_If you wish to assist with this legal fees for the civil case, being filed against Killeen, please send all donations
directly to Mr. Allen at the following (make money orders or checks payable to Scott V. Allen Attorney at Law with a memo stating for Ashley's dogs)... address: Scott V. Allen 1411 W Avenue H Temple, TX 76504-5351 PLEASE ASK FOR A RECEIPT, AND LET US KNOW HOW MUCH YOU SENT... once we receive confirmation that the attorney has received funds, we will deduct it from the balance owed. You may also donate through the chipin links on this page.
directly to Mr. Allen at the following (make money orders or checks payable to Scott V. Allen Attorney at Law with a memo stating for Ashley's dogs)... address: Scott V. Allen 1411 W Avenue H Temple, TX 76504-5351 PLEASE ASK FOR A RECEIPT, AND LET US KNOW HOW MUCH YOU SENT... once we receive confirmation that the attorney has received funds, we will deduct it from the balance owed. You may also donate through the chipin links on this page.
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_ January 6, 2012
Subject: Violation of Constitutional Right to “Due Process”
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing pursuant to a miscarriage of justice that began on May 25, 2011. I have contacted many organizations in regards to my case and have been unsuccessful in obtaining help in defending a violation of my civil rights to “due process” as described in the Constitution of the United States. My reputation and character have been tarnished, by the very people who I am supposed to be able to trust to defend and protect my rights.
The information pertaining to the criminal accusations against me by both the City of Killeen Police Department and Animal Control authorities have subjected me to death threats and physical harm. This has forced me to remove myself and my animals from the City of Killeen and even the State of Texas, to a safer area to protect us from any other harm. I fear for the safety of both myself as well as my animals, and I know that my rights were truly violated.
I have requested assistance from several organizations to assist with getting my dogs home and have been unsuccessful thus far. It disturbs me that as a Veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom who served on various convoy missions and successfully protected our rights, freedoms and liberties as well as those of the citizens of Iraq that I have been treated in such a fashion which brings a great amount of discredit upon the aspects of our legal system. I am respectfully requesting assistance from your department in the investigation of all entities involved and expressed in this complaint.
Last year, my dog Apollo had been stolen from me and sold for money. After an extensive 2 ½ month search and over 2,500 miles of walking on foot I found him. The search did not end there. I was wrongfully arrested and my dog was left at the scene with the thieves who stole him. Upon my release, my dog was returned to me and the charges were dropped shortly thereafter. I chose to start a “search and rescue” to save dogs who were lost or stolen, neglected, abandoned, or abused based on the situation with Apollo. I did this all out of my own expense as I was still awaiting verification of my application to become a 501(c)3 non-profit. I was referring to this network as KASR (Killeen Animal Search and Rescue). I have never hidden what I was doing in rescue from anyone. In fact, I made it very clear as to the mission of the rescue work I was doing through various forms of media networks as well as social networking sites such as “Facebook”. I have taken animals into my care and under my wing to help them recover from injuries as well as helping other organizations to rescue animals all over the world.
I was accused of committing Cruelty to Animals when I took in a puppy that had developed symptoms of “Parvo” shortly after his arrival in my home in January of 2011. I had performed C.P.R. on the dog to save his life as well as attempting to rehydrate him the night before his death. A person I had allowed to reside in my home accused me of killing the dog, when in fact I was doing the exact opposite. Despite the fact that other roommates also verified that I was trying to save the dog, I still received a nasty call from the head supervisor of Killeen Animal Control, known as Stacie Sherva. This resulted in the constant harassment of Animal Control coming to my home stating they had gotten complaints of dogs fighting in my backyard. Due to the harassment I received from Animal Control and a Detective in the Police Department, I made the choice to shut down my rescue and never continued the process of becoming an official non-profit.
On March 7, 2011, I adopted one of the cats I had rescued to someone for free provided they sign an adoption contract to ensure the cat was properly cared for due to the situation I had acquired him from. I had taken this cat into my home along with many others from someone who supposedly passed away. All of the cats in this woman’s home were sick and malnourished. I along with the volunteers who assisted in the rescue of these cats did everything we could do to help each and every animal.
On March 21, 2011, I was interrogated for over half an hour by the Detective and Animal Control Officers assigned to a complaint over the cat that I had given away on March 7, 2011. I denied them access to my home because I was on my way to work and did not have time to show them all of the animals, and to call my attorney. However, I had never denied them access to my home prior to that, and they had been coming to my house since mid-January. They persisted in speaking with me at which time I hit the record button on my phone. I explained to them several times that I had to be at work and that I would allow them in my home the next day because I had to go to work.
I did allow the Animal Control Officers to come to my home the next day on March 22, 2011. I personally had called and invited them to my home. A fight had in fact broken out between two of my dogs (Apollo and Koda) and I needed them to fill out a “bite report” as required by the city ordinance, as well as to physically examine them to ensure they were ok. I also allowed them to go throughout my entire home and look at all the animals, of which I had done before. The cats in the home had their own room and the dogs were indoors and outdoors with my supervision of course. Several other visits were done on my home. The last visit I remember was on April 10, 2011 which was only 2 days prior to an illegal search warrant that was done on my residence April 12, 2011.
During the search, the police officers did not announce who they were when they had banged on my door. I had just let my dogs outside and was standing on the back patio with them that morning as I had just woken up from sleeping. I was fostering a dog at the time who did not get along with cats and so being that some of my cats were in the living room, I closed the patio door behind me to answer the door. The police officer had his finger covering the “peep hole” and still had not announced who he was. I opened the door and was immediately rushed by code enforcement, police officers and animal control. I was never allowed to see the warrant, nor was I given a copy. I was told that I needed to put my dogs in their crates so they could search the premises.
I complained to the Chief of Police in regards to this and he agreed that if I had allowed them access a warrant was unnecessary as I had always given them permission to enter my home. With the exception of the one time I was on my way to work. The reasons for granting the warrant was because the Judge was told that I had not allowed them access to my home. I was also informed during this meeting that I had been written six tickets during the warrant incident and that I would be receiving those in the mail from the Commander of Animal Control.
A warrant was issued for my arrest in the beginning of May in 2011 for the cat I had rescued from the home of the woman who died. I was released on bail and told that I had to pay a fee to get my animals out. I was told that they had been surrendered by the person I left in charge to take care of them, however that person denies that claim. I paid for the animals I was able to pull and the others I was forced into surrendering. The estimated cost to reclaim my animals was approximately $850. According to Killeen Animal Control, the only thing that kept me from having my animals was money. It has never been stated that endangerment was their concern for returning any of my animals to me. I also received 21 more tickets in the mail for city violations most of those tickets contained more than one charge.
I was forced into moving out of my home by my landlord (Steven Naser) because he told me that I wasn’t going to be allowed to bring my animals back home. I have owned many of my animals for over ten years and would never live somewhere that they are not wanted. I had no choice other than to move to a new residence. He also authorized and told my roommates to throw my stuff out of the room I lived in and into the garage which resulted in the theft of some of my property as well as the destruction of most of my property. My landlord had agreed upon allowing me to move in to have animals and had never had an issue prior to my arrest. The landlord is also apparently friends with the Detective assigned to my case (Detective Parr). I was also informed by my landlord that Detective Parr had released information pertaining to my case to him.
I contacted someone (Tammy Duncan) who had asked me for help in assisting her to find her stolen dog last year and asked her if she would help me by giving myself and my pets a place to stay. I made the mistake of speaking about my case to her in detail. Although I was not aware of this at the time of moving in with her, she apparently has been medically diagnosed as having psychological disorders and is under several variations of medication that has been prescribed to her.
While living with her, Killeen Animal Control had received an anonymous call on May 25, 2011. The caller told the Killeen Animal Control that I had tried to neuter my dogs at home. Killeen Animal Control came to the home and I had to get permission for the owner to let them enter. Upon their entry, we looked at every dog and sure enough two of the 5 dogs that I own had their testicles tied with rubber bands. I explained to the Animal Control Officers at the scene that I had not done that to my dogs, and even called the Animal Trustees of Austin to schedule an appointment to take my dogs to Austin the next day for surgery. Shortly after the phone call, Detective Parr arrived at the home and took me to jail.
My cats and dogs (all except for one dog that I owned) were surrendered at the time of my arrest by the woman I was living with (Tammy Duncan), and I was never notified as to their whereabouts by the Animal Control Authorities upon their surrender. Apparently, the animals were left with her aside from the two dogs needing veterinary attention until the next day. The Animal Control had came back to the house to pick up the dogs on the May 26, 2011 at which time they had found another one of my dogs injured the same way. Instead of removing all animals from the home at that date, they left my cats with this woman for another 24 hours and came to get them on 27 May, 2011.
After several days of calling from jail to my roommate and several attempts from my family to get ahold of my roommate, she finally returned a call to my dad stating that Animal Control took the animals and that she was told she had to turn them over or they were going to take her to jail. My dad said that Animal Control told him that all of the animals were surrendered to them by Tammy who refused to watch them and that they were being held as evidence. They told him no amount of money could be paid to get them back.
When I got out of jail, I went onto the City of Killeen’s website for Animal Control and saw my cats posted online for adoption. I immediately called Killeen Animal Control and asked them why they were posted for adoption when I have never gone to trial and that my dad had stated they were being held as evidence. Stacie Sherva is the Shelter Manager and she had stated that they were initially told that they were being held as evidence, and that the City of Killeen had given them custody of my animals and authorized them to be released to rescue groups only. She also stated that I could get them back provided I pay them $2,400 and that the fee increases daily and there was no payment plan. I was only able to come up with $660 to pull my cats, and the rest of my animals were sent off to rescue groups throughout Texas.
*I have never been convicted in a court of law and my rights to “procedural due process” as stated under the 5th and 14th Amendments of the Federal Constitution of the United States in regards to my dogs was violated.*
There was also the issue of the fact that no form of justification took place in regards to legal ownership in establishment of the rights to my dogs; precedent to them removing my dogs from the property, and sending them off to rescues.
I contacted Animal Control and asked them for information as to where my dogs were sent to and was told they did not have to tell me. I also informed them that upon my release from jail the second time that I had witnessed Tammy Duncan “tazing” her dogs and that I feared she would injure my dog Zeus (who she never surrendered). Stacie Sherva had stated she did not know if it was considered animal abuse because they do it to people. I also found out that Tammy had stolen the other stuff I had when I was in jail and lied to me stating that Animal Control had given her my dog.
It took the work of Detective Dinwiddie of the Killeen Police Department to get Tammy to return my dog to me. Detective Dinwiddie was involved in the case with Apollo last year. Animal Control stated that they had not given her custody of my dog, that Tammy had agreed to watch Zeus and turned everyone else over to the pound.
I submitted an open records request to obtain the information as to what rescues my dogs were sent to as well as any and all information pertaining to all animals that I was forced into surrendering. Many of the ones I was forced to surrender were put to sleep and the others were sent to rescue groups. This was when I discovered within the report that they had come to pick some of my dogs up the day after I was arrested. The only dogs who were taken at the time of my arrest were the two that needed medical care, Apollo and Phantom. I found out from the report that another one of my dogs known as Scooby, had been injured while I was still in jail and was transported to a vet clinic that same day. That is when I made the presumption that I believe my roommate was the one who injured my dogs as their injuries were similar to the dogs who were taken to the vet the day I was arrested. I tried reasoning with animal control on getting my dogs home and was unable to do so.
Meanwhile, I contacted and called every single rescue, shelter and foster home listed on the websites “petfinder.com” and “adoptapet.com” that were located in Texas by phone, and through email as well as “facebook.com”. Initially, two of the rescues I had contacted (Texas Husky Rescue and Heart of Texas Lab Rescue) told me they did not have my dogs and that they hadn’t pulled from Killeen Animal Control. After obtaining the open records request, I found out that the rescues had in fact lied to me and told me that they hadn’t received my dogs when they had. The other 2 dogs at the time were still in the shelter at Killeen.
I have tried contacting those rescues and begged them to give my dogs back to me, because if I would have had $2,400 I could have gotten all of my pets back, but I just didn’t have it. I was told that Heart of Texas Lab Rescue (HOTLABS or HOTLR) was going to start a smear campaign against me, that they had spoken with Killeen Animal Control (KAC) about my case, and that they weren’t giving my dog back to me. Texas Husky Rescue (TXHR) has refused to talk to me and threatened to sue me for libel for exposing the fact that they will not return my dogs and that they had lied to me about getting them in the first place. Texas Tails of Hope Pet Rescue and Forever Homes Rescue are also refusing to give my dogs back to me.
I went to court for the case involving the 27 tickets and when I arrived another 14 had been added to the pile that I was completely unaware of. All of those tickets now show “dismissed” on my record, since I was able to prove the majority of those charges through veterinary records. I also agreed to not own animals within the city limits of Killeen.
It has been brought to my attention, that these rescues are friends of the shelter staff at Killeen Animal Control. They have attended every court hearing in regards to my case and I have been told by my attorney verbatim that they are the driving force behind me going to trial. The rescues played absolutely no part in the criminal aspect of this case, they are only a matter of the civil dispute. Yet, these rescues are being allowed to influence the courts in regards to my criminal charges. They have even gone so far as to start a “hate page” about me on Facebook which has resulted in death threats and physical harm to myself. Although I have filled out a police report for these incidents and reported the issue to the staff at Facebook, it still has not been removed. This issue has been reported to my attorney as well being that I am faced with cyber-bullying and that this is indeed a hate crime. Absolutely nothing has been done to correct this issue.
Supposed witnesses of this case have corroborated stories amongst each other as well as publicly through an open forum. They have posted information pertaining to the accusations about me online as well as confidential police documentation. These witnesses have spoken not only with the rescue groups, and each other, but also third parties as well. The harassment I have received has gotten completely out of control.
*I am being treated as guilty, and have been stripped of my property without ever being convicted in a court of law. I can assure you I am not guilty. I would never cause harm or neglect any animal under my care. It goes against my nature and my beliefs.*
I have contacted The Humane Society of The United States, The Animal Legal Defense Fund, the national and local ASPCA and SPCA groups, and many other rescue organizations and Animal Rights groups. I have called the newspaper that ran the story in Killeen, the offices of both the Senator and Congressman of Texas, Attorney General’s office of Texas, and even gone so far as to write celebrities such as “Ellen” and “Oprah” in hearing my story as well as over 200 law firms.
I have been unsuccessful in getting my civil case into a court room as of this time, although I have retained an attorney to take this case I currently have not gotten the money needed to fight this case. None of my pets are under the care of Killeen Animal Control, and have been sent to rescues throughout Texas. Every rescue has been talked to by the City of Killeen, and each rescue is refusing to return my dogs and some have placed them up for adoption. Several of my dogs are still being hidden and my greatest fear is that I will never get them home.
*Despite the fact that the civil attorney I have retained for the Constitutional claims against both the City of Killeen, and all the rescues involved has sent out demand letters to each rescue ordering their return, they have refused to do so.*
I have come to find out that in rescue many people who feel like they are doing the right thing when in truth they are not. I fear that is why these rescues are hiding and transporting my dogs to hidden areas as well as lying about the dogs. I also fear that they will make up something and state that they died or got lost or many other numerous lies to keep them from being returned.
I am trying to get back the 5 dogs that were wrongfully taken from me. The dogs were sent to the following rescues:
Apollo – Heart of Texas Lab Rescue (Austin, Texas)
Koda – Texas Husky Rescue (Carrollton, Texas)
Phantom – Texas Husky Rescue (Carrollton, Texas)
Cowboy – Tails of Hope Pet Rescue (Waxahachie, Texas)
Scooby – Forever Homes Rescue (Kempner, Texas)
I feel that if I do not do something I will never see my dogs again and I have suffered severe emotional trauma from this. To include signs of depression and stress that has affected my daily life. This has affected my reputation, my ability to obtain work, my income, and cost me my home. I would be greatly appreciative of any assistance you can provide to me in getting this matter resolved.
I do not care about money, or publicity in regards to this case. In fact, no amount of money can replace my dogs that were taken from me as I would give my life for any of them just as I would any other member of my family. My animals are everything to me and I will do everything possible to get them home. I appreciate you are extremely busy, but please take me serious as this is very important to me. If nothing else, please just do this for my dogs and other dogs which are facing a similar fate. I am working on figuring out how to file a criminal complaint on each affiliation involved.
*I have gone to great lengths and personal sacrifice to ensure the safety and safe return of my animals. As I am facing the gravity of false accusations and punitive actions I don't deserve. Your consideration of this matter and expedient resolution would be greatly appreciated. *
Most importantly, I am a veteran of the Iraq War. I have fought for the right to protect the freedoms and liberties as defined in the United States Constitution, and I would hope that I can receive assistance in this matter to uphold those rights that I swore to defend.
Sincerely,
Ashley N. Miller
Subject: Violation of Constitutional Right to “Due Process”
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing pursuant to a miscarriage of justice that began on May 25, 2011. I have contacted many organizations in regards to my case and have been unsuccessful in obtaining help in defending a violation of my civil rights to “due process” as described in the Constitution of the United States. My reputation and character have been tarnished, by the very people who I am supposed to be able to trust to defend and protect my rights.
The information pertaining to the criminal accusations against me by both the City of Killeen Police Department and Animal Control authorities have subjected me to death threats and physical harm. This has forced me to remove myself and my animals from the City of Killeen and even the State of Texas, to a safer area to protect us from any other harm. I fear for the safety of both myself as well as my animals, and I know that my rights were truly violated.
I have requested assistance from several organizations to assist with getting my dogs home and have been unsuccessful thus far. It disturbs me that as a Veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom who served on various convoy missions and successfully protected our rights, freedoms and liberties as well as those of the citizens of Iraq that I have been treated in such a fashion which brings a great amount of discredit upon the aspects of our legal system. I am respectfully requesting assistance from your department in the investigation of all entities involved and expressed in this complaint.
Last year, my dog Apollo had been stolen from me and sold for money. After an extensive 2 ½ month search and over 2,500 miles of walking on foot I found him. The search did not end there. I was wrongfully arrested and my dog was left at the scene with the thieves who stole him. Upon my release, my dog was returned to me and the charges were dropped shortly thereafter. I chose to start a “search and rescue” to save dogs who were lost or stolen, neglected, abandoned, or abused based on the situation with Apollo. I did this all out of my own expense as I was still awaiting verification of my application to become a 501(c)3 non-profit. I was referring to this network as KASR (Killeen Animal Search and Rescue). I have never hidden what I was doing in rescue from anyone. In fact, I made it very clear as to the mission of the rescue work I was doing through various forms of media networks as well as social networking sites such as “Facebook”. I have taken animals into my care and under my wing to help them recover from injuries as well as helping other organizations to rescue animals all over the world.
I was accused of committing Cruelty to Animals when I took in a puppy that had developed symptoms of “Parvo” shortly after his arrival in my home in January of 2011. I had performed C.P.R. on the dog to save his life as well as attempting to rehydrate him the night before his death. A person I had allowed to reside in my home accused me of killing the dog, when in fact I was doing the exact opposite. Despite the fact that other roommates also verified that I was trying to save the dog, I still received a nasty call from the head supervisor of Killeen Animal Control, known as Stacie Sherva. This resulted in the constant harassment of Animal Control coming to my home stating they had gotten complaints of dogs fighting in my backyard. Due to the harassment I received from Animal Control and a Detective in the Police Department, I made the choice to shut down my rescue and never continued the process of becoming an official non-profit.
On March 7, 2011, I adopted one of the cats I had rescued to someone for free provided they sign an adoption contract to ensure the cat was properly cared for due to the situation I had acquired him from. I had taken this cat into my home along with many others from someone who supposedly passed away. All of the cats in this woman’s home were sick and malnourished. I along with the volunteers who assisted in the rescue of these cats did everything we could do to help each and every animal.
On March 21, 2011, I was interrogated for over half an hour by the Detective and Animal Control Officers assigned to a complaint over the cat that I had given away on March 7, 2011. I denied them access to my home because I was on my way to work and did not have time to show them all of the animals, and to call my attorney. However, I had never denied them access to my home prior to that, and they had been coming to my house since mid-January. They persisted in speaking with me at which time I hit the record button on my phone. I explained to them several times that I had to be at work and that I would allow them in my home the next day because I had to go to work.
I did allow the Animal Control Officers to come to my home the next day on March 22, 2011. I personally had called and invited them to my home. A fight had in fact broken out between two of my dogs (Apollo and Koda) and I needed them to fill out a “bite report” as required by the city ordinance, as well as to physically examine them to ensure they were ok. I also allowed them to go throughout my entire home and look at all the animals, of which I had done before. The cats in the home had their own room and the dogs were indoors and outdoors with my supervision of course. Several other visits were done on my home. The last visit I remember was on April 10, 2011 which was only 2 days prior to an illegal search warrant that was done on my residence April 12, 2011.
During the search, the police officers did not announce who they were when they had banged on my door. I had just let my dogs outside and was standing on the back patio with them that morning as I had just woken up from sleeping. I was fostering a dog at the time who did not get along with cats and so being that some of my cats were in the living room, I closed the patio door behind me to answer the door. The police officer had his finger covering the “peep hole” and still had not announced who he was. I opened the door and was immediately rushed by code enforcement, police officers and animal control. I was never allowed to see the warrant, nor was I given a copy. I was told that I needed to put my dogs in their crates so they could search the premises.
I complained to the Chief of Police in regards to this and he agreed that if I had allowed them access a warrant was unnecessary as I had always given them permission to enter my home. With the exception of the one time I was on my way to work. The reasons for granting the warrant was because the Judge was told that I had not allowed them access to my home. I was also informed during this meeting that I had been written six tickets during the warrant incident and that I would be receiving those in the mail from the Commander of Animal Control.
A warrant was issued for my arrest in the beginning of May in 2011 for the cat I had rescued from the home of the woman who died. I was released on bail and told that I had to pay a fee to get my animals out. I was told that they had been surrendered by the person I left in charge to take care of them, however that person denies that claim. I paid for the animals I was able to pull and the others I was forced into surrendering. The estimated cost to reclaim my animals was approximately $850. According to Killeen Animal Control, the only thing that kept me from having my animals was money. It has never been stated that endangerment was their concern for returning any of my animals to me. I also received 21 more tickets in the mail for city violations most of those tickets contained more than one charge.
I was forced into moving out of my home by my landlord (Steven Naser) because he told me that I wasn’t going to be allowed to bring my animals back home. I have owned many of my animals for over ten years and would never live somewhere that they are not wanted. I had no choice other than to move to a new residence. He also authorized and told my roommates to throw my stuff out of the room I lived in and into the garage which resulted in the theft of some of my property as well as the destruction of most of my property. My landlord had agreed upon allowing me to move in to have animals and had never had an issue prior to my arrest. The landlord is also apparently friends with the Detective assigned to my case (Detective Parr). I was also informed by my landlord that Detective Parr had released information pertaining to my case to him.
I contacted someone (Tammy Duncan) who had asked me for help in assisting her to find her stolen dog last year and asked her if she would help me by giving myself and my pets a place to stay. I made the mistake of speaking about my case to her in detail. Although I was not aware of this at the time of moving in with her, she apparently has been medically diagnosed as having psychological disorders and is under several variations of medication that has been prescribed to her.
While living with her, Killeen Animal Control had received an anonymous call on May 25, 2011. The caller told the Killeen Animal Control that I had tried to neuter my dogs at home. Killeen Animal Control came to the home and I had to get permission for the owner to let them enter. Upon their entry, we looked at every dog and sure enough two of the 5 dogs that I own had their testicles tied with rubber bands. I explained to the Animal Control Officers at the scene that I had not done that to my dogs, and even called the Animal Trustees of Austin to schedule an appointment to take my dogs to Austin the next day for surgery. Shortly after the phone call, Detective Parr arrived at the home and took me to jail.
My cats and dogs (all except for one dog that I owned) were surrendered at the time of my arrest by the woman I was living with (Tammy Duncan), and I was never notified as to their whereabouts by the Animal Control Authorities upon their surrender. Apparently, the animals were left with her aside from the two dogs needing veterinary attention until the next day. The Animal Control had came back to the house to pick up the dogs on the May 26, 2011 at which time they had found another one of my dogs injured the same way. Instead of removing all animals from the home at that date, they left my cats with this woman for another 24 hours and came to get them on 27 May, 2011.
After several days of calling from jail to my roommate and several attempts from my family to get ahold of my roommate, she finally returned a call to my dad stating that Animal Control took the animals and that she was told she had to turn them over or they were going to take her to jail. My dad said that Animal Control told him that all of the animals were surrendered to them by Tammy who refused to watch them and that they were being held as evidence. They told him no amount of money could be paid to get them back.
When I got out of jail, I went onto the City of Killeen’s website for Animal Control and saw my cats posted online for adoption. I immediately called Killeen Animal Control and asked them why they were posted for adoption when I have never gone to trial and that my dad had stated they were being held as evidence. Stacie Sherva is the Shelter Manager and she had stated that they were initially told that they were being held as evidence, and that the City of Killeen had given them custody of my animals and authorized them to be released to rescue groups only. She also stated that I could get them back provided I pay them $2,400 and that the fee increases daily and there was no payment plan. I was only able to come up with $660 to pull my cats, and the rest of my animals were sent off to rescue groups throughout Texas.
*I have never been convicted in a court of law and my rights to “procedural due process” as stated under the 5th and 14th Amendments of the Federal Constitution of the United States in regards to my dogs was violated.*
There was also the issue of the fact that no form of justification took place in regards to legal ownership in establishment of the rights to my dogs; precedent to them removing my dogs from the property, and sending them off to rescues.
I contacted Animal Control and asked them for information as to where my dogs were sent to and was told they did not have to tell me. I also informed them that upon my release from jail the second time that I had witnessed Tammy Duncan “tazing” her dogs and that I feared she would injure my dog Zeus (who she never surrendered). Stacie Sherva had stated she did not know if it was considered animal abuse because they do it to people. I also found out that Tammy had stolen the other stuff I had when I was in jail and lied to me stating that Animal Control had given her my dog.
It took the work of Detective Dinwiddie of the Killeen Police Department to get Tammy to return my dog to me. Detective Dinwiddie was involved in the case with Apollo last year. Animal Control stated that they had not given her custody of my dog, that Tammy had agreed to watch Zeus and turned everyone else over to the pound.
I submitted an open records request to obtain the information as to what rescues my dogs were sent to as well as any and all information pertaining to all animals that I was forced into surrendering. Many of the ones I was forced to surrender were put to sleep and the others were sent to rescue groups. This was when I discovered within the report that they had come to pick some of my dogs up the day after I was arrested. The only dogs who were taken at the time of my arrest were the two that needed medical care, Apollo and Phantom. I found out from the report that another one of my dogs known as Scooby, had been injured while I was still in jail and was transported to a vet clinic that same day. That is when I made the presumption that I believe my roommate was the one who injured my dogs as their injuries were similar to the dogs who were taken to the vet the day I was arrested. I tried reasoning with animal control on getting my dogs home and was unable to do so.
Meanwhile, I contacted and called every single rescue, shelter and foster home listed on the websites “petfinder.com” and “adoptapet.com” that were located in Texas by phone, and through email as well as “facebook.com”. Initially, two of the rescues I had contacted (Texas Husky Rescue and Heart of Texas Lab Rescue) told me they did not have my dogs and that they hadn’t pulled from Killeen Animal Control. After obtaining the open records request, I found out that the rescues had in fact lied to me and told me that they hadn’t received my dogs when they had. The other 2 dogs at the time were still in the shelter at Killeen.
I have tried contacting those rescues and begged them to give my dogs back to me, because if I would have had $2,400 I could have gotten all of my pets back, but I just didn’t have it. I was told that Heart of Texas Lab Rescue (HOTLABS or HOTLR) was going to start a smear campaign against me, that they had spoken with Killeen Animal Control (KAC) about my case, and that they weren’t giving my dog back to me. Texas Husky Rescue (TXHR) has refused to talk to me and threatened to sue me for libel for exposing the fact that they will not return my dogs and that they had lied to me about getting them in the first place. Texas Tails of Hope Pet Rescue and Forever Homes Rescue are also refusing to give my dogs back to me.
I went to court for the case involving the 27 tickets and when I arrived another 14 had been added to the pile that I was completely unaware of. All of those tickets now show “dismissed” on my record, since I was able to prove the majority of those charges through veterinary records. I also agreed to not own animals within the city limits of Killeen.
It has been brought to my attention, that these rescues are friends of the shelter staff at Killeen Animal Control. They have attended every court hearing in regards to my case and I have been told by my attorney verbatim that they are the driving force behind me going to trial. The rescues played absolutely no part in the criminal aspect of this case, they are only a matter of the civil dispute. Yet, these rescues are being allowed to influence the courts in regards to my criminal charges. They have even gone so far as to start a “hate page” about me on Facebook which has resulted in death threats and physical harm to myself. Although I have filled out a police report for these incidents and reported the issue to the staff at Facebook, it still has not been removed. This issue has been reported to my attorney as well being that I am faced with cyber-bullying and that this is indeed a hate crime. Absolutely nothing has been done to correct this issue.
Supposed witnesses of this case have corroborated stories amongst each other as well as publicly through an open forum. They have posted information pertaining to the accusations about me online as well as confidential police documentation. These witnesses have spoken not only with the rescue groups, and each other, but also third parties as well. The harassment I have received has gotten completely out of control.
*I am being treated as guilty, and have been stripped of my property without ever being convicted in a court of law. I can assure you I am not guilty. I would never cause harm or neglect any animal under my care. It goes against my nature and my beliefs.*
I have contacted The Humane Society of The United States, The Animal Legal Defense Fund, the national and local ASPCA and SPCA groups, and many other rescue organizations and Animal Rights groups. I have called the newspaper that ran the story in Killeen, the offices of both the Senator and Congressman of Texas, Attorney General’s office of Texas, and even gone so far as to write celebrities such as “Ellen” and “Oprah” in hearing my story as well as over 200 law firms.
I have been unsuccessful in getting my civil case into a court room as of this time, although I have retained an attorney to take this case I currently have not gotten the money needed to fight this case. None of my pets are under the care of Killeen Animal Control, and have been sent to rescues throughout Texas. Every rescue has been talked to by the City of Killeen, and each rescue is refusing to return my dogs and some have placed them up for adoption. Several of my dogs are still being hidden and my greatest fear is that I will never get them home.
*Despite the fact that the civil attorney I have retained for the Constitutional claims against both the City of Killeen, and all the rescues involved has sent out demand letters to each rescue ordering their return, they have refused to do so.*
I have come to find out that in rescue many people who feel like they are doing the right thing when in truth they are not. I fear that is why these rescues are hiding and transporting my dogs to hidden areas as well as lying about the dogs. I also fear that they will make up something and state that they died or got lost or many other numerous lies to keep them from being returned.
I am trying to get back the 5 dogs that were wrongfully taken from me. The dogs were sent to the following rescues:
Apollo – Heart of Texas Lab Rescue (Austin, Texas)
Koda – Texas Husky Rescue (Carrollton, Texas)
Phantom – Texas Husky Rescue (Carrollton, Texas)
Cowboy – Tails of Hope Pet Rescue (Waxahachie, Texas)
Scooby – Forever Homes Rescue (Kempner, Texas)
I feel that if I do not do something I will never see my dogs again and I have suffered severe emotional trauma from this. To include signs of depression and stress that has affected my daily life. This has affected my reputation, my ability to obtain work, my income, and cost me my home. I would be greatly appreciative of any assistance you can provide to me in getting this matter resolved.
I do not care about money, or publicity in regards to this case. In fact, no amount of money can replace my dogs that were taken from me as I would give my life for any of them just as I would any other member of my family. My animals are everything to me and I will do everything possible to get them home. I appreciate you are extremely busy, but please take me serious as this is very important to me. If nothing else, please just do this for my dogs and other dogs which are facing a similar fate. I am working on figuring out how to file a criminal complaint on each affiliation involved.
*I have gone to great lengths and personal sacrifice to ensure the safety and safe return of my animals. As I am facing the gravity of false accusations and punitive actions I don't deserve. Your consideration of this matter and expedient resolution would be greatly appreciated. *
Most importantly, I am a veteran of the Iraq War. I have fought for the right to protect the freedoms and liberties as defined in the United States Constitution, and I would hope that I can receive assistance in this matter to uphold those rights that I swore to defend.
Sincerely,
Ashley N. Miller