Case Details
Share:

Case Snapshot
Case ID: 16766
Classification: Stabbing, Choking / Strangulation / Suffocation, Beating
Animal: dog (non pit-bull)
More cases in Larimer County, CO
More cases in CO
Abuse was retaliation against animal's bad behavior
« Back to Search Results
Login to Watch this Case

Attorneys/Judges
Defense(s): Lee Christian
Judge(s): Daniel Kaup, Gregory Lammons



CONVICTED: Was justice served?

Please vote on whether or not you feel the sentence in this case was appropriate for the crime. (Be sure to read the entire case and sentencing before voting.)

weak sentence = one star
strong sentence = 5 stars

more information on voting

When you vote, you are voting on whether or not the punishment fit the crime, NOT on the severity of the case itself. If you feel the sentence was very weak, you would vote 1 star. If you feel the sentence was very strong, you would vote 5 stars.

Please vote honestly and realistically. These ratings will be used a a tool for many future programs, including a "People’s Choice" of best and worst sentencing, DA and judge "report cards", and more. Try to resist the temptation to vote 1 star on every case, even if you feel that 100 years in prison isn’t enough.

Case #16766 Rating: 2.0 out of 5



Dog choked, beaten, throat slit
Fort Collins, CO (US)

Incident Date: Monday, Jun 21, 2010
County: Larimer

Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Convicted

Defendants/Suspects:
» Nicole Ann Anderson
» Robert Anderson - Not Charged

Case Updates: 2 update(s) available

A 31-year-old Fort Collins hospital worker has been charged with aggravated cruelty to animals for allegedly slitting the throat of her boyfriend's Australian Shepherd mix.

The woman, Nicole Ann Anderson, allegedly killed the dog after it attacked and killed her small poodle.

According to a police affidavit, Anderson told co-workers at the Poudre Valley Hospital that it took a considerable time to kill the large dog and that "it didn't go well."

Anderson's boyfriend was out of town at the time of the June 21 incident and Anderson allegedly asked her sister and ex-husband for help, requesting they provide her with a gun, police said. Both refused to provide a gun.

However, Anderson's ex-husband did come over to the apartment which Anderson shares with her boyfriend.

Anderson told co-workers her ex-husband tried to kill the Australian Shepherd by first trying to choke it and then by trying to break its neck.

When the dog resisted, the ex-husband held the dog down and Nicole Anderson slit the dog's throat, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit said that co-workers at the hospital said Anderson appeared emotionally disturbed by the events and kept repeating to co-workers, "the blood, the blood," and "it didn't go well."

But she also allegedly told one worker that "once we got to the trachea, it was easy after that."

The affidavit said that Anderson related the events to her colleagues on June 22 and was sent home from the hospital. Kevin Darst, spokesman for the Poudre Valley Health System, said Anderson was a registered nurse at the hospital. However, he said that she left her job at the hospital in early July.

The next day the hospital contacted the Larimer County Humane Society.

Officers from the Humane Society immediately went to Anderson's apartment. They found the two dogs wrapped in plastic bags in one of the community Dumpsters at the apartment complex.

The Australian Shepherd had a large, 9-inch laceration around its neck.

The bodies of the dogs were taken to the Colorado State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory for a necropsy.

Police said the necropsy was consistent with Anderson's description of the animals' deaths.

The smaller dog died of injuries consistent with being killed by a larger animal. The Australian Shepherd suffered "acute, severe laceration with jugular and tracheal transaction," and head trauma consistent with blunt force trauma, according to police.

Police said that in emails to a neighbor, Anderson said that her son - a child with special needs - was not home at the time of the incident. She also gave no indication in the emails that the Australian Shepherd made any threats or caused her any fear after the poodle was killed, said investigators.

Anderson claimed that her boyfriend gave his consent to having the large dog "put down" and suggested she put it in a kennel until he returned.

Anderson allegedly told co-workers that she didn't want to place the dog in a kennel. She allegedly didn't want to take the dog to the pound to be put down because it was late at night and the shelter wasn't open.

Fort Collins Detective Bryan Vogel said in the arrest affidavit that the manner in which the dog was killed - the choking, the attempt to break its neck, the cutting of the throat and hitting the dog in the head - meets the definition of "knowingly torture" under Colorado law.

He said both Anderson and her ex-husband have refused to answer questions about the incident.

Anderson is to appear in court on Friday.


Case Updates

Nicole Anderson was sentenced to two years probation and 150 hours public service for the way she killed her friend's dog, not the fact that she killed it.

The Fort Collins woman was sentenced for misdemeanor animal cruelty in 8th Judicial District Court on Thursday for the June 21 death of an Australian shepherd-Labrador mix.

Rawah had attacked and killed Anderson's poodle and, with its history of violence, she feared for her 5-year-old special needs son.

Anderson called Paul Green, Rawah's owner, and he gave her permission to put the dog down, he said in court Thursday afternoon.

But instead of surrendering the dog to the humane society or taking it to a veterinarian, Anderson killed the dog the way she learned to kill animals growing up on a farm �" she twisted its neck then slit its throat.

She admits she was wrong and wishes she could take it back, she said in court Thursday.

"I deeply regret allowing the application of a farmer's solution," she said. "I wasn't thinking clearly."

But since that time, she has suffered more than remorse, according to Green, who testified for Anderson. She lost her job and many friends, he said. Her name and story were splashed across the news, and in essence, she was branded with a scarlet letter, he said.

Judge Greg Lammons agreed and, due to her clean history, career as a nurse and low likelihood of repeating her actions, decided not to add jail to the Anderson's sentence.

"It's clear that dog was going to be put down," Lammons said. "What we are talking about is not the death of the dog but the manner. The dog suffered. It did not deserve to have its neck wrung and throat slit."
Source: reporterherald.com - Aug 25, 2011
Update posted on Aug 25, 2011 - 9:04PM 
A woman accused of slitting the throat of her boyfriend's dog last summer is likely to stand trial after her attorney tried to enter a "not guilty" plea Tuesday.

District Judge Daniel Kaup said that he will be rotating out of criminal court next year, and Nicole Ann Anderson, 32, will need to be arraigned before District Judge Gregory Lammons before a trial date may be set.

Anderson was arrested in July and charged with aggravated cruelty to animals, a class 6 felony. The Larimer Humane Society and Fort Collins police accused Anderson of slitting the throat of her boyfriend's Australian shepherd/Labrador mix after the dog killed her poodle, according to a previous report.

Shortly after her arrest, Anderson lost her job with Poudre Valley Hospital. At present, she does not work for Poudre Valley Health System, hospital spokesman Kevin Darst said Tuesday.

Anderson is represented by private defense attorney Lee Christian, who declined comment Tuesday, citing a gag order he'd requested earlier in the case.

Anderson remains free on a $1,500 personal recognizance bond.

In the arrest affidavit her ex-husband, Robert Anderson, was said to have helped kill the dog by trying to choke it then trying to break its neck before holding the dog while Nicole Anderson cut its throat, according to a previous report in the Coloradoan.

Robert Anderson, doesn't face any animal-cruelty charges, according to the Colorado Courts Database on Tuesday.

The affidavit states that authorities began investigating Nicole Anderson after her co-workers at the hospital told police she "appeared to be emotionally disturbed by the events" the day after they occurred, and she kept repeating, "the blood, the blood" and "it didn't go well," according to the previous report.

People with the humane society found both dogs �" wrapped in plastic bags next to cleaning materials �" in trash bins outside Anderson's home, according to the previous report.

A class 6 felony is punishable by a year to 18 months of incarceration and fines of $1,000 to $100,000. Anderson's arraignment is scheduled for Nov. 15 at 8:15 a.m. in Larimer County Justice Center.
Source: coloradoan.com - Nov 2, 2010
Update posted on Nov 2, 2010 - 11:51PM 

References

« Back to Search Results
« CO State Animal Cruelty Map
« More cases in Larimer County, CO

Note: Classifications and other fields should not be used to determine what specific charges the suspect is facing or was convicted of - they are for research and statistical purposes only. The case report and subsequent updates outline the specific charges. Charges referenced in the original case report may be modified throughout the course of the investigation or trial, so case updates, when available, should always be considered the most accurate reflection of charges.

For more information regarding classifications and usage of this database, please visit the database notes and disclaimer.



Send this page to a friend
© Copyright 2001-2011 Pet-Abuse.Com. All rights reserved. Site Map ¤ Disclaimer ¤ Privacy Policy