A retired Kalispell doctor convicted of abandoning 12 puppies, including 10 that had been drowned, at the green-box site in Somers last summer has been given probation.
John Lawrence Heine, 75, was ordered to serve a six-month deferred sentence during a hearing Thursday afternoon in Flathead County District Court.
Heine, who breeds and trains bird dogs as a hobby, has said he tried to kill the puppies because he feared they would contract parvovirus.
While he is on probation, Heine will not be prohibited from owning dogs or maintaining a kennel.
District Court Judge Stewart E. Stadler also suspended a $1,000 fine, but recommended Heine contribute $2,500 to help the Flathead County Animal Shelter spay or neuter pets and strays.
Several colleagues and friends testified Thursday that Heine was an exemplary member of the community and loved raising dogs.
"It's really a passion of his … I've never seen a dog shy away from him," said Heine's neighbor and friend Bub Lodinoff. "I've never, ever seen him strike a dog, hit a dog."
Another friend, Stephen Van Helden, told the court that Heine was a compassionate and generous person.
"He has this ability to know how a dog thinks, and dogs just love him," Van Helden said.
Heine pleaded no contest in May to one count of felony aggravated cruelty to animals. In exchange, prosecutors dropped two counts of misdemeanor cruelty to animals.
"I think I know you regret what happened that day," said Flathead County Attorney Ed Corrigan, who told the court he pursued the case against Heine not because of public pressure but because the law was violated.
According to court records, the 10 dead and two living puppies were found the afternoon of Aug. 21, 2008, at the green-box site on Montana 82. A regular salvager discovered them along with common household trash in a gray plastic trash bag.
The puppies had been drowned in a five-gallon bucket, according to court papers filed by Heine's attorney.
Investigators were able to identify Heine as a suspect through mail in the garbage bag.
The two surviving puppies, male and female German wirehaired pointers, were taken to the Flathead County Animal Shelter where they were put up for adoption and are now 'very healthy," Flathead County Animal Shelter director Kirsten Holland said.
Holland testified Thursday she hoped Heine had learned that people and organizations are out there to help animal owners deal with unwanted pets in a humane manner.
"Having those puppies come to the shelter in the state they did made me want to work harder," she said.
Dumping animals where they can suffer injury, hunger, exposure or become charges of the public is illegal in Montana, as is putting down animals in an inhumane way.
Heine, however, grew up on an Iowa farm where veterinary work was done by family members and euthanasia by drowning was an accepted practice.
According to court papers, Heine kept the 12 puppies underwater for more than 20 minutes and twice checked to make sure they were dead before dumping them.
"The … evidence is that this is a one-time event," said Heine's attorney, John E. Smith. "Dr. Heine is not an animal abuser."
Heine has said he killed or attempted to kill the puppies because of the possibility they would catch parvovirus, a viral disorder often fatal to puppies. In June 2008 he imported two puppies from Texas that had the disease, contaminating his kennel and infecting a third animal. The puppies from Texas later died.
The abandoned puppies were an unwanted litter, fathered by a stray and born into the contaminated kennel.
A retired obstetrician from Kalispell, Heine has trained dogs for more than 40 years and his kennel earned a solid reputation among his clients and colleagues.
Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com
Lurch
In the last three years the paper has run three stories on animal cruelty. There was the six horses that were starved to death, then this one about the man drowning his puppies. Now the one about the 42 huskies that are in need of adoption. Maybe the penalty for animal cruelty isn't severe enough. Next time this happens he/she should get a year in jail.
faithful reader
""He has this ability to know how a dog thinks, and dogs just love him," Van Helden said." Oh really? Then he knows that dogs think, "Please don't drown us when we're helpless and at your mercy?" Because that's how I imagine dogs thinking. Also, I don't think the dogs he killed "love him."
Alice
It's likelyHeine has been doing this for years. This is simply the first time he's been caught at it. After seeing the surviving pups myself, there was no indication these puppies were not purebreds. I suspect he didn't want the female lactating during bird hunting season and opted to drown the puppies. I anticipated the probation, but the fine should have been more and he should have been required to clean kennels at the County Shelter on weekends for about 6 months. Seems like a slap on the wrist!
rallysmom
Obviously as I am the mom to the surviving female, this just pi$$es me off. He got off way too light. We all knew he wasn't going to go to jail, but I agree that the fine should have been larger and he should have to spend some time cleaning up after dogs at the shelter. flovilla - they were/are not just animals. Rally, the surviving female, is my child. She is the world to me and my husband, part of the family. As is her brother, Hunter, to his family. All 10 of the pups who didn't make it would have been someone's family too. Maybe it was okay in his ancient generation, but it's not in this one, it is against the law and cruel to murder dogs for no reason. I can only hope now that the pups haunt his dreams and that he really, truly knows what an awful thing he did.
rallysmom
John Heine - if you happen to be reading this, I hope you know what you did. You stole the life from 10 innocent puppies for no reason at all. They did not have parvo, they were not sick at all. Rally is the sweetest, most happy, full of life dog you could ever hope for. Her brother who survived your murder attempt is just the same. In my book (and many others') you are a horrible, awful man, a murderer. Can you live with that?
Flovilla
While you may love rally, it is just an animal. I have a dog that we love dearly but the reality is it is just an animal with no soul. A dog/cat or whatever, is a disposable being that humans try and place their feelings and traits on.
MT_native
flovilla : You dont deserve to own a dog or any pet.Obviously , you are in the same category as heine. Neither YOU or heine have a soul , And YOU are nothing but a disposable piece of trash with those feelings you have let be known. My opinion...The more people I meet, the more I love my animals.Im sure Im not alone!!!! ROT IN HELL HEINE!
SorrySOB
Whether they have souls or not is irrelevant. I personally donât believe humans or dogs either one have souls. What is important is whether an animal feels pain or suffering or not. Do you kick your dog? If so, does he yelp? Iâm guessing yes. So the question remains â is it ok to hurt animals and/or drown them? Iâll leave that up to you, but my opinion is the guy got off too easy.
kalispelldude
While it is sad what happened to the puppies, it is much worse that we live in a society where people get so fired up about animals being "murdered" (are you KIDDING ME??), but you can't even get people to agree that killing a baby is not murder. Heine is just pro choice about puppies. Shouldn't Roe v. Wade protect that? Rallysmom I sure hope you feel the same way about abortion that you do about those puppies. If you do, then I commend you. But it is not murder to kill an animal. In many countries people eat dogs and cows are their pets. This is just assine. Ruining a man's life over some dogs. What a lack of respect for a dignified elderly man in our community. After reading the article more closely, what he did makes sense. I probably wouldn't have done it, but it makes sense. There are much worse things to do. This should be a misdemeanor, only because the 2 pups weren't dead when he left them. Obviously the emotionally driven public played a part in influencing the judge's decision. These animal cruelty laws need to be revised. Animal life has value, but human
rallysmom
kalispelldude - how does what he did make sense? The dogs WERE NOT SICK. I don't know if you got that part or not. If they had been sick, putting them down may have made sense if they could not be treated and cured first. Even then, drowning them is not a humane way of putting an animal down. And I don't really care what you think, in my book it is murder. I don't care if you feel like dogs are just animals. To me they are not. My dogs are my children, I love them like they are part of my family. Maybe they don't have souls, I don't know, but they have feelings and they deserve to be treated with love and care. Not to be MURDERED and discarded like trash. I never said I wanted Heiene's life to be over. I just think he needs more than a slap on the wrist. Plus, he may be old, but from most of the people I talk to he is not a good man and was not a good doctor. He doesn't deserve respect just b/c he's gotten old. You have to earn respect and killing dogs is
rallysmom
kalispelldude - btw, I agree with one thing you said. The animal cruelty laws do need to be revised. They are not nearly strict enough and do not carry a heavy enough punishment.
Flathead Resident
just so you all are aware, his sentence does not constitute a FELONY, he was convicted of a misdemeanor.... that is the tradgedy of this entire story, and it will be removed from his record after six months...
faithful reader
I wondered how long it would be before someone opined that we should concern ourselves more with people than with animals. I would have bet it would come much sooner than it did. Someone probably slept in today.
faithful reader
A deferred sentence certainly DOES mean that it will be removed from his record if he has no more violations. A suspended sentence is not removed.
faithful reader
Sorry, dude. I'm intimately familiar with this procedure, professionally. It is a matter of course and filing a simple form that dismisses the charge and runs a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser over the conviction.
stunned
Wow. Our world is certainly upside down. Rally, do you actually have biological children? I bet if you do, you treat your dogs with more respect and love. I bet you know where your dogs are at all times but not your children. Placing an animal on the same level as a human is insulting. I'm not saying it's o.k. to abuse animals, absolutely not. Put as much love, time, nurturing and discipline into your children as you do your dog and this world would be a better place. Do your kids know that you have placed your dog on the same level as they? How sad for them!
faithful reader
It's criminal law, not civil. I'm sure the military's MARTIAL law is quite different.
SorrySOB
I can entertain any arguement except the "elderly" exemption arguement. Suggesting that someone 75 should get a pass because of thier age is irresponsible, unfair, and just wrong. Also, age doesn't necessarily demand respect. Choices and actions do.
SorrySOB
By the way, when discussing law the choice of words is very important. Are you saying that civil and criminal are interchangable?
rallysmom
Stunned - first of all, HOW DARE YOU judge me and my parental habits without knowing a thing about me? How sad for you that you are so jaded and angry at someone who you do not even know. Your reasoning doesn't even make sense. I would think that someone who loves and dotes on their pets would be a better mother, not worse. But to answer your question, no I do not have human children. My husband and I are perfectly content having dogs instead. I don't care if some people think that I shouldn't give my dogs such respect as beings. Most animal lovers and pet owners feel like I do, not like you do.
faithful reader
I'm not perfect, photoguy, but I do know how the justice system operates. If you're going to comment on it as if you're an expert, you need to get your facts straight. A deferred sentence means the conviction goes away. I'd wager my car that Dr. Heine will not violate the terms of his deferred imposition of sentence. The fact is, if you want to find out if someone has a deferred sentence on the record, the paper trail is a mile wide and easily accessible. In this case, the HEINE-ousness of his crime makes that a moot point. People will remember what he did.
stunned
Rally, I apologize if you think I meant that doting and loving on your animals is wrong. What I said was, putting them on a human level is insulting. I understand why you love your animals so much now knowing you don't have children. I think it would have clarified things if you had actually said that from the beginning. Stating that this animal is your child was shocking to me, that's all.
stunned
That's funny photoguy. YOU aren't judging? I believe you said he should have gotten a stiffer penalty. That's not judging? If you simply give an opinion, it is judging. It's funny how YOUR opinion is just that, an opinion but if someone says something you don't agree with, THEY are being judgemental.
stunned
Photoguy, I must apologize. I misunderstood what you were saying. I thought you were posting to my response to rally. My point is, everyone judges. We all have our opinions. Then, we have opinions about those opinions. I enjoy your posts even if I disagree which I don't most of the time.
Rob123
speaking of drowned puppies, Sarah Pallin resigned as Gov. a couple hours ago. It was probably the humane thing to do?
Rob123
I didn't vote for the narcissistic looker from AK. I'm just tired of the melodrama over the puppies.
stunned
Hans, since you brought it up...Palin is prepping for Presidency. 2012 is coming very quickly and she's going to be ready to rock and roll. What's wrong with her being beautiful? The media can scew her anyway they want to. She has a lot of support from woman like me who are not offended by her beauty and hunt and fish with the best of them.
Flathead Resident
photoguy- you need to get counsel for your son, unless he was convicted of a domestic violence he can have a gun in the State of Montana, and once again if you look up statue you will see that his sentence DOES NOT constitute a FELONY, sorry, but that is the facts.
Flathead Resident
I guess I should clarify my last statement, in order for it to be a FELONY in the State of Montana, you must be sentenced to a year and a day, meaning any term longer than one year... that is the statue that you want to look up, not what he was actually charged with. Sorry folks, this is reality with our current system, you will notice they only stated he was convicted and sentenced to PROBATION, they did not state if Felony or Misd., this was poor of the DI to leave that out. If the county attorney wants to lead you to believe this is a Felony, well, you voted him in and you have been deceived.
Roark
As much as I find animal cruelty disgusting and morally repugnant, I have to disagree with the judge in this case. Animals do NOT have rights. If we start acrediting rights that humans have to animals than we're in for some trouble we dont want. Whats next?-plant cruelty?
Lurch
I didn't think this needed to be said, but I guess after reading the post it does. Animals feel pain just like people. They don't have souls, but they do have spirit (read Ecclesiastes). Those of you who are excusing this man's actions because they were "just animals" shouldn't be allowed to have pets. This man deserves to have a year in prison with Bubba for a cell mate. I know he's old, so put him in a cell with an old Bubba.
Lurch
Sorry for the mental picture - of a geriatric scene from Deliverance. Animal cruelty makes me mad.