Jurors reach mixed verdict in dog case

It didn't take a Kalispell jury long to find a man innocent of having vicious dogs, in a case that is more than a year old.

The case, in Kalispell Municipal Court, involved a substitute judge because Municipal Judge Heidi Ulbricht reportedly had an encounter with the dogs involved.

Charged was Mick Morin, 53. His two boxers reportedly killed a kitten Aug. 4, 2004 on its owners' porch on Second Street West.

Kalispell animal warden Mike Hall investigated the incident. He charged Morin with two counts each of letting a dog run at large, having a vicious dog, and having no current dog license. Morin contested the vicious-dog charge and the case went to trial - an unusual step that took more than a year to reach.

After about 20 minutes' deliberation, the jury found Morin guilty on the charges of having a dog at large and having no licenses. Jurors didn't convict him of having vicious dogs.

Morin was defended by Kalispell attorney George Best and was prosecuted by Assistant City Attorney Rich Hickel. Attorney Mary Obermiller acted as judge in Ulbricht's court.

On Tuesday, Kathy Hafferman said her kitten was 6 months old when Morin's two dogs attacked it in front of her children on the family's porch. The children testified about the trauma of watching the dogs maul their pet.

Hafferman said Morin brought his checkbook to her house and offered to pay for the cat. He apologized, she said.

"We're terrified, terrified of the dogs," she said.

But Kalispell veterinarian Daniel Savage described the dogs as friendly, outgoing and happy.

He was the veterinarian who tried unsuccessfully to save the cat after Morin brought it to her. He also provides medical care for Morin's boxers.

"I do not believe these dogs are vicious in nature," he said.

If the dogs were found to be vicious, they could have been destroyed, Hickel said.

He said Ulbricht thought she had a conflict in presiding over the case because her son was chased by two boxers that could have been Morin's.

Obermiller fined Morin $40 on each of the four counts on which he was convicted. He also was ordered to pay jury costs of about $270, Hickel said.