animal cruelity a felony???? Original Article Families of hurt animals get victim's advocate Linda Helser The Arizona Republic Nov. 1, 2005 12:00 AM Until two months ago, Nadine Bowen-Wilson and Bjorn Borgen could have been the last to know what was happening in the criminal case against a neighbor who admitted to fatally poisoning two of the couple's dogs. That's because Arizona law does not recognize pet owners as victims in animal-cruelty cases. But don't try to tell them that. "That guy murdered my best friend," said Borgen, 48, of Litchfield Park, who helplessly held one of his dogs in his arms as the mastiff mix died last December. Now, thanks to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office and its heightened commitment to prosecute animal abusers, the couple are among the first to have a victim's advocate assigned to help them through their case. "Before, they may have had their hearts broken, but depending on the judge, they weren't necessarily considered victims," said Tony Church, 29, an attorney for the Maricopa County Attorney's Office who is prosecuting the case. The couple's former neighbor, Donald James Bachand, 47, admitted to sheriff's investigators that he poisoned their three dogs with strychnine on four different occasions in 2004 and 2005 because they barked too much, according to sheriff's department reports. One dog survived after extensive medical treatment. Sheriff's reports say that Bachand was arrested after he confessed to his wife and was charged with four counts of cruelty to animals, a felony. Two more charges were added after he reportedly confessed to poisoning two other dogs in his old neighborhood in Buckeye. Bachand agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a six-month jail term. The deal is not yet final and will come before a judge for final approval Nov. 7. Through it all, Mary DeJulis, the couple's court-appointed victim's advocate, has been able to console them and their five children. She also alerted them to upcoming court dates and encouraged them to have input when it came to recommendations for punishment. "She was great," said Bowen-Wilson, 43. "It was wonderful to be able to talk to her." Also, depending on permission from the presiding judge, she encouraged them to testify in court, making general statements regarding their loss. "Mary was at all the court appointments, and she said to call her with anything I needed or my kids needed," Bowen-Wilson said. "She would return my calls within minutes, and when I got hysterical at a trial management conference, she calmed me down." DeJulis is one of two victim's advocates out of the 40 employed in the County Attorney's Office to be recently assigned to animal-cruelty cases. The efforts are a result of the Law Enforcement for Animal Protection task force officially launched by the County Attorney's Office in June. Volunteers in the 30-member LEAP task force represent police, prosecutors, animal-control and shelter personnel from cities such as Phoenix, Surprise, Paradise Valley, Cave Creek, Gilbert, Buckeye, Peoria, Chandler, Mesa, Tempe, Avondale, Mesa and Scottsdale. "It's definitely working," said Church, who prosecutes the majority of animal-abuse cases for the County Attorney's Office. "Not only are we enlightening police officers on how to investigate an animal-abuse crime and determine whether it's a misdemeanor or felony, but there's a lot of communicating and networking going on between police and the different animal agencies." As for Bachand, he is expected to be taken into custody Nov. 7 when he appears before Maricopa County Superior Court Judge James Keppel, who will decide whether to accept his plea and decide the terms and length of his probation. Bachand has also agreed to pay $1,673.51 in restitution to Bowen-Wilson and Borgen for veterinary bills. He'll also pay an additional $300 to each of the other two pet owners who lost dogs because of his actions. In addition, he has agreed to make a $5,000 donation to the Arizona Humane Society, and he will not be permitted to have a pet while on probation. "Sometimes you do stupid things, which definitely happened here, and I've paid dearly," said Bachand, who said that barking dogs belonging to his neighbors constantly inconvenienced him and kept him on edge and losing sleep. "I've just gone through some hefty civil suits, and I'm financially in distress," added the mechanical maintenance worker, who still lives in the West Valley, but not in the same house. But Bowen-Wilson, a therapist who practices in central Phoenix, still doesn't think it's enough. "I'd like to see anyone who's convicted of animal abuse go through a mandatory treatment program based on empathy building," she said, adding that it would be much like what is required of domestic violence offenders. And she says she's just the one to launch such a program. "I'm going to approach the Legislature with this and call it Tug's Law," she said, "after one of my dogs that he killed