A Texas woman who was caught on camera brutally beating a “defenseless” three-month-old puppy has been released on bail, according to authorities.
Havanna Miller, 23, was allegedly filmed by a neighbor beating a poodle with a leash on the balcony of her home near Galm Road in San Antonio last Friday. The defendant was arrested the next day after an investigation by the San Antonio Animal Care Services.
The dog remained in his carrier case and cannot be seen in the clip, but whimpering can be heard. The puppy was struck 15 times repeatedly before the woman paused briefly, and hit the helpless animal twice more.
Miller is facing a charge of animal cruelty torture which, if found guilty, could see her spend the next 10 years in prison. The suspect posted a $15,000 bond and was released on Sunday.
The defendant is expected to appear in court on March 25 for a pre-indictment hearing.
Meanwhile, an online petition has been set up to demand that prosecutors seek the maximum sentence in the case. The petition had close to 25,000 signatures on Friday morning.
“Such atrocities committed against defenseless animals must not be tolerated by our justice system. We believe that prosecution and maximum sentencing in cases like this provide a significant deterrence,” the blurb accompanying the petition reads.
“We urge San Antonio city officials to treat this as a serious matter.”
On a now-deleted LinkedIn page, Miller describes herself as an apsiring lawyer who was seeking to “to fight for wrongly accused criminals, and to speak out for both Latinos and African Americans.”
In the aftermath of the clip spreading online, the dog was taken into custody of the ACS. A day later, Miller was arrested, she initially denied hitting the dog.
Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales has described himself as “outraged” and “horrified.”
“Although we recommended an appropriate bond amount, she was released from jail,” Gonzales also said, according to My San Antonio.
“There were no facts at our disposal to argue that she be held without a bond. This is how the criminal justice system works. However, this case has just begun.”
The website said that Gonzales is recommending punishment that involves sensitivity training and anger management but added that any prison time will be up to the judge in the case.
Geneva Story, an animal rescuer who was on the scene when Miller was arrested, shared her disdain about the trauma the puppy had to endure in an interview with KSAT.
“It just made me very angry... There’s a lot of times where people are like, ‘I want to mind my business,’ but this is one of those situations you don’t want to mind your business,” Story said. “I feel like a lot of people see it’s a puppy and they just kind of turn the other cheek.”
She continued: “Knowing the mental fact that this puppy could have this trauma for its entire life angers me because it never had to know that life, especially as a baby”
