Hartland man contests animal cruelty charge

A Hartland marriage and family therapist says he was only defending his own dog when he rpeatedly kicked a dog in Springfield last summer, which later died.

http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20110214/NEWS02/702149941

Published February 14, 2011 in the Rutland Herald

Hartland man contests animal cruelty charge

By SUSAN SMALLHEER
Staff Writer

HARTLAND FOUR CORNERS — Mark Koch says he feels he is a victim of violence, but no one is hearing his side of the story.

Koch, 57, a marriage and family counselor from Hartland, has pleaded innocent to charges of animal cruelty in connection with the June 2010 kicking death of Zoe, a dog belonging to the Dechen family of Springfield. The charge, a misdemeanor, is still pending in White River Junction criminal court.

Koch said that it has been a case of “guilty until proven innocent” in the case, and he said he was only protecting his own dog, Gabby, a 10-year-old Australian shepherd-chow mix, which he has had since she was a puppy, last June, when the two dogs tangled outside the Springfield Family Center.

Zoe, who belonged to Kurt Dechen, a young Springfield Marine who died in Iraq about four years ago, died later that day from injuries she received after Koch repeatedly kicked her to break up a dog fight outside the Springfield Family Center, where Koch rented space.

Zoe, a white German shepherd, had slipped her hitch and she and Koch’s smaller dog started fighting as Koch was walking to his car with his dog on a leash.

Koch said for all he knew, his dog started the fight since she might have felt threatened since she was on a leash.

Koch, who said he was in a hurry that night because he was leaving for nonviolent training in New Mexico the next day, put his dog on a leash because he looked outside his office window and saw Zoe was loose.

“I didn’t want to hang around for a ‘sniff party,’” he said, noting the two dogs had met each other at least 10 times earlier with no problems.

Koch said he kicked Zoe a total of six to eight times to try and break up the fight. She died that night at Springfield Animal Hospital of a ruptured spleen. He said things happened so quickly he just acted instinctively that day.

His dog was also injured in the fight, receiving a gash on her snout, although he said he was able to treat her at home.

“I was upset as I believed the safety and peace of mind that my dog and I had enjoyed was violated,” he said. After the two dogs tangled, Koch said he was angry and upset with the Dechen family for not keeping their dog tied up.

“I was angry and upset, seeing myself and my dog as victims of the violence of this unleashed dog who was not even on its own property,” wrote Koch in a four-page narrative he’s written about the incident in an effort to understand what happened.

Koch, a former Roman Catholic priest, has been a marriage and family therapist for 20 years. He moved to Vermont about 3½ years ago from St. Louis, after visiting friends in Vermont over the years and loving it. He specializes in nonviolent communication in his practice, which has in the past included working with inmates at the state prison in Springfield.

“I wanted the small town experience,” said Koch, “and I’m afraid I’m experiencing the other side.”

He said a description by a witness that he delivered a final “field goal kick” to Zoe was “not the way I remember it.”

In an interview at his office in Hartland, Koch said he had received hateful telephone calls about the case, and that he was finding it difficult to find office space once organizations learn he has the criminal case pending against him, and that he was charged with cruelty to an animal.

He said when he renewed his therapist’s license, he had to disclose the pending misdemeanor charge against him.

Koch’s private attorney, Kevin Griffin of White River Junction, has filed a motion to dismiss the case “in the interests of justice,” a move that’s been opposed by Windsor County State’s Attorney Robert Sand.

Judge Patricia Zimmerman has the file in the case, but has yet to either schedule a hearing on the motion or make a decision on the motion, according to Sand and court officials.

Koch said he wanted people to hear his side of the story, since he said he felt earlier news accounts of the criminal charges have prejudiced people against him.

He said the case has weighed heavily on him, and cost him $5,000 in attorney’s fees, as well as reduced referrals to his practice.

“My intention was never to hurt their dog,” said Koch, who described himself as a gentle person, who was trying to protect his own, beloved, dog.

Koch is not sorry for what he did, and he said he felt sorry for the additional pain the Dechens experienced, given they lost their son in Iraq.

“I’m certain that the other dog owners, the Dechens, loved their dog as much as I love mine. The pain of their losses must be tremendous. Nevertheless, it is their pain and although I am willing to offer support and compassion to them and others as they deal with pain, I am not willing to ‘take the fall,’” he wrote in his personal narrative.

“There is no blame to be assigned in this matter,” he added.

Mark Koch poses with his dog, Gabby. Koch says he was only protecting Gabby from an unleashed animal when he kicked a German shepherd, which died. His case is in court.
Photo: SUSAN SMALLHEER PHOTO