An elected official in rural Dodge County faces a felony charge in connection with an “incident” that resulted in the death of a golden retriever dog.
On the afternoon of June 19, Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt arrested Richard Van Buren, chairman of the Chester Town Board, on a charge of mistreating animals, according to a statement from Schmidt. A criminal complaint was filed on June 20, charging Van Buren with fatally mistreating an animal.
Chester, a community of roughly 960 residents, is located southeast of Waupun.
Shelby Krohn, a Waupun resident, told TMJ4 that she found the stray dog in a field in Chester on June 17, and tried to help the lost animal. Krohn said she was instructed by the county’s humane society to take the lost dog to Van Buren’s farm.
Then, by Krohn’s telling, the town official “ripped” the dog out of her car and choked it to death with a leash.
The Dodge County Humane Society posted the dog’s photograph on its Facebook page the day Krohn found it, and acknowledged the county sheriff’s investigation in a separate post a day later.
“Our hearts are heavy − for this dog, for the kind person that found them, and for everyone in our community who feels the pain of animals we can’t always reach in time,” the humane society wrote.
According to the criminal complaint filed on June 20, a “distraught” citizen witness reported a dog was killed by “someone with the last name of Van Buren.” The unnamed witness, who found the stray dog, was instructed to bring it to Van Buren’s residence and was told Van Buren would kennel the dog.
The complaint states the witness arrived at Van Buren’s residence with Michael J. Kuzulka, the Town of Chester’s supervisor. According to accounts from the witness, Kuzulka and Van Buren, Van Buren tried to leash the dog, but it bit him.
Kuzulka, in his interview with the sheriff’s office, stated that the dog “went nuts” and “drew blood” — and that it was “either the dog or Rich,” referring to Van Buren.
Once Van Buren succeeded in putting a leash around the dog, per his account, he dragged it from the car into a kennel.
Though the citizen witness stated Van Buren lifted the dog entirely off the ground, Van Buren told the sheriff that he does not believe the dog’s hind legs were in the air. Van Buren confirmed that “the dog did not make it into the kennel,” and told the sheriff he believed the dog died from a “lack of air.”
When the sheriff’s office contacted Van Buren, the town board chair explained the stray dog was brought to him as a matter of protocol due to his town leadership role. Van Buren told the interviewer that he usually keeps a stray dog for seven days, then “takes care of it” — a euphemism he confirmed to mean shooting with a gun.
Van Buren clarified that he has dealt with a stray in this manner on only one other occasion.
In his statement on the arrest, the sheriff acknowledged the “significant public outcry” the golden retriever’s death received, but said that making enforcement decisions based on community pressure would be “inappropriate and unethical.”
“Rather, we take the time to gather the necessary evidence that the district attorney needs for a successful prosecution,” Schmidt, the sheriff, wrote. “While the community may at times request immediate action by a law enforcement agency, that may not always be what is best for the final resolution of a case.”
The charge against Van Buren is punishable by a maximum prison sentence of three years and six months, and a fine of up to $10,000.
At Van Buren’s initial court appearance on June 20, the court ordered he may not possess any domesticated dogs, and he must remove any dogs currently on his property within 24 hours, per online court records.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Rural Dodge County official charged for stray golden retriever’s death
Reporting by Ariela Lopez, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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