A 23-year-old San Antonio woman, Havanna Miller, is now facing felony animal cruelty charges after a disturbing incident captured on camera. According to FOX San Antonio, Miller was seen on her apartment balcony at the 1200 block of Culebra hitting a small puppy repeatedly. The three-month-old poodle, subjected to the beating, was taken into the care of San Antonio Animal Care Services (ACS), who, together with the San Antonio Police Department's Property Crimes Task Force, led the investigation into the reported abuse.
Miller was subsequently arrested late Saturday without incident and charged with one count of animal cruelty torture, a third-degree felony that could see her between two to ten years in prison. She was released on a $15,000 bond yesterday. Meanwhile, ACS and SAPD had started the investigation immediately after the Friday morning incident was initially reported.
The harrowing footage depicts Miller whipping the poodle with a belt 17 times, an act enough to rend any onlooker's heart. "I just was bawling," Sally Arnold expressed in an interview with MSN. She is a member of several dog groups on Facebook and was the person who posted the video online urging for aid after being confronted by its contents. The video has since attracted viral attention and sparked widespread outrage among animal advocates and the general public alike.
In response to the video, a bystander named Raenah Rubio took it upon herself to intervene directly. Facing Miller, offering $300 for the puppy through her Ring Doorbell Camera, she tried to negotiate the freedom of the abused animal. "She's like, I got him for $1,000, the least I can do is $750," Miller responded, revealed Rubio in a statement obtained by MSN. Despite the community's collective efforts to raise the funds, the dog, whose name has been identified as Thanos and is registered as an Emotional Support Animal, remained in peril until authorities intervened.
As a testament to the gravity of the situation and the collective voice of the populace, a petition on Change.org calling for a maximum sentence for Miller has already garnered over 8,000 signatures.
The puppy Thanos is now safely under the city's care, turning Arnold's tears of sadness into ones of relief. "I just want to make sure that, she's not able to do this again," Arnold told MSN, reflecting a sentiment shared by many following this case.
