Dog shot to death
Minisink, NY (US)Incident Date: Sunday, Apr 1, 2007
County: Orange
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: David Miedema, Jr.
David Miedema Jr. shot his dog, a five-year-old chocolate Labrador named Cade, on April 1.
But the laws have changed and Minisink has changed over the years, while the farmers, in many ways, have remained the same.
"The farmers still think they can go out and shoot their dog," said David Ayers, animal cruelty investigator in the Orange County Sheriff's Office. "When you tell them, 'You can't do that,' they look at you like you have two heads."
The sheriff's office has charged Miedema, 31, of Westtown, with one count of animal cruelty, a misdemeanor. He was arrested on June 19 and has since been released and pleaded not guilty in Minisink Town Court. The trial continues in September.
Court papers say Miedema, who helps veterinarians on farms throughout the area, admitted to shooting the dog with his boss' .308-caliber rifle at the Dean Ford Farm, where he works.
He told Ayers the dog had been hit by a vehicle and broke a leg.
He also told Ayers that he had been wanting to get rid of the dog for a long time, and his wife and kids were away for the weekend, court papers say.
"It was the perfect opportunity," he reportedly told Ayers. "My house was just full of hair. It's a mess. If you pick up the couch, it looks like a mouse nest under there."
Miedema also initially told Ayers that he had buried the dog's body. But when pressed about that the following day, Miedema said he had left the carcass in a wheelbarrow, and it was gone when he went to retrieve it, court papers say.
Reached on the phone, Miedema said he could not comment on the case without his lawyer's approval.
"I'm looking at jail time," he said.
The lawyer, Vern Lazaroff, also declined to comment.
Ayers, the investigator, says he often experiences a culture clash when trying to enforce animal cruelty laws on farms, where animals are viewed as simply part of their machinery.
"I've got a lot of respect for farmers. It's a hard business," Ayers said. "They are exempt from a lot of (animal cruelty laws). If they want to go out and kill the cattle or the goat or whatever they can do that."
But, he added, "You've still got to be humane about how you dispose of your pets or your companion animals. To shoot their dog, they can't do that anymore. They don't want to hear that." References« NY State Animal Cruelty Map
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