riley

Riley

Source

Free Press

Sample Letter Wirtten By
Sandra Hender
PTI Writer

Dear

I am imploring you to please give your full attention to the crime committed against Riley, the 9-year-old Black Labrador owned by Shannon Rains. This dog was brutally shot and killed in cold blood by Christopher Lee Atkins. This man claims the dog had attacked him two days earlier; however, what he did to the dog is unacceptable and inexcusable. Please keep in mind that this crime is obviously one of revenge; not self-defense as he is undoubtedly going to claim. At the time Mr. Atkins shot and killed Riley, the dog was not bothering him. He just saw the dog and decided snuff out his life with a gun.

Atkins was charged with killing Riley, which carries a maximum sentence of four years, and weapons possession, which carries a term of five years in prison. Although the punishment for murdering a beloved dog in cold blood is not nearly severe enough, I implore you to please see to it this man receives the maximum sentence for both crimes; and consecutive sentences; thus being put away for nine years in prison.

What Shannon Rains suffered also needs to be considered here. She is as much a victim as her dog was. To deliberately take away someone's beloved dog through murder is simply inexcusable and must not be tolerated under any circumstances. Please try to imagine her pain at the discovery of Riley's dead body; shot to death by a deranged man with a gun. If he felt the dog was a threat, all he needed to do was call animal control to pick Riley up where his owner could have later claimed him. He had absolutely no right to take the life of this poor dog.I

f the law does not clamp down on these criminals, eventually victims will begin to take the law into their own hands. That is why this man needs to be punished severely.

Thank you for your attention to this very important matter and your time.

Sincerely,

A Flint, Michigan man was charged with two felonies on July 18th in the shooting death of a family pet. Christopher Lee Adkins, 24, allegedly shot Riley, a 95-pound chocolate labrador, on July 13th.

Magistrate Thomas Raguso set bond at $15,000 after Adkins pleaded not guilty to charges of
torturing and killing an animal and weapons possession which carry four and years in prison
respectively, upon conviction.

According to Adkins' attorney's (possibly biased ...) statements, Adkins had been working on a construction site near the Chateau Cove home of Shannon Rains, when her dog, Riley, who had a reputation as a "very aggressivel dog", tore his trousers, bit his leg, knocked him down and
dragged him on the ground two days before the shooting. Riley allegedly again attacked Adkins on Friday.

So, why didn't he do something then? If he was bitten, he needed to find out who the dog's guardian was at that time.

As Shannon Rains prepared to leave her Groveland Township home for work Friday, she heard two shots followed by pitiful yelps. Her next-door-neighbor came over and said, "they shot Riley." She then found her 9-year-old dog shot dead. "I was sick," Rains said, who received Riley as a
birthday present, "He was so much a part of the family. He was like our first child."

Scientists have found she is right, dogs have the intellect of a 3 to 5 year old child, their ability to feel emotion is also documented. On CBS SUNDAY MORNING, January 7, 2001, aired a piece on "animal experts" who all testified to the significant intelligence of the animals they have worked
with or studied. Riley's killing is murder and not self defense. Self defense is used against life threatening forces, not against a dog who may bite.

Christopher Lee Adkins must be made to realize that shooting a dog is a totally unacceptable way of restraining him. He must not be allowed to get away with killing this dog intentionally, as he carried a gun to work just for that purpose. Your help is needed to stop Adkins and others who will follow.