Sometime during the day on Sunday, February 7, 2016, eleven-month-old puppy Harley (originally named Gino) suffered a questionable death in the home of Heather Miller aka Miller's Safe Haven in Houlton, Maine. During this same day, Miller, also the Executive Director of the Houlton Humane Society (HHS) shelter, contacted the Sunday night shelter tech and told her not to go into work that night, nor did she want the worker anywhere on the grounds if she wasn't scheduled to work. Later that night, all shelter techs and friends on Ms. Miller's Facebook page were given the news that Harley was adopted and going into a new loving home! 

On Tuesday, February 9, the first day back to work for the Sunday tech, she and another shelter tech, troubled by the sudden 'adoption' of Harley out of MSH (both these techs also cared for the animals at MSH), as well has having been told not to go into the shelter Sunday night, opened the shelter freezer and found Harley's body bagged up and frozen solid, still wearing his harness.

The women, visibly upset, drew the attention of a US Border Patrol/ICE Agent who was at the shelter at the time and also witnessed Harley's body in the freezer. The police were contacted and the photos of Harley's body were shared on social media for fear of the possibility small town politics could stifle the questionable circumstances of Harley's death or completely ignore the entire situation as it appeared to have already done concerning other infractions committed by Ms. Miller under both MSH and HHS for previous months.

Ms. Miller resigned from Houlton Humane Society the day Harley's body was found; the resulting article is here in the Bangor Daily News. She also claimed she lied about his adoption to avoid embarrassment, that Harley actually fell down the stairs she had carried him up. She said he weighed 65 pounds in her own interview the following week: BDN Article.

Harley/Gino's story:
Harley/Gino had been selflessly turned over to Miller/Millers Safe Haven by his original parents in NY during the summer of 2015 because he suffered a condition called Cerebellar Hypoplasia (CH) often called the 'wobbles' because motor skills aren't fully developed or are damaged during gestation or possibly brain trauma from birthing; basically, CH animals walk/stumble like drunkards. His original parents knew as he grew they may not have the capability to properly care for him in their loving but limited environment. MSH was recommended to them as MSH was touted online as an expert to deal with animals with this condition. MSH already had several cats with CH, but Harley/Gino would be the first dog.

Upon arrival in Maine, Harley was shown off on Facebook to the delight of MSH followers; however, soon the fascination with him lessened, pictures and videos were very few and the tech witnesses say his life was lived in a playpen, with little to no interaction with the 20+ other animals that were kept in the 1022 sq.ft. house known as Millers Safe Haven. He was not living the life of a carefree, happy puppy. For six months he was isolated with very little play time, and needed to be picked up and carried to do his business outside if he had been able to hold it before evacuating in the playpen and flopping in his own filth.

Harley/Gino's NY Mom, the woman who actually breathed life into him when he came out of the womb not breathing, wants answers; wants the truth about his life, and his death; wants his life and death answered for, unlike the nearly two dozen animals that have died at the MSH house in secrecy and with no accountability over the past year.

Miller admitted the adoption lie, but did she cover it up with another lie? Did she carry him up the stairs? Did he die another way? And is it coincidence that the one Sunday night she 'decides' to go into the shelter and tells the shelter tech to stay away, a dog dies in her house, she lies about it, and dumps him in the shelter freezer?

Harley/Gino's life mattered, and still matters, and so does his death to his original family and extended family who want the truth and want any & every wrongdoing against him punished. His body dumped in the freezer, had it not been discovered, was landfill bound. And no one would have been the wiser. He would have vanished off the earth, behind Ms. Miller's lies. That is unacceptable.