket instead, said Windsor County State’s Attorney Robert Sand.

In exchange, Koch agreed to pay the $576.85 veterinarian bill for the dog, which died as the result of injuries she received from Koch, after she and Koch’s dog tangled in a dog fight last June outside the Springfield Family Center, where Koch rented space.

Koch repeatedly kicked Zoe, a dog that belonged to former U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Kurt Dechen, who died in 2006 in Iraq. His parents, Dale and Richard Dechen of Springfield, had taken care of the white German shepherd after he went to Iraq.

Koch’s statement during the restitution hearing to the Dechen family drew criticism from District Judge Patricia Zimmerman, who said Koch’s rambling 10-minute statement was self-serving.

“I heard a lot of “I, I, I, I,” the judge said, noting her hands were tied from rejecting the plea agreement because Sand had already downgraded the charge to a simple ticket of animal cruelty, and thus was no longer a criminal charge.

Zimmerman said she and the Dechens wanted to hear “just two words” from Koch: “’I’m sorry.’”

“I heard not one ‘I’m sorry,’” she admonished Koch, who remained silent.

Koch, who glanced briefly at the Dechens during his talk, said he was “truly sorry they have suffered.” And he said he “regrets deeply” some of his actions last June.

He also said he had suffered “personally, professionally and financially” as a result of the charges.

“We are together. We are one. When one of us suffers, we all suffer,” he said.

Dale Dechen was upset with Koch’s response.

“The defendant is supposed to be a professional. He should be held to a higher standard,” she told the court, noting his training in nonviolence and his profession as a psychotherapist. “Perhaps the defendant ought to look in the mirror and do some work.”

Koch was charged with a misdemeanor, animal cruelty, last summer after an investigation by Springfield police into the death of Zoe, a white German shepherd owned by the Dechens, neighbors of the family center.

Zoe had slipped her lead and gone to the family center, where she and Koch’s Australian shepherd tangled. His dog Gabby, which was on a leash, was slightly injured in the dog fight.

Dale Dechen said the death of Zoe was especially traumatic for her family since it triggered all the grief surrounding the death of her son Kurt, a U.S. Marine who was killed in Iraq on his 24th birthday in 2006.

“Zoe was our last link to our son,” she said emotionally, showing the judge a display she had prepared of photographs of the dog, including one with Kurt. One of the photographs showed Zoe holding an American flag, which Kurt displayed over his bunk in Iraq, his mother told Zimmerman.

“Zoe gave huge amounts of love. She did not deserve to die in great pain and fear,” Dale Dechen said. Zoe was six when she died.

“It’s beautiful,” the judge said of the photographs. “Thank you.”

After the hearing, the Dechens were taken aback by Koch’s statement, which repeatedly compared the aftermath to the dog’s death to making “compost,” first out of food scraps, and then out of “pain and heartache.”

“We didn’t come here to learn about compost,” said Richard Dechen after the hearing.

Sand called Koch’s statement “bizarre” and said he would have had second thoughts about agreeing to drop the criminal charges if he had known what Koch was going to say.

Koch, via email, refused to comment after the restitution hearing.

“This seemed a reasonable way to respond to competing interests,” Sand said after the hearing. Koch had no criminal record, and he said there would be a “permanent consequence” as a result of the case.

The Dechens said they reluctantly agreed to the settlement, given the uncertainties of a jury trial.

“All it would take would be one person who didn’t like German shepherds,” Richard Dechen said.

But they made it clear they felt Koch’s actions were completely out of bounds, particularly for someone who counseled people about emotions and anger management.

When Zoe came to live with them when their son joined the Marines, she was a “college dog who drank beer and got on the furniture,” Richard Dechen said. But she quickly learned good behavior, the Dechens said.

Dale Dechen said that Zoe was one of the smartest and kindest dogs she had ever known, and was very gentle with children.

Neighborhood children would come to their door and ask “Can Zoe come out and play?’” Dale Dechen told the judge. “It wasn’t the Dechens’ house, it was Zoe’s house.”

Dale and Richard Dechen of Springfield hold a display of photographs of their dog Zoe, who was kicked to death last year. Zoe was the pet of their son U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kurt Dechen, who died in Iraq in 2006 on his 24th birthday.
Photo: Susan Smallheer / Staff photo