Dalton police searched dog trainer’s home before his suicide

Dalton, Georgia, police say they searched dog trainer Stephen Kinder’s home and talked with him on the phone about an hour before he committed suicide Thursday.

According to a news release Friday, a Dalton Police Department officer began investigating Kinder on Sunday. A woman had called police, asking for an officer to meet her and Kinder at the parking lot of a local Red Lobster. Kinder had been training her dog at his facility in Cleveland, Tennessee.

The woman said her dog had lost a lot of weight and was vomiting, according to the release. Kinder said the dog had lost weight because it exercised more than normal.

Because Kinder’s business was in Cleveland, Dalton police referred the information to the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office, which in turn charged Kinder with four counts of animal cruelty this week.

Later, a Dalton police officer learned that Kinder also kept animals in his home in town. Officers served a warrant on Kinder’s property, located in the 800 block of Mattie Street.

According to the news release, they found 16 dogs, two goats, two turtles, a snake and nine ducks. Police said the animals were malnourished and living in filth. The dogs’ kennels were covered in waste. Police said they also found a dead turtle and multiple dead snakes.

Dalton police spokesman Bruce Frazier said officers told Kinder’s wife they would be searching the house. While there, the officers received a call from members of the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office. One of Kinder’s friends had called the sheriff’s office, reporting that Kinder expressed suicidal thoughts.

Dalton police called Kinder. According to the news release, he told officers around 12:10 p.m. Thursday that he was not suicidal. He also said he was on the way back to the house in Dalton.

According to the release, a member of the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office called Dalton police around 1:30 p.m., informing them that Kinder shot and killed himself.

A Whitfield County Animal Shelter representative took the animals from Kinder’s home Thursday. They coordinated with rescue agencies to find homes for them.