Allyson Stone, injured in Spork case, a bomb blast victim: Ex-husband is person of interest | The Latest Word | Denver | Denver Westword | The Leading Independent News Source in Denver, Colorado
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Allyson Stone, injured in Spork case, a bomb blast victim: Ex-husband is person of interest

Lafayette's Allyson Stone, 44, has been at the center of two bizarre stories over the past few years. First, she was seriously injured by a dachshund named Spork while working as a vet tech -- an incident that prompted a campaign to prevent the aging pet from being dubbed a...
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Lafayette's Allyson Stone, 44, has been at the center of two bizarre stories over the past few years. First, she was seriously injured by a dachshund named Spork while working as a vet tech -- an incident that prompted a campaign to prevent the aging pet from being dubbed a vicious dog and potentially being marked for euthanization. And now, she's one of two victims of a bombing in which law-enforcement types have labeled her former husband, Michael Brittain, a person of interest.

In August 2009, Kelly Walker brought Spork, age ten, to Jasper Animal Hospital in Lafayette for oral surgery -- but before the procedure could take place, the animal bit Stone in the face. A few weeks later, Kelly and her husband, Tim, received a vicious dog citation for Spork. And because such a designation could lead authorities to, in Tim's words, "kennel your dog or euthanize it at the judge's discretion," the couple started a Save Spork Facebook page and went public with their story in advance of a 2010 court hearing.

Shortly thereafter, Stone and Lafayette officials were inundated with hate mail and worse despite the fact that, according to a city councilman, Spork may have bitten off and eaten part of the vet tech's lips.

In the end, the vicious dog ruling against Spork was deferred in a plea deal to which Stone agreed, and her name faded from the headlines -- until this weekend, when she and her current husband, Christopher Stone, were identified as victims in bombing at their Lafayette home. According to the Associated Press, they were burned when an explosive device in a paper bag that had been left on their porch blew up in their car.

Shortly thereafter, the Lafayette Police Department named Michael Brittain, Allyson's ex, as a person of interest in the case.

Brittain had been charged with domestic violence in 2003, and while he was eventually found not guilty of the central charge (three others had earlier been dropped), she went through with a divorce. However, records in the case reportedly show that as of last year, Allyson owed Brittain more than $121,000.

Look below to see a 9News package about the bombing.

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More from our Strange But True archive: "Spork the dachshund: Part of 2010's strange but true stories."

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