Training

Duties

Awards

Personal

Holly, a German Shepherd, recieved her early training at Edelheim Kennels. She continues her training with Sergeant Miller. She has recieves training in drugs, attack and tracking. She has participated in drug searches of local factories, schools and vehicles. She has recieved awards as Oustanding K9 and Certificates of Excellence. She is the mother of two litters of puppies.

Taken from Channel 15 news headlines

October 21, 1997

POLICE DOG CALLED TO TESTIFY IN COURT CASE

It's a first of its kind in Wabash County: a police dog called to testify in court. Holly is a German Shepherd who's been part of the Wabash County Sheriff's Department's K-9 team for about two years. A defense attorney, though, thinks Holly would do her case some good, but Holly's handler disagrees, saying the whole situation of a police dog called to court is strange. A hearing with the dog took place today, however, at the Sheriff's Department, not inside a courtroom.

Wabash Plain Dealer October 22, 1997

Holly has her day, but not in courtroom
By Robert Bryan
WABASH, Ind. A pre-trial hearing in a routine drug case here Tuesday drew the kind of media attention normally reserved for murders or major fires. Word that a police drug-sniffing dog had been called as a witness at a motion-to-suppress hearing attracted reporters and TV camera operators from all over the area. In the end, the disappointment of the media entourage was almost palpable when: • Attorneys and judge downplayed the event. • The dog's role at the hearing was minor and outside the presence of the media. • And the routine hearing turned out to be — a routine hearing. The attraction was that defense attorney Katharine Liell had subpoenaed Holly, the Wabash County Sheriff's Department's German shepherd, to "testify." The Associated Press had picked up the story. At issue at the hearing was whether marijuana allegedly found Jan. 31 at the southwestern Wabash County home of Laurie LaSalle, 37, should be suppressed. She is charged with possessing marijuana and maintaining a common nuisance as a result of a search. Ms. Liell contends the search was illegal, without warrant. Holly, it turns out, was taken to the scene the day of the search but kept in the back of a sheriff's department truck. Ms. Liell tried to make the point that the dog, barking and making a commotion, was nevertheless used as an intimidating factor. Superior Court Judge Michael Sposeep decided to view the dog at the sheriff's department prior to the routine portion of the hearing. He barred the media, as he was shown how Holly behaved in the presence of the defendant. The dog's handler, Sgt. Randy Miller, was also asked to make the dog bark. Reports indicate he was unable to do so, as the dog does not bark on command. That done, Sposeep and the other principals of the case made their way through the cameras and reporters back to the superior courtroom, where the routine portion of the hearing, open to public and press, was conducted. In the end, after hearing testimony from several witnesses about the propriety of the search, Sposeep took the motion under advisement. The trial is currently set for February but could be postponed — or even canceled, if the judge grants the motion to suppress. Though barred from Holly's portion of the proceedings, camera crews were given a "photo op," as Miller agreed to give her a walk near the cameras.

Wabash Plain Dealer October 24, 1997

Holly's case to be dismissed
By Robert Bryan
WABASH, Ind. — Drug charges in "the dog case" here are being dropped. Holly, the drug-sniffing German shepherd in question, was responsible for putting the case in the limelight, but was not responsible for the dismissal. On Wednesday, Wabash Superior Court Judge Michael Sposeep granted the defense motion to suppress evidence allegedly gathered Jan. 31 at the home of Laurie LaSalle, 37, rural Amboy. She had been charged with possessing marijuana and maintaining a common nuisance, but with the alleged evidence inadmissible at trial .... "I don't have much choice," said Deputy Prosecutor Michael Smith of his decision to drop the case. At Tuesday afternoon's hearing, defense attorney Katharine Liell and Smith questioned numerous witnesses in Ms. Liell's contention the search of Ms. LaSalle's home was improper. State witnesses testified they saw Ms. LaSalle push something behind a dresser in her bedroom as they entered. They allegedly found the marijuana behind the dresser. Sposeep ruled that Wabash County Sheriff's Department officers and a welfare caseworker were properly in the home, as they had been given consent to search. But as the alleged evidence was not in plain view, the search behind the dresser exceeded the consent to search. At that point, a warrant would have been necessary. The case had gained area notoriety when, for Tuesday's hearing, Ms. Liell called Holly as "a witness." Though the dog was not in the home the day of the search, she was in a truck outside, barking and making commotion. Ms. Liell contended the dog was thus used as an intimidating factor. Sposeep told the Plain Dealer the dog was a factor in the case, but his decision was in no way based on the dog. Before finding that the search exceeded proper limits, Sposeep determined that Ms. LaSalle was not intimidated by the dog and did give a valid consent to search.

CNN NEWS

Holly the German shepherd has her day -- in court 'The witness refused to talk' October 22, 1997 Web posted at: 11:27 p.m. EDT (0327 GMT) WABASH, Indiana (CNN) -- "I was surprised," says Sgt. Randy Miller. "I didn't expect they'd call a dog to testify." Miller is a member of the Wabash County Sheriff's Department. His reaction echoes that of others in Wabash when they heard that his partner, a German shepherd named Holly, had been subpoenaed to appear in court. Miller and Holly were on a call last January to check on the children of Laurie LaSalle. During their visit, officers found drugs in the woman's home. Julia Moffitt from WANE reports from Wabash, Indiana LaSalle was charged, but her attorney, Katharine Liell, contends that her client was coerced by the presence of Holly into letting her home be searched. "She wasn't even out of the truck," says Miller, "so I don't know how you can find her intimidating." 'The witness refused to talk' Nevertheless, Liell wanted Holly brought to court, apparently to demonstrate just how threatening a German shepherd can be. The incident proved so unusual that it became the talk of an Internet chat room frequented by people in law enforcement. "There's police officers who belong to that all over the country," says Vicki Williams, a secretary in the sheriff's office, "and nobody had heard of such a thing." Holly's appearance in a closed-door hearing lasted perhaps five minutes, and when the parties emerged, Liell quipped, "The witness refused to talk." "She's just an average dog," said Miller. But Wabash County Superior Court Judge Michael Sposeep wasn't complaining. "It makes my job interesting," he said.  

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