John Kaschak is charged with a third-degree felony for animal cruelty after he was caught on camera allegedly abusing his pet.

AUSTIN, Texas — Austinites clapped and cheered inside a Travis County courthouse Thursday afternoon after a judge decided to not give ownership of a dog back to a man who was caught on camera allegedly abusing it.

A civil hearing was held for John Kaschek, who is charged with a third-degree felony charge of animal cruelty. The offense is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $10,000. 

The court was filled with people who simply came to the proceeding in support of Boone, the dog.

“I do think it was very clear the decision that needed to be made, but I do appreciate and really admire [the judge] for making the right one,” said Diamond Shemroske.

The state brought in two witnesses – one of which was the person who recorded the incident. They described the night of Feb. 7 when they woke up at around 4:30 a.m. and heard Boone in distress. 

Videos from that night were shown to the court.

The witness detailed two incidents throughout that same day where they recorded Kaschak apparently hitting the dog with what is believed to be a belt and pushed him against the balcony railing with a chair, while also acknowledging that the area was seemingly covered in feces. 

Austin Police Detective Christian Esquivel with the Animal Cruelty Unit was the second witness and has been investigating the case. Esquivel was also responsible for obtaining the seizure warrant to take Boone out of Kaschak’s custody and bring the dog to the Austin Animal Center where he’s been housed.

Esquivel also detailed that during the search warrant, they found items believed to be used in the abuse, including two belts, sheets that contained what appeared to be blood and a table cloth.

After the state rested its case, the defense presented no evidence and also rested, but did ask that Kaschak was requesting to get Boone back. 

Kaschak will be required to pay $898 for the costs of Boone’s housing and care, and will need to keep covering payments throughout the appeal process.

A criminal hearing in the case is set for March 30.


What animal cruelty experts are saying

According to Interim Executive Director of the Texas Humane Legislation Network Jamie Olin, getting the crime on camera is important, but added that while Texas laws are strong in animal cruelty cases – enforcing them is the problem.

“Part of the issue here is, it’s really important for officers to know what the laws actually are in these kinds of situations, and it’s not uncommon at all for officers not to understand that there is a civil disposition statute and that the dog can be taken,” said Olin.

Olin added that the case, however, has turned into a good outcome for the dog.

“I think the judicial system in Texas, they know what they’re doing and they’ve seen cases like this before, so understanding that there’s a lot of public outcry is important,” said Olin. “But I think we also should trust in the judicial system to do the right thing here.”