SINCLAIRVILLE – A man was charged last week with 19 felonies for alleged cruelty toward 15 dogs and four puppies that he possessed.

Since then, a neighbor of the alleged abuser has found himself in a sticky situation, with many in the area mistaking the neighbor for the alleged abuser. Not only has the neighbor reported judgement since the mistake began, but also expressed concern due to his career as a teacher at a nearby school.

On Monday Dec. 1, the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Department responded to a report of animal abuse, alongside members of the Chautauqua County Humane Society, at an address on Edson Road in the town of Gerry. The report initially came from a report and neglect that was given to the Humane Society. Upon arriving, officers located 64 year old Mark Coppola, who owned the dogs present on the property. When officers executed a search warrant at the residence they found the dogs in deplorable conditions. Humane Society staff would retrieve the dogs and bring them back to their shelter for medical examinations. Currently, six of the dogs have been seized by the shelter and are available under the foster-to-adopt program, but the shelter will hold all 19 dogs until a court decision is made for the case.

The dogs were reportedly found to be living in the barn on the property, while Coppola had been living in a horse trailer parked near it. The dogs were found to be living in kennels with no bedding or access to water. The barn is located on a part of the property that borders the neighboring property. The neighboring property is owned by Mark Sager, a teacher at Cassadaga Middle/High School. Recently, while coming home from work, Sager reported being told by a local store clerk that many local people seemed to be under the assumption that it was Sager who had been charged. This is simply not the case.

“I understand the problem, because Mark Sager’s house is right there next to the barn that used to be part of the property, however the next door neighbor with the cruelty case lives in a horse trailer, next to the barn,” said Chautauqua County Humane Society Executive Director Jane Babinsky. “It is my hope that people will understand this and leave Mark Sager alone.”

Sager’s greatest worry is that this mistake could affect his career. Sager has been a teacher for decades now. While originally teaching in Georgia for about 20 years, he relocated to this area following the COVID-19 pandemic where he has assumed a career at Cassadaga school since. Sager wanted to make sure that his reputation amongst the community that he teaches for is not harmed as a result of this mistake.

“So I was just concerned, especially being a teacher. You know, I don’t need local parents thinking that I was involved in any of this,” said Sager. “I had absolutely no idea of what was going on here. When I found out about this, it horrified me.”

A reason that people may be making this mistake is due to the lack of any house on Coppola’s property. This, combined with the close proximity of Coppola’s barn to Sager’s house, may lead some people to believe that it is a singular property. Sager stated that the properties do have separate mailboxes. The properties also have separate driveways, although Sager noted that Coppola’s driveway only leads to the barn since there is no other permanent structure on the property. Additionally, the fact that the two share the same name may have caused many to mix them up. Sager even noted having mail carriers mix up their mail numerous times before. Regardless of the reasoning, Sager hopes that people know that he was not involved in any way, and that people stop mistaking him for the alleged animal abuser.