(Court TV) — Maybe Raymond Peebler should have just bought a pooper scooper.

After fatally kicking his neighbor's pooch, a 6-month-old Yorkshire Terrier named Cascade, Peebler was facing up to two years in jail on charges of animal abuse.

Authorities say the June 17, 2001, puppy-killing was an escalation of a border struggle between Peebler and the Wilt family, his West Burlington, Iowa, neighbors — and that Cascade got caught in the middle.

But Peebler had reportedly complained to police a number of times about the Wilt family pets using his yard as a dumping ground, so to speak.

The incident occurred only a day before a man was convicted in another high-profile dog- killing case, in which a bichon frise named Leo was tossed to its death in a California road rage incident. Andrew Burnett was later sentenced to three years in prison for throwing Leo into oncoming traffic.

Another case in which a man shredded four puppies in an agricultural render garnered him a sentence of one year and one month per dog, for a total of four years and four months.

Peebler contended he was simply protecting his property against the unleashed animal. But Cascade's owner and lead prosecutor Prosecutor Mona Clarkson claimed in the Des Moines County County trial that Peebler took his frustrations out on the dog and should be punished.

Before an Iowa jury, Peebler found himself up against one of the toughest laws against animal abuse in the country. In 2000, Iowa lawmakers toughened penalties for animal abuse, making a second offense punishable by five years in prison.

Dog Walk Turns Fatal

The morning of the incident, John Wilt was walking Cascade and the family's other dog, Woolfie, near Peebler's home. When the dogs neared his property, Wilt said Peebler came rushing from his house.

According to Wilt, Peebler bellowed at the dogs and when Cascade scampered near, booted the three-pound puppy into the air.

Cascade, named by John and his wife, Wendy Wilt, after a popular dish detergent because of the pup's penchant for hiding in the dishwasher, landed with a thud and began convulsing. The pint-sized canine bled from the mouth. As the Wilt children looked on, Cascade struggled to stand before stumbling and collapsing. The dog died later that day at a local veterinarian's office.

Iowa statutes exclude from animal abuse a person who is "reasonably acting to protect the person's property from damage caused by an unconfined animal."

Wilt claimed, however, that Cascade only ventured onto Peebler's land after the man yelled at them.

Nation Weighs In

Cascade's demise made national headlines as people across the country weighed in on the incident.

A local paper received hundreds of letters on the canine controversy. Many were from pet owners incensed at Peebler's act.

"Personally, I'd hang the S.O.B.," Deborah Bennett, of Bozeman, Mont., wrote.

Donna Wilt, John Wilt's mother, even wrote in to voice her feelings about the case.

"There is a vendetta going on here that has nothing to do with dog poop," said Wilt.

But many others voiced support for Peebler.

"Mr. Peebler made a terrible mistake, one he'll live with for the rest of his life," said one author. "I hardly think he is the terrible person everyone is making him out to be. But for the grace of God, I could be in Mr. Peebler's shoes. I have chased 'unwanted' animals out of my yard for too many years."

The Wilt family, who moved a week after Cascade died — a move previously planned —purchased another Yorkshire Terrier and named the dog Feather before the trial began.

The Prosecution

Clarkson argued that Peebler acted unreasonably and intended to kill or seriously injure Cascade when he sent the dog flying over his garden.

And Wilt claimed that he was merely walking on the sidewalk past Peebler's home when an angry Peebler confronted him about his unleashed dogs, Cascade and Woolfie.

"He was screaming something about leash laws and for me to get those goddamned dogs out of there or he was going to kill 'em," Wilt told the jury.

While Peebler was yelling, Cascade ventured onto the property, angering Peebler. "He took off running and while he was running he kicked the dog. I was kind of stunned. I ran over and got it ... it was in convulsions," Wilt said.

The Defense

Defense attorney Mike Schilling urged jurors to look at the elements of the crime of animal abuse under Iowa law and conclude Clarkson failed to prove Peebler intended to hurt the dog, and that it was reasonable for his client to defend his property from damage the dog could cause.

Schilling pointed out Wilt's pets had defecated on Peebler's lawn regularly for years and that Wilt taunted Peebler about it. Wilt claimed in testimony to love animals but behaved otherwise by using his dogs as pawns in his dispute with Peebler, Schilling said.

"He delighted in having his dogs go down and defecate on the lawn and bragged about it at work," Schilling said.

"This nation was founded in part on the proposition that a person had the right to control their property," he argued. "His sole intent when he kicked that dog was to get that dog off his property so that the dog could not crap in his yard like Woolfie had done time and time again for the past five or six years."

The Verdict