INDIANA -- A Westville-area man is now charged with severely beating his malnourished dog after the pet killed one of the chickens he kept at his mobile home.
Kurt Norem, 47, is charged with two counts of Class A misdemeanor cruelty to an animal. A pretrial conference is set July 2.
The case against Norem began May 4 when sheriff's deputies were called to his mobile home in the 7900 block of West U.S. 6 and found the thin dog with a swollen left eye and cuts. Norem admitted beating the dog, police said.
On May 14, police said, sheriff's deputies went back to the home to arrest Norem and found three female dachshunds in a single small plastic crate and a Belgian malinois in a large metal cage.
Police said there was no food or water left for the dogs, and they were subject to warm conditions inside the mobile home, which seemed abandoned and was sealed up except for a tiny open window.
A report involving the four dogs was given to prosecutors to decide whether to seek additional charges against Norem and a woman living with him, police said.
(South Bend Tribune - May 25, 2013)
