Former Maine man pleads guilty to animal cruelty

BOZEMAN, Mont.—A West Yellowstone man accused of abandoning 33 sled dogs without food, water or shelter pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty as part of a plea agreement.

John T. Hessert, 24, wore a vest embroidered with an Iditarod logo as he made his plea before District Judge Holly Brown. His lawyer, Chuck Watson, told the judge that Hessert was remorseful and that his client's aspirations of becoming a professional musher have already been compromised.

"The long shot of this is Mr. Hessert got overextended and the dogs suffered as a consequence," Watson said. "He has to live with that. He has a conscience."

Hessert initially pleaded not guilty to one felony count of aggravated animal cruelty and 33 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty. The felony charge was dropped as part of the plea agreement.

According to court records, a man called animal control Jan. 30 to report that the dogs were being kept in an unsafe environment outside West Yellowstone near Targhee Pass.

A veterinarian examined the dogs and determined that they were all "well below normal health and had not been being fed enough food," according to court records. One of the dogs had a collar embedded in its neck and other dogs had frostbite.

Most of the dogs were transported to Hessert's father's 96-acre property in Maine while the criminal case was pending.

Hessert's plea agreement also requires him to pay $27,855 in restitution to volunteers who cared for the dogs while the case was being investigated. He must serve 100 hours of community service, two days in the Gallatin County Detention Center and two years of probation.

Hessert will not be allowed to own or be in control of a dog for two years.

Hessert's father, Stephen Hessert, is an attorney and an accomplished dogsledder who made the news in 2003 when he was struck from behind by a snowmobiler in northern New Hampshire while training for a 250-mile dogsled race. The snowmobiler didn't stop and another snowmobiler found Hessert unconscious and got him out of the woods on the dogsled.

Hessert was hospitalized and underwent multiple surgeries, and had titanium rods inserted in both legs.

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Information from: Bozeman Daily Chronicle, http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com