A man told 27 News he regrets surrendering his friend's dog to her landlords as the pet's disappearance approaches four months.
DANE COUNTY (WKOW) -- A man told 27 News he regrets surrendering his friend's dog to her landlords as the pet's disappearance approaches four months.
The landlords - Sarah Engeseth, 59, and Susan Haas, 61 - are criminally charged in Dane County with the taking of the dog named Simon. Earlier this month, felony theft charges against them were reduced to misdemeanor dognapping by Dane County Assistant District Attorney Paul Humphrey.
John Isaacson said he was caring for Simon Oct. 31, 2022 at his North Bristol workplace to help the dog owner comply with new lease terms forbidding pets when Engeseth and Haas arrived and demanded the animal be surrendered. Isaacson said they referenced an attorney's letter and claimed they had the authority to take the dog to a shelter.
"He's gone because of me," Isaacson told 27 News. "I didn't fight for him. I did what I thought I should have done when they flashed the paper at me."
Court records state Haas told Sheriff's deputies she did not steal the dog.
"Hess (sic) said her lawyer told her she had legal authority to take the dog," a criminal complaint states.
The complaint also says the women had a "letter of notice" from their attorney to support their taking of Simon.
John Patrick Gross of the faculty of UW Law School said a notice is often required in a civil proceeding such as a landlord-tenant dispute. But Gross said a letter of notice would require subsequent, additional steps before the removal of an animal from an owner's property could take place.
"I have a hard time imagining a lawyer giving that advice," Gross said.
Isaacson said Engeseth and Haas do not own the property at which he works.
27 News reached out to the attorney representing both Engeseth and Haas in their criminal case and asked if he was the attorney advising them prior to the taking of their tenant's pet. He has not responded to our request for comment.
Records show Haas maintained she intended to surrender Simon at the Dane County Humane Society. But she said the dog jumped out of her car and ran off.
Isaacson said he was so upset at Simon being taken from him, he immediately drove to the Humane Society to check on his wellbeing and contact shelter staff to initiate the process of the dog's return to its owner. Isaacson told 27 News there was no sign of Haas and Humane Society personnel said there'd been no contact from her.
"They would have been in the parking lot doing the paperwork to get rid of him," Isaacson maintained of the women if their intention was to surrender Simon.
The criminal complaint states Engeseth falsely claimed to responding deputies Isaacson and the dog's owner should be arrested on warrants or probation violations.
When contacted by a 27 News reporter, Engeseth said the station's coverage of the charge against her was "distorted."
A phone number supplied to the court by Haas was disconnected.
Gross said an attorney's advice linked to a crime could lead to a referral to the Office of Lawyer Regulation or even a criminal review in extreme cases. Humphrey declined comment when asked by 27 News whether such a referral or review had taken place.
"The statute in Wisconsin is you can be part of a criminal act if you advise someone to do it," Gross told 27 News. "So lawyers should be very careful about the advice they give."
