February 1, 2008

CHICAGO – Sara Tinsley faces felony animal cruelty charges for stabbing her ex-husband's lizards during an argument. She faces felony charges, but says lizards are not companion animals like cats and dogs; an assertion she's basing her case on.

It all started the day after Tinsley's then husband, Harry Tinsley, reportedly choked her. During a phone argument the following day, Tinsley threw her husband's bearded-dragon lizards Ethel and Fred against the wall before repeatedly stabbing them.

The 37-year-old faces two felony counts of animal cruelty. She hopes to get the animal cruelty charge reduced to a misdemeanor based on the state's companion animal definition.

Tinsley's defense attorney, Timothy Mahoney, says reptiles don't provide the same kind of companionship as traditional pets.

However, as far as lizards go, bearded-dragons are friendly. They can be held and walked short distances, and people are known to treat them like children.

State law defines a companion animal as one that's considered a pet by it's owner. The two pets in this case certainly were. Unfortunately, Ethel died. Fred survived following emergency surgery.

A judge will decide Sara Tinsley's fate when the trial begins on Feb. 20th. Her ex-husband Harry faces domestic battery charges for choking Sara – which allegedly sparked the animal abuse.

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