unhappy

AURORA, Colo., 8:11 a.m. MDT August 8, 2001 -- An Aurora man who confessed to killing his family dog and placing its body in the freezer has been acquitted of animal cruelty. John Thompson, 59, could have received up to two years in prison if convicted of the November 1999 attack. He told the six-person jury Tuesday that the dog, a 15-pound American Eskimo mix, was aggressive toward his 4-year-old son.

Prosecutors said Thompson threw rocks at the dog to get its attention, then hit it over the head with a baseball bat.

Thompson "stood over the dog when it had the temerity to move and he beat that dog two more times," Deputy District Attorney Andrew Jurs told the jury in closing arguments.

Thompson had told the court he put the dog's body in the freezer so it would not decompose before the garbage was picked up a few days later.

Thompson's lawyer, John F. Rotole, declined to give a closing argument, saying that the jury had all the facts.

The 1999 animal cruelty convictions against a Lyles, Tenn., woman accused of running a puppy mill have been overturned by the state Court of Criminal Appeals because of an improper search of the woman's property.

Patricia Adkisson of 10372 Ed Lyell Road was convicted of three counts of animal cruelty and received a sentence of not quite three years on probation, which later was revoked and appealed.

A total of 253 animals were taken from her farm, where she raised puppies for sale. Most were placed in foster homes, while three dogs were euthanized because of their poor physical condition.

''We are very happy. Mrs. Adkisson, when I told her, she was very relieved,'' defense attorney John P. Cauley said.

According to the Court of Criminal Appeals decision issued last week, the December 1998 search of Adkisson's property by members of the Hickman County Humane Society and the county sheriff's department was improper and ''violated constitutional principles.''

''The trial court erred by failing to suppress the evidence which led to the convictions,'' Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Gary R. Wade wrote in the decision.

The search had begun after the Humane Society received an anonymous tip.

Efforts to contact the group's officers yesterday were unsuccessful.

Although the case was remanded to Hickman County Circuit Court for possible action, Cauley said he thinks the case is over.

''There's nothing left. They have taken all the animals and she (Adkisson) is not going to try to get them back, especially the ones that have been placed with families,'' he said.