http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20110601/NEWS02/706019872
Published June 1, 2011 in the Rutland Herald
Trial set in dog cruelty case
By SUSAN SMALLHEER
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — A trial is set for next month in the case of a former Springfield mental health counselor charged with animal cruelty.
District Judge Patricia Zimmerman earlier this year rejected a motion by the attorney for Mark Koch, 57, of Hartland, to dismiss the case.
Koch’s attorney had argued Koch was defending his own dog when he kicked Zoe, a dog belonging to the Dechen family of Springfield, multiple times, while it was fighting with his dog outside the Springfield Family Center.
Kurt Dechen, a Marine serving in Iraq, had died four years earlier, but left his dog in the care of his parents, Dale and Richard Dechen of Springfield.
At the time of the incident, Koch rented space from the center. The Dechen family lives next door, and Zoe had slipped off her tether and started fighting with Gabby, a 10-year-old Australian shepherd belonging to Koch.
Zoe, a white German shepherd, died later that night at the Springfield Animal Hospital from a ruptured spleen.
“Mr. Koch admits that it is likely that one of his kicks caused the ruptured spleen, but contends that all of his actions were justified as they were done for the purpose of ending the dog fight and protecting his own dog,” Zimmerman wrote.
But Zimmerman, noting that she must evaluate the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, said the state’s witnesses gave a different version of events. And she noted that Koch was not charged with killing the dog, but rather with “cruelly beating her.”
“The central discrepancy between the two factual accounts is the last kick,” the judge wrote, “more specifically, whether Mr. Koch delivered the final kick at a time when the dog fight was over.”
She noted that while Koch may argue he had a right to kick the dog when it was fighting with his dog, “he had no right to kick Zoe after the dogs had disengaged.”
“Mr. (Richard) Dechen’s testimony establishes that Mr. Koch kicked Zoe in the stomach after the dog fight ended and that the kick was delivered with enough force that ‘it lifted her off all four of her feet,’” the judge wrote.
Koch, who now has a practice in Hartland, is set to go on trial on June 16, starting with a jury draw.
According to court documents, Koch recently requested the appointment of a public defender to represent him, and Zimmerman granted the application and appointed Kevin Griffith, a public defender who had been representing Koch privately. A final status conference in the case is set for June 14.
What wasn't mentioned is how Michael Vick was furious that a human would even think of intervening in a dog fight.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who delivered newspapers on a bicycle for over 6 years and also was a bicycle road racer for many years I can attest to what it is like to get rushed by big dogs that were not properly tethered. I love dogs and own two but I have kicked at dogs who came at me growling and with teeth flaring. When I walk my two small 5lb dogs I also have to kick at dogs that come running after us.
ReplyDeleteI would not be so quick to pass judgment on Mr. Koch. This German Shepard was still in attack mode if it did not retreat, this is what they are trained for. In all the cases where I have had to kick at a dog that was attacking me and my pets they all ran away after I stood my ground. The difference being that most dogs are just staking territory and act aggressive but then back off. In the heat of the moment I would have done the same thing to protect my dogs. This prosecution is a travesty of justice and it seems public opinion wants to destroy the man.
My heart goes out to the family of the fallen soldier but this incident should not be colored by the circumstances.