Lucas, a purebred Siberian Husky is less than 2 years old, but he has
suffered terrible abuse from his owner, McMinnville TN resident,
Christopher Lee Barnett. Neighbor, Vincent Maxwell, noticed Barnett
beating his dog, and went to investigate. The dog appeared dead,
but was unconscious and bleeding from his mouth. Maxwell stated
that he witnessed Barnett beating Lucas at another time, but did
not intervene because he thought it was an isolated incident. However,
after witnessing this brutal attack, Maxwell decided Barnett should not
be allowed to inflict any more harm on the dog, so he swore out a
warrant against Barnett, and the local humane society took custody of Lucas
and Barnett's other dog, a Boxer. When Lucas was examined by a
veterinarian, it was discovered that 30 of his teeth had been filed down to the
gumline. Since Barnett is a farrier by trade, he had obviously used a
wood rasp or hoof rasp to do this. The veterinarian stated that
"in order to do that much painful dental damage, the dog would have
had to be semiconscious or unconscious." The initial charge against
Barnett is a misdemeanor, but animal advocates would like to see him
charged with a Class E felony, aggravated animal cruelty, TN code
annotated 39-14-212. This petition will be presented to the court
April 1, 2008 to show that this type of abuse will not be tolerated.
Letters may also be sent to the DA's office. Lisa Zavogiannis, 131 East
Main St., McMinnville, TN 37110.