Animal Abuse: Dog beaten, ribs and tail broken - Olathe, KS | Pet-Abuse.Com Animal Cruelty Database

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Case ID: 15358

Classification: Beating, Mutilation/Torture

Animal: dog (non pit-bull)

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Attorneys/Judges

Prosecutor(s):	Brad Burke
Judge(s):	Sara Welch

CONVICTED: Was justice served?

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Case #15358 Rating: 2.0 out of 5

Dog beaten, ribs and tail broken
Olathe, KS (US)

Incident Date: Friday, Nov 21, 2008
County: Johnson

Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Convicted

Defendant/Suspect: Christopher W. Tann

Case Updates: 3 update(s) available

Police said a small puppy barely survived two attacks, and the man they believe is responsible faces felony charges.

Christopher Tann appeared before a judge Friday, accused of animal abuse involving a puppy that weighs just 20 pounds.

Police said he sent a text message bragging about the abuse.

Shawnee police Detective Tom Dyche said, "I just feel sorry for the owner of the dog and the dog. They didn't deserve it."

The dog is a Lhasa apso named Blitz.

Police said he had a dozen broken rib bones and a broken tail, and the vet told them it was no accident.

"There was no road rash, no gravel, and it was clearly situational where someone would have had to have kicked the dog," Dyche said.

Tann asked the judge to lower his bond, but the judge refused, ordering him to make no contact with the dog or its owner, his now ex-girlfriend, whose rocky relationship with him was the only motive police could find.

The first alleged attack happened near Midland Drive and Pflumm Road in November 2008. Police said Tann broke the dog's ribs.

A month later, they said, at an Overland Park home, he broke the dog's tail, then called another woman whom he was also dating to describe what he did.

"He had bragged about snapping the dog's tail with his hands," Dyche said. "She was disgusted and amazed at what he had told her. That's when she contacted the dog's owner."

Police say the dog's owner and the other girlfriend both dumped Tann after that and became friends with each other as a result.

Tann's bond is set at $25,000.

Case Updates

A Shawnee man pleaded guilty Tuesday to torturing his girlfriend's dog, for which he will serve 60 days in jail.

The case involved a ruling by a Johnson County judge that problems with Scruffy's law �" a felony animal-abuse law passed three years ago �" prevented the defendant from being punished under it.

As part of a plea deal, Christopher Tann pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of injury to a domestic animal.

Johnson County Judge Sara Welch placed Tann, 23, on probation for two years with an underlying two-year sentence if he fails probation. He must serve 60 days in jail first.

Police said that in November he kicked and stomped Blitz, a Lhasa apso, breaking 11 of its ribs. In another incident, they said, he broke the dog's tail.

Prosecutors originally charged Tann with felony animal abuse, but the judge ruled that the Kansas felony law was worded too much like the misdemeanor law and that Welch had to be sentenced under it.

Brad Burke, the prosecutor on the case, said he made felony requirements of at least 30 days served under each count part of the misdemeanor plea deal. Tann's sentence also requires him to get a psychological evaluation, complete an anger management program and serve 200 hours of community service.

Ashley Jenkins of Overland Park, Blitz's owner, praised the plea deal. She said her dog had recovered but was "a little more timid than before."

Scruffy's law needs to be fixed, she said.

Burke said prosecutors would suggest changes next year to Kansas lawmakers.

Source: Kansas City Star - July 22, 2009
Update posted on Jul 22, 2009 - 10:00AM

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Flaws in state law would prevent a Shawnee man from being sentenced for felony animal cruelty if he is convicted of torturing his girlfriend's dog, a Johnson County judge ruled Tuesday.

The 3-year-old felony law is too closely worded to the state misdemeanor law, District Judge Sara Welch ruled. To prevent prosecutors from arbitrarily imposing harsher charges and sentences, Kansas law limits punishment in such cases to the harshest misdemeanor sentence.

So Christopher Tann, even if convicted of the felony for attacks on his ex-girlfriend's dog, would face the misdemeanor punishment of up to one year in jail and a $2,500 fine.

The top felony sentence would normally be up to one year in jail and up to a $5,000 fine, with a requirement that he serve at least 30 days, get a mental evaluation and complete an anger control program.

Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe said prosecutors and lawmakers should consider changing the law to fix the problem.

"We might need to craft some kind of modification to the (felony) law or repeal the other law," he said.

Tann, who has pleaded not guilty, is accused of kicking and stomping Blitz, a Lhasa Apso, and breaking 11 of the dog's ribs last November. In another attack discovered the next month, Tann allegedly broke the dog's tail. Tann, 25, was angry at his girlfriend and took it out on her dog, police said.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals issued a statement to prosecutors and media this month urging harsh punishment for Tann.

Holly Beal of Kansas City, a PETA worker, said Tuesday that the ruling was a shame for the heinous case.

Source: Kansas City Star - May 26, 2009
Update posted on May 28, 2009 - 1:14AM

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A case of animal cruelty is moving forward Thursday when a man charged in the incident heads back to court.

"Jane Walton was visibly nervous as she thought about what it would be like to be in the same room with Christopher Tann," said KCTV5 News reporter Betsy Webster.

Walton is expected to come face-to-face with the man, who she said described to her the stomach-turning details of the abuse.

"I'm really scared," said Walton. "I have no idea how I'm going to handle that. I hope I don't pass out."

The last time Tann appeared before a judge it was via video, from jail.

He's accused of abusing his girlfriend's dog and then describing it to Walton, who was also dating Tann.

"I didn't know he was dating her. He told me they had broken up," said Walton.

Police said the 20-pound Lhasa apso, named Blitz, suffered a dozen broken ribs, which a vet said could only come from kicking. He also suffered a broken tail, which Walton said Tann described snapping in his hands.

"Like maybe he thought I would think it was cool. I have no idea," said Walton. "Then he told me he was joking, and he just wanted me to be scared of him."

She said he became increasingly violent with her and knew his earlier remarks about the incident were no joke.

"It makes me sick," said Walton.

Walton said she tracked down the other girlfriend and met Blitz.

"He's just the sweetest dog I ever met," said Walton.

Webster said the two women have since bonded through the legal process and will face Tann together in court.

"As long as he gets put in jail, that's kind of enough for me," said Walton.

The animal cruelty charge against Tann is a felony.

Source: KCTV - April 2, 2009
Update posted on Apr 4, 2009 - 7:36PM

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Dog beaten, ribs and tail brokenOlathe, KS (US)

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Dog beaten, ribs and tail broken
Olathe, KS (US)