The Bergman Trial
| Updates:
9/17/99
1/2000 It is said that the Bergman's are now looking for dogs to start a new kennel. Please keep your eyes open. |
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Washington v. Bergman and Bergman (6/97) Since the trial in 1997, there are new developments which you can read below. |
| The
Trial and outcome
Taken from Court TV Library Swen and Jeanette Bergman, the owners of a commercial puppy kennel which ships hundreds of dogs to paying customers, were each charged with 21 counts of second-degree animal cruelty. Investigators claim that the Bergmans grossley mistreated more than 230 dogs. During a raid of the Bergmans' Mountain Top Kennel in January 1997, sheriff's deputies and dog rescue volunteers found 15 dead canines (12 of which were piled in a mountain of snow). Six other dogs were so sickly, they had to be destroyed, and 19 healthy dogs were destoyed because they were deemed too dangerous to transport safely. Of the 230 surviving dogs, at least 40 had a documented medical malady. The kennel was pure squalor, seeping with urine and feces and devoid of adequate drinking water and heat to keep the dogs healthy. The Bergmans also faced six additional misdemeanor charges of illegally trimming dogs' ears. If convicted of the charges, both Swen and Jeanette Bergman could face six-year jail sentences. A Mountain of
Complaints Three months later, in January 1996, Marlon Talent of Rison, Ariz., complained to investigators about the Bergmans. Talent had agreed to buy three female and one male Bordeaux mastiffs from Jeanette Bergman for $4,368. He sent her the money and received two female dogs. According to the sheriff's reports, Jeanette allegedly told Talent he would have to send an additional $250 if he wanted the male dog. However, Talent refused, and Mrs. Bergman sent him a different dog. This dog died from parvo, an infectious intestinal disease, while in transit to Talent. Mrs. Bergman then reportedly sent Talent another dog, which was severely underweight. This canine died when Talent took the dog to the vet to have its ears clipped. Then, two other complaints about the Bergman puppy mill to the sheriff's department in December 1996 made investigators decide to plan a raid on the Mountain Top Kennel. Dr. Randy Tedrow, a veterinarian, had treated a golden retriever puppy for severe lethargy, vomiting, and bloody diarrhea the day after it had been purchased from the Bergman puppy mill. In Tedrow's letter about the incident, he threatened to petition the state attorney general and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to shut down the kennel. Tedrow was very familiar with Jeanette Bergman. Between 1993 and 1996, he had received many complaints about Mrs. Bergman from pet owners who had bought their dogs from Mountain Top Kennel. Tedrow had even treated a dog Bergman had brought to his animal clinic when she lived in Idaho. When Tedrow learned from local papers and authorities that she was on probation for a prior animal-related charge, he began monitoring the complaints he received about the Mountain Top Kennel and Mrs. Bergman. Two days after Tedrow's complaint, the sheriff's department received a complaint from Deanna Friberg, an English bulldog lover. Friberg had visited the kennel and was appalled at its conditions. She claimed she saw 20 to 30 puppies crammed into one pen, with little shelter or water, sleeping on ice and snow. Friberg said she saw dogs with infected eyes and torn nipples kept in feces-littered pens. After reading this complaint, Pend Oreille's Finest decided to act. The Raid The rescue team reportedly found all the conditions that were illustrated in Deanna Friberg's letter. Urine and feces everywhere. Water bowls filled with solid ice because of below freezing temperatures. Dogs eating snow to quench their thirst. Dogs suffering with untreated fractures and from skin diseases such as mange, roaming around without adequate shelter during a severe winter cold. Authorities expected to find 130 dogs in the kennel; they found nearly twice that amount. The Victims of Animal
Rights Extremists? The prosecution negated that defense theory by saying that the county insurance coverage had been extended to cover the volunteers just before the raid. Prosecutors also claimed that there was no proof that the rescuers belonged to any radical animal groups which had a personal crusade against the Bergmans. Finally, the defense argued that the conditions at the kennel were not as bad as described by the state and that the prosecution was basing its allegations of animal cruelty on the opinions of veterinarians rather than those of typical dog owners. The defense further argued that the animal cruelty statute does not illustrate a specific standard for animal care. The Prosecutors Tony Koures also received his law degree from Gonzaga University. A native of Missoula, Mont., he was a deputy prosecuting attorney in Benton County, Wash. from 1989 to 1994 until landing his current position as deputy prosecutor in Pend Oreille County. Koures has bachelor degrees in both business and psychology from Eastern Montana College and the University of Montana, respectively. The Defense Lawyers Brian O'Brien also represents Swen Bergman. This Calgary, Alberta, CN native is Charles Dorn's partner and estimates that he and Dorn team-up for trials about twice a year. O'Brien has argued approximately 40 jury trials and about 15 cases before the state intermediate courts of appeal. He also has argued cases before the Washington State Supreme Court and the U.S. Ninth Circuit of Appeals. O'Brien was an assistant public defender in Spokane County from 1985 to 1991 before joining Dorn in private practice. Jeanette Bergman's attorney, Dennis Scott, has been a solo practitioner in Newport, Wash. and a public defender in Pend Oreille County since 1979. In his first trial as a public defender in Pend Oreille, Scott represented an accused serial murderer and won an acquittal based on an insanity defense. He received a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree the Bates College of Law in the University of Houston in 1975 ans was an associate of Brigham & Brigham (now known as Brigham & Musso) in Newport from 1976 to 1979. The Trial and Verdict Approximately 229 of the 230 living dogs removed from the Bergmans' Mountain Top Kennel during the raid reportedly are now living in foster homes throughout Washington State. While the Bergmans awaited trial, animal rescue groups involved in the raid appealed to the public for donations for food and facilities to help nurse the dogs back to health. According to local reports, the rescue groups raised approximately $90,000. |
| UPDATE
FROM 9/17/99
From Seattle Times,
Friday, September 17, 1999 See more on this site |
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