Geske blames dog

GREEN BAY - On Saturday, a jury reached its verdict in the Anrietta Geske trial. They found her guilty of 5 of 7 charges, including two counts of first degree reckless homicide in the deaths of Tahlia Heroux and Ashley Britsch-Knetgzer, both 18-years old.

Geske testified during the trial that she was reaching for her small dog, Pixie, in the seconds before the crash.

As Geske awaits sentencing you may be wondering what happened to the dog.

Surveillance video played during the trial shows the 46-year old walking into the Sardine Can, a Green Bay bar, with a dog in a carrier.

The puppy, a chihuahua named Pixie, was placed on the bar while Geske drank liquor and socialized for a couple hours.

While driving home in her two-seat sports car, Geske had testified Pixie came loose from her carrier on the front passenger seat.

"I thought she was going to get under my pedals and cause an accident," said Geske.

Geske said she tried to pick the dog up while she drove down Oneida Street in Ashwaubenon, and that is what caused the crash.

"When I reached down, my foot did go down and it hit the accelerator and I felt the car lurch forward," said Geske.

Geske had testified that about one second later, she hit another car. Pictures of the crash scene displayed in court showed the massive damage to both cars.

An off duty Green Bay police officer who comforted Geske at the scene testified she was concerned about the dog shortly after the crash.

"She kept asking about her dog, where her dog was. I asked her where she was going or what happened. She said she didn't know where she was going," said Green Bay Police Officer Tom Kraus.

Humane Officer Ryan Windorff with Ashwaubenon Public Safety testified the dog survived the crash, so he took it to the Bay Area Humane Society in Green Bay that same night.

"It had a red mark, above one of it's eyes. I'm not sure which one, but it had a physical mark," said Windorff.

Officials with the animal shelter say the puppy appeared scared when it arrived, but was relatively unharmed.

It was held for one month, but no relatives claimed it. The puppy was adopted, and no further information is available.

During the trial Geske cried as she told the court she was sorry about the fatal crash, and explained why she asked rescuers about her dog's condition before inquiring about the victims.

"It was probably because it was the last thing I was doing and I was stunned," said Geske.

Before being convicted, Geske testified she had just moved to the area and was living with her three dogs.

She said she took Pixie with her to the bar because she did not want to leave it alone with the other two dogs, which were much bigger than the puppy.

Geske is scheduled for sentencing in May and faces about 182-years in prison.