SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Surrounded by friends and family, a Yellowknife woman wiped away tears after hearing Judge Robert Gorin tell territorial court on Wednesday that he wasn't yet prepared to sentence Lloyd Thrasher for killing her dog.

"I've been in the courthouse several times now for Garlic (the dog). I don't sleep very well for pretty much the whole week surrounding it. So, it's starting to get exhausting," said Garlic's owner Vanessa Baron after the hearing. "The thought of having to go back again is torture."

Baron attended Wednesday's proceedings to read a victim impact statement telling the court how the killing of her dog has affected her.

The judge offered no clear explanation for the adjournment, other than to say, "I'm not going to do this flying by the seat of my pants."

Gorin appeared agitated with defence lawyer Jay Bran for submitting a list of cases to help guide the judge with Thrasher's sentence. Gorin remarked this should have been done sooner. Bran and Crown prosecutor Duane Praught agreed to the new sentencing date of May 30 at 1:30 p.m.

Afterwards, Gorin apologized to the court and to the family for the adjournment.

Thrasher, 23, pleaded guilty on March 1 to possessing and killing Baron's Chinese pug and possession of a stolen Sanyo cell phone on Jan. 27, 2011. He also pleaded guilty to being in possession of a stolen DVD collection and a change holder on Jan. 28, 2011, and to possessing a stolen van in Behchoko on Nov. 27, 2010.

After accepting the guilty pleas, Gorin ordered a pre-sentence report and adjourned the case to May 30 for sentencing.

The Crown dropped charges alleging Thrasher stole the dog from Baron's car parked in front of Twist Resto Lounge last January as well as the other items. On the remaining charges, the Crown elected to treat the matters summarily, which involves lesser punishment compared to indictable offences.

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.