Woman accused of beating stay dogs

Police: She says she was trying to get them away from her home, rabbit

Saturday, December 2, 2006

By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer

A Lenoir woman faces animal cruelty charges after two dogs were beaten with a hammer, and one was killed, this week.

Amy Mann Wilson, 37, was charged with two felony counts of cruelty to animals Monday, said Greg Greene, field officer with Caldwell County Animal Care and Control.

Wilson was released from the Caldwell County jail on bond Friday and is scheduled to appear in court Dec. 19.

Wilson told officers from animal control and the Lenoir Police Department that she was holding her pet rabbit outside her home when the dogs appeared and tried to grab the animal from her arms.

Authorities could not find the dogs' owners and said they think the two animals, a male and a female, were strays, Greene said.

Wilson told authorities she was able to kick the dogs away and put the rabbit back in its pen but that the two dogs followed her, Greene said.

She then gathered food scraps from her kitchen and led the dogs away from her home, Wilson told officers, where she hit the male dog's head several times with a hammer, Greene said.

Wilson told authorities she was hitting the male dog when the female got "aggressive," Greene said. Wilson said she then swung at the female dog, Greene said.

The male dog was dead when authorities arrived at the northwest Lenoir neighborhood, and the female dog was unconscious, Greene said. A local veterinarian expects the female dog to recover, he said.


All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.