Mahaffey pair set to face trial in shooting of dog
All charges in animal cruelty incident sent to Clearfield court
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CLEARFIELD -- Two people from Mahaffey will stand trial for allegedly shooting a dog and leaving it to die in November.
Charges were filed in February by state police against Nichole Marie Daisher, 32, and her father, Ricky Allen Daisher, 60, both of Mahaffey, in addition to an unnamed juvenile relative.
After a preliminary hearing Wednesday during centralized court, District Judge Jerry Nevling ruled that all charges be sent to the county court for further disposition.
Nichole and Ricky Daisher are charged with felony conspiracy/aggravated cruelty to animals, misdemeanor cruelty to animals, misdemeanor neglect of animals-vet care, and summaries. Bail for each was set at $10,000, unsecured.
According to the affidavit filed with District Judge James Glass's office, Heather Hoover, the president of Animals Matter of Clearfield County Inc., contacted police on Nov. 24 reporting the dog, a young male English Mastiff, was lying on the ground, unable to move. A shoestring was tied around the dog's muzzle and there were wounds on his body and head. He had a collar and slip leash around his neck.
Hoover took the dog, Duke, to Metzger's Animal Hospital in State College and then contacted Nichole Daisher, the owner, to ask her to sign over custody to Animals Matter and she agreed.
Duke was then taken to Blue Pearl Animal Hospital in Pittsburgh for further treatment. It was determined that he had been shot by a small caliber firearm in the head, with the bullet ricocheting off his skull and into his jaw, fracturing it before exiting the side of his face, according to the report. Duke was also emaciated and tested positive for Lyme disease.
The investigation uncovered information from Nichole Daisher's cellphone that indicated she traveled on Nov. 23 from her home at 6:07 p.m. to the location where Duke was found and then back home.
When Nicole Daisher was interviewed by police on Dec. 19, she stated that day she went to her parents' home for Thanksgiving and when she returned home, Duke was on top of their other dog. She put the other dog into a kennel and calmed Duke down.
She went back to her parents' home for dinner.
"When she returned to her residence, her oldest child walked over to Duke. Duke lunged at her child," the criminal complaint states.
Because this scared her, she put Duke outside and contacted her father saying she did not know what to do. She told police she didn't want to take him to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals "because they would have just put Duke down for being aggressive."
So, instead, she, her father and another family member reportedly took the dog to Steep Hill Road in Greenwood Township. When they got there, her father and the juvenile took Duke out of the truck, while she stayed in it. She said she heard one shot.
After they heard a car coming, they all got back into the truck and fled the area, leaving Duke behind, she told investigators.
Nichole Daisher reportedly said she was unsure how the dog's mouth had gotten tied and the juvenile was the one who actually shot Duke.
When the juvenile was questioned, he said Nichole Daisher was "the one who said that Duke had to go, and she had also tied Duke's muzzle with the shoestring." He admitted to voluntarily shooting the animal with a gun supplied by Ricky Daisher, according to the affidavit.
In his interview with police, Ricky Daisher admitted to taking the dog to the woods and seeing the juvenile shoot him once. After the dog fell over and quivered, he stated that he believed the dog was "done."
He confirmed that the trio left the scene after they heard a car coming.
The dog was found by an individual who contacted the Animals Matter rescue and Duke was saved.
The group began posting updates about the dog on their Facebook page in November and reportedly raised $12,000 for his treatment. Regular posts kept people up to date on his condition.
He was placed in a foster-to-adopt home and made a miraculous recovery, the rescue said.
Since then the group has been calling for "Justice For Duke."