Animal Abuse Trial Begins In Newport Couple Facing Total Of 42 Counts Of Cruelty

Swen and Jeanette Bergman listened attentively Monday as prosecutors began laying the foundation for a case they hope will prove the couple ran a filthy, inhumane puppy mill.

“Everyone will tell you what they found was an overcrowded and filthy place,” Deputy Prosecutor Tony Koures told Pend Oreille County District Judge Chuck Baechler in his opening statement.

“Many of the dogs hardly had any shelter. Some dogs were living under propped-up plywood. Some actually were living in shipping crates.”

The Bergmans are charged with 21 counts each of second-degree animal cruelty and six counts of illegally removing parts of dogs’ ears. The charges are misdemeanors.

Baechler is hearing the case without a jury.

Deputies raided the kennel near Newport in January. About 200 dogs, mostly mastiffs and golden retrievers, were confiscated. Another 15 were found dead, while 23 others were in such poor health they had to be destroyed.

Prosecutors say the kennel was overcrowded and was a haven for disease. Some dogs had genetic problems or parasites, Koures said.

Many of the pens lacked food or water and were unsanitary, he said.

“Some dogs were observed licking feces and urine-stained snow for water,” he said. “In some pens, feces were several inches thick.”

The defense used its opening statement to accuse the prosecution of exaggerating.

“The scene that has been described is not accurate,” defense lawyer Dennis Scott said.

Many of the diseases the dogs contracted originated after the state confiscated them, he said.

All but about 70 of the dogs are now in foster homes across the state.

Removing portions of mastiffs’ ears is a standard practice in the breeding industry, Scott said.

Media attention has helped create animosity against the Bergmans, Scott also said, adding that the couple has received threats by mail.

“The evidence is going to show that as a result of these actions, the Bergmans have lost their entire business,” he said. “They have been made outcasts across the United States.”

“We live in a society where people brand cattle, castrate sheep without anesthetic and knock them in the head, if you’ve ever heard of slaughterhouses,” defense lawyer Charles Dorn said earlier. “Most of us go through life and try not to think about it.”

The Bergmans have lived in Newport since 1992, when they moved from Rathdrum, Idaho, after Jeanette Bergman pleaded guilty to 13 misdemeanor counts of animal abuse and was jailed for 30 days.

The Newport trial is expected to last about 10 days.

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