Ottawa County deputy resigns over dog death


Thursday, February 12, 2004

By Keith Essenburg
The Grand Rapids Press




OTTAWA COUNTY -- An Ottawa County sheriff's deputy resigned Wednesday after officials in a neighboring county issued a warrant for his arrest for allegedly killing his neighbor's dog.


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Deputy Henry Mark Vermeer, 43, who lives in Ravenna, allegedly trapped a neighbor's Chinese Sharpei in a snare on his property last month, then shot the animal and disposed of the dog.

Muskegon County Prosecutor Tony Tague said a warrant was issued Wednesday charging Vermeer, who worked as a tracking dog handler for the sheriff's department, with one count of killing a licensed dog. The misdemeanor charge carries a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail.

Vermeer has not yet been arraigned.

Tague said an investigation by the Muskegon County Sheriff's Department revealed Vermeer set up a snare trap on his rural property, caught the dog in the trap on Jan. 20, then shot it.

"He apparently took the dog from the trap, shot it, and then disposed of the body," Tague said.

"One of the most disturbing aspects of the investigation was that despite the fact that he was a sheriff's department deputy, he gave several versions (of the incident) to Muskegon County deputies," Tague said.

Tague said Vermeer initially denied the incident, then claimed the dog died in the trap. He later admitted to killing it, Tague said.

Investigators recovered dog blood and fur from Vermeer's property, but the dog's body has not been found.

A man answering Vermeer's home phone said Vermeer was not available. He did not return a call seeking comment.

Ottawa County Sheriff Gary Rosema said he was "extremely disappointed in the actions of our deputy in this off-duty incident."

Rosema said Vermeer, who has worked for the sheriff's department for 15 years, "tendered his resignation as a direct result of the incident that occurred" with the dog. He added that he considered Vermeer's resignation "very appropriate" given the circumstances.

Susan Foreman, the dog's owner, said Vermeer had complained in the past about the dog coming onto his property.

"He told me, 'If I could catch it, I could teach it.' Well, he caught it, and he taught it," Foreman said.

Foreman said Daisy, the 8-year-old female Sharpei, was the pet of her late husband Jack, who died two years ago of cancer.

"I know it was premeditated. It was totally intentional," Foreman said of the dog's death.

She said the day the dog was caught in the trap, she and her children heard it yelping and asked Vermeer if they could come get the dog.

Foreman said Vermeer denied he had the dog, and refused to allow Foreman to come onto his property. Later that day, Foreman said, her family heard two gun shots from Vermeer's property.

"If he had given that dog a little spanking, she would have come right home," Foreman said.

Vermeer had worked with police dogs at the sheriff's department for several years. In 1999, his canine partner, Rikki, a 2 1/2-year-old German shepherd, died in a freak accident at Vermeer's home.

The animal died of heart failure in June 1999 after a nearby lightning strike traveled through its outdoor kennel, county officials said.