Washington State Kennel Animal Abuse Trial

I just returned from a wonderful speaking engagement with the American Boarding Kennel Association on March 11, 2008. It was terrific to spend time with a group of people who share my thoughts on the care of our four legged friends. My seminar topic was "Negligence In The Pet Care Industry." I also spoke about negligence in relation to employees and general business approaches in the Pet Care Industry. In relation to that, I would like to share this news with all of you. There is a trial going on in Washington State right now related to alledged abuse of a Jack Russell terrier by a kennel owner. One of my topics was how the Pet Care Industry must develop a "standard of care" that judges and juries can use in determining if abuse or negligence occurs. This article is a perfect of example of why that standard, developed from within our industry, needs to be formalized. Needless to say we all really hate to hear about trials and articles like the one below. Here is the article just in case you haven't run across it already ! Pay careful to the section mentioning "industry accepted" standards. If we had a "standard of care" that is what the defense attorney would be referring to...or maybe the Plaintiff's attorney ! If we had a "standard of care" the Judge would have had a standard to measure the abuse by. Obviously the Judge was confused, but if, as an industry, we had instutited a "standard of care" then the outcome of this case might have been quite different. At least, the Judge would have been well informed instead of confused ! Let's get busy. If your interested in this topic, please email me at PetCareLaw@gmail.com.

Employees testify in dog abuse trial
Thursday, March 13, 2008 6:04 AM PDT
By Amy M.E. Fischerafischer@tdn.com

On the first day of their boss's animal cruelty trial Wednesday, several Dog Zone employees testified about what they witnessed Aug. 27 at the Longview dog day care that left a Jack Russell terrier injured and smeared with blood, feces and urine.Kyle Merwin, who worked at the Dog Zone in the second-floor grooming area until last fall, said he heard yelping, cursing and a loud thud coming from a closed room in which defendant Doug Kalberg had taken a 3-year-old dog named Catcher.Wednesday in Cowlitz County Superior Court, Merwin told Judge Stephen Warning he saw Kalberg leave the room dangling Catcher off the ground by the dog's leash and go downstairs, where Merwin then heard Catcher "screaming" and squealing as if in pain.Merwin told Judge Stephen Warning he stood on a grooming table so he could see what was happening downstairs."He had his hands around Catcher's neck," the young man testified. Kalberg, on his knees, slammed the little dog's head against the concrete floor three times and slapped the side of Catcher's head, Merwin said. Then Kalberg pushed the dog, which was squirming on its back, into the corner of the kennel, he said."When it was in the corner, his feet weren't moving," Merwin said. "Not dead, but just laying there. He gave up."Kalberg, 53, is on trial for one count of first-degree animal cruelty for his alleged violence against Catcher. He also is being tried for two counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty for two other alleged incidents involving two other dogs. He has waived his right to a jury.The judge listened to more than three hours of testimony Wednesday by six Dog Zone employees, former and current, and Jennifer Comin, the Jack Russell's owner.In his opening statements, defense attorney Kevin Blondin said the evidence would show his client used "industry accepted" dog training techniques to control Catcher after the dog bit him during a grooming appointment. Kalberg held Catcher on his back using a maneuver called an "alpha roll," intending to help Catcher work through his "tantrum," Blondin said.Blondin also implied that Kalberg may be a target for disgruntled employees who admitted they had a poor working relationship with him.Deputy Prosecutor James Smith said Kalberg let his anger get the better of him, and he crossed the line into what the state considers animal cruelty.In her testimony, Dog Zone employee Jennifer Cassiday said Kalberg didn't seem to comprehend the seriousness of the situation when he spoke to her the following day, Aug. 28.Cassiday said she told Kalberg he made a bad choice and there likely would be consequences."At one point he had told me that 'dogs don't have rights,'" said Cassiday.Jennifer West, another former employee, accused Kalberg of hurting her two dogs when she brought them to work (employees regularly bring their dogs to the Dog Zone).West said Kalberg yanked her German Shepherd by the dog's deformed leg on Dec. 23, 2006, while trying to prevent the dog from leaving an enclosure.The dog was "crying and screaming," said West, who worked at the Dog Zone three years. "He didn't let her go until I said, 'Don't hurt my dog.' He got a couple inches from my face and screamed, 'Do your damn job.'"A current employee, Walter "Buddy" Walls, testified that on June 15, Kalberg grabbed another of West's dogs by the cheek and shoved it with his foot while herding it into a kennel.Judge Warning concluded the day with a tour of the Dog Zone, at 602 California Way, to better understand the building's layout with respect to where employees when they saw and overheard the incident with Catcher.The trial continues today at 9 a.m. and is expected to finish this afternoon.

Case Update 3.15.08

A Cowlitz County Superior Court judge this afternoon found Dog Zone owner Doug Kalberg not guilty of animal cruelty on all three counts.Judge Stephen Warning said he couldn’t say beyond a reasonable doubt that the owner of the Longview dog day-care business intentionally inflicted “undue pain” on the Jack Russell terrier Kalberg is accused of abusing Aug. 27 at the Dog Zone.However, Kalberg’s attempt to “correct” the dog when it behaved aggressively at a grooming appointment did result in a hemorrhage to the dog’s eye, the judge noted.“Which leaves the question of whether or not he acted not merely negligently, but criminally negligently,” Warning said. “I guess the answer is I’m just not sure, which means I find Mr. Kalberg not guilty.”Warning said he heard no evidence of criminal conduct in testimony regarding the two misdemeanor charges against Kalberg. A former Dog Zone employee had accused her boss of deliberately hurting two of her dogs.