(Photo courtesy of Palm Beach County Sheriff's office)  Read Dinsmore's arrest report.

Update 4/2/09:  Dinsmore, who now lives in Miami, is accused of letting her two domestic cats die in her Boca Raton apartment while she said she was busy working and spending time with her boyfriend and family.

Investigators said her cats clawed up the apartment in a frantic search for food as they starved for up to a month before they died.

The corpses then rotted in the filthy apartment about a month before an apartment manager found them.

Prosecutors upped the charges from misdemeanors to two counts of felony cruelty to animals saying her actions caused "excessive or repeated infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering."

The new charges each carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

The two cats were found dead Feb. 23 by a manager at Boca Sol apartments.

Dinsmore, 26, was released from the Palm Beach County jail hours after her arrest. She was booked and released after posting a $4,500 bond on animal cruelty charges, records show.

According to Dinsmore's lawyer, the Congress Middle School teacher accused of letting her two cats starve to death has been painted as a scoundrel but is a victim herself.

"Allison was the victim of an abusive situation in which her former apartment presented a zone of danger that was real and significant," attorney Jordan Lewin wrote in a statement. "This abuse created a level of distress and anxiety that affected her normal routines and forced her to make abrupt lifestyle changes."

Lewin would not explain what danger she was in or why someone else did not get the cats.

Boca Raton police accused her of misdemeanors, but the State Attorney's Office charged her with more serious felonies. She is still employed at the school, district spokeswoman Vickie Middlebrooks said, but the allegations are under investigation.

"The miscommunication and errors that led to the unfortunate demise of her pets was a terrible tragedy," Lewin wrote. "Allison's friends, co-workers, students, and family know her to be a person of the highest moral character, who has tirelessly sacrificed and contributed her time and energy for the betterment of our community."

Update 4/6/09:  Palm Beach County school officials today yanked teacher Allison Dinsmore away from Congress Middle School in Boynton Beach, pending an investigation into animal cruelty charges.

Dinsmore has been reassigned home with pay, School District spokesman Nat Harrington said.  "The school has not been disrupted," he said. "Her classes are being taught by qualified teachers."

If convicted, Dinsmore faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on each count. She was released from the Palm Beach County Jail last week after posting a $4,500 bond.

The case has sparked public appeals to School Board members and School District administrators demanding Dinsmore's removal from campus.

The district has a practice of reassigning teachers under investigation for various crimes - whether they happen on campus or not - to jobs that have no contact with students. In some cases, teachers are permitted to remain in the classroom during investigations.

Dinsmore was hired in August 2007. She receives a $36,100 annual salary.

Update 4/1/10:  A former middle school teacher broke into tears in West Palm Beach courtroom when a jury returned verdicts in her animal abuse trial. After deliberating for five hours, jurors found Allison Dinsmore not guilty of both counts of felony cruelty to animals.

Dinsmore, who taught special needs students at Congress Middle School in Boynton Beach, potentially faced up to 5 years in prison on each count.

Dinsmore had testified an ex-boyfriend stalked her and was sometimes violent. So she avoided her Boca Raton apartment.

Eventually Dinsmore said her life became so "consumed" with fear and school, she lost track of time and stopped feeding the animals. A necropsy showed the cats could have been dead for a few weeks.

After the not-guilty verdicts, the former teacher's father, Robert Dinsmore, blasted the State Attorney's Office, School District, and media. He promised lawsuits against them all.  "It is because of you that these people in the State Attorney's Office felt the necessity to prosecute my daughter as a felon," said Robert Dinsmore, addressing reporters outside the courtroom. "I will never forget it. And this is not over."

Asked if Allison bore responsibility for the cats deaths, Mr. Dinsmore replied, "Of course she does. It's very, very unfortunate."

But he said his daughter was placed in a circumstance where her life was in danger, and she was abused to the point she couldn't think straight.  "It has taken us a year to get to a point where she can function again,' said Mr. Dinsmore. "It's going to take an additional year because of this trial."

Following the hearing, lawyers scurried Dinsmore out a side door, to avoid the media.

The lead prosecutor on the case, Assistant State Attorney Phil Wiseberg, said, "While we don't necessarily agree with their verdict, I can definitely respect what jurors did."

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