Daisy

ETNA GREEN — In a recent turn of events, a warrant was issued last week for the arrest of former Etna Green resident Sherry Koser after a charge of cruelty to an animal, a class A misdemeanor, was filed.

This comes after Koser complained about the killing of her 14-year-old boxer, Daisy, by Kosciusko County Animal Control Officer Jerry Clase, who was later suspended from work for five days over the circumstances surrounding the dog’s death.

Koser and a veterinarian she was working with at the time of Daisy’s death both expressed dismay over the cruelty to animal charge.

Koser said she was shocked to learn she was being investigated and charged.

“My heart broke knowing I was labeled an animal abuser, she said. “I loved Daisy as she did me. And here I was labeled a bad, evil person who didn’t have a heart for animals. I was thinking, ‘How can they say that about me? I’m the little girl who always brought stray animals home to love and care for.”

Koser said the charge is an attempt to make her look bad, a sentiment echoed by Dr. Tess Peavy, veterinarian and executive director of nonprofit Public Veterinary Services, who stated she thinks the criminal charge is in retaliation and aimed at quelling public outcry.

“Poverty is not a crime,” Peavy said.  “I think she (Koser) has suffered enough.”

Koser was at work June 19 when her landlord allowed Clase to take Daisy, following a complaint alleging animal neglect.

When Koser came home from work, Daisy was gone. After searching for Daisy at the Kosciusko Animal Welfare League, Koser said someone from AWL called Kosciusko Dispatch, and they contacted Clase, who admitted he had taken Daisy, shot her and disposed of the body.

According to Koser, Daisy had a tumor. Dr. Peavy was in the process of helping Koser address Daisy’s condition.

Following the incident, protests took place at the courthouse and online petitions circulated calling for Clase’s removal as ACO. In July,  Kosciusko commissioners unanimously agreed to suspend Clase for five days without pay for his handling of the case.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, more than one tenant at the rental property had made complaints or expressed concern about Daisy’s condition.

The affidavit states that on June 17, an officer with the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office received a text message from Koser’s landlord asking if the sheriff’s office could do anything about putting down a dying dog at a residence. The landlord said the dog had a bleeding tumor and had also tried biting people.

On July 18, officers spoke with the landlord, who said that one day earlier, she received a message from a tenant that read:  “This smelly dog is at the front door and won’t move. Every time we try and move it, it tries to bite us. It’s stinking up the whole porch, it smells like death and there’s blood everywhere.” The landlord said she received another message from the tenant in reference to speaking with Koser about the dog. According to court documents, Koser told the tenant that she didn’t have the money to put Daisy down.

Dr. Peavy was critical of the criminal charge.

“It’s very unfortunate and a huge waste of public resources to file these charges,” Dr. Peavy said. “The mistreatment is on the part of animal control. The officer needs training and he needs to follow procedure. This is not about the individuals. It is about how we allow ourselves to be governed.”

Dr. Peavy said that on June 14, Koser left a voicemail on her organization’s phone service and that Koser was distraught and emotional. Koser said Daisy had a large tumor on her mammary gland and was requesting financial assistance in the amount of $49 to have Daisy euthanized.

When they talked again on June 18. Dr. Peavy said Koser was “extremely emotional and crying” as she explained she had taken Daisy to a local veterinarian and was told the surgery would cost over $400.

Koser told Dr. Peavy that Daisy had been her faithful companion for 14 years.

Dr. Peavy said it became clear that Koser was suffering from serious emotional trauma and that her dog was “critically important to her sanity.”

Since Daisy was reportedly still eating and drinking and having normal bowels and urine production, she did not seem to be systematically ill, other than the mass on her mammary gland, said Dr. Peavy.

A decision was made at that time for a friend of Koser’s to take video of Daisy and forward the video on to Dr. Peavy so a determination could be made as to whether or not the tumor was operable.

The following day, Koser’s landlord allowed Clase to take Daisy.