I have read a lot of comments, including one on this blog, that state, Kiya’s original owner, Laura Hankins, lied about giving Kiya away. I see no evidence of this in the news. No one has been able to give me any links for more information confirming these supposed lies.
That being said, the original story does seem to have changed slightly. As the newspapers are not pointing this out as Hankins changing her story, I can only assume that it is the news sources themselves who have gotten their facts straight.
Originally, we were led to believe that Hankins gave Kiya to people she trusted who then put the dog up on Craigslist. What seems to have actually happened was this:
–Haskins had to give the pit bull up to to her landlord’s insurance policy’s breed restrictions.
–Haskins rehomed Kiya to a Webster woman who returned the dog a few days later. Haskins took the dog back, and UT her back on Craigslist.
–Haskins rehomed Kiya to a Grafton woman who seemed wonderful. (I believe this to be who the original report claimed to be people Haskins trusted. Also, I haven it read anything that stated when this occurred.)
–The Grafton woman seemed to be a good owner, and even sent updates on Kiya’s well-being. These updates ended in July, according to Haskins.
–Police have reported that the Grafton woman was contacted. She stated she gave the dog away, had no further information, and hung up.
All reports I have read indicate that Haskins did her due diligence. Sure, it’s inadvisable to rehome pets on Craigslist, but that’s something the rescue community has failed to educate the general public about. Haskins stated she thought it best to rehome the dog herself, rather than have Kiya crated at a shelter while looking for a new forever home. There is nothing wrong with that. Haskins offered to take Kiya back if the home did not work out, and actually did take the dog back once. This is admirable. This is a responsible pet owner.
If there must be a witch hunt, it should be focused on the Grafton woman, not Haskins. Though police report that she has been unhelpful, I am sure they have to keep many details of this case under wraps. I believe it is likely they continue to investigate the Grafton woman.
This post is long enough. I will most likely follow up with why I care about this case at a later date.
The Snarky Sparrow 
September 25, 2013 at 7:13 am
Pressure needs to be put on the Grafton woman. I am so sickened by this, I can barely catch my breath. Rest in peace sweet Kiya.
September 25, 2013 at 10:54 am
I’m sure she is being investigated. We can’t know all the details of the case.
September 25, 2013 at 12:49 pm
I am very concerned about Laura Hankins. This is absolutely the worst nightmare of anybody who has ever had to rehome an animal. The judgmental attitude to her is a sign of her courage in coming forward. People need to remember that not everybody has the same resources. Most people are only a paycheck or landlord’s notice away from having to rehome an animal. The loss of any beloved pet is a source of terrible grief and usually guilt; one asks if one could have done otherwise. Laura Hankins needs to know she did her best and this could have been any one of us with an animal that did not have a guaranteed safe haven. The fault is with the torturer, who is likely a potential serial killer. Laura Hankins and Kiya may have saved human lives if the torturer is caught. I do not know if Laura will ever find peace, but I hope that real animal lovers are honest with themselves about how easily they could be in the same place and will not take the easy route of salving their pain for Kiya by blaming someone with a conscience. Indeed, part of the sadism of the torturer is in abusing a dog who was loved and imagining the pain of her mommy.
September 27, 2013 at 4:19 pm
Tanya: I agree. I feel badly for Laura. She did everything right, thought she covered all the bases. I hope she someday finds peace. Not only was I upset when I heard what was done to poor Kiya, but then to hear the secondary part of the story – Laura’s – was what put me over the edge. I couldn’t imagine myself in her shoes, thinking I had done the right thing, then the horror unfolds. What a tragedy.
September 29, 2013 at 12:55 am
I feel so bad to think of her not being able to experience healing or comfort from the massive, overwhelmingly moving vigil held today for Kiya. I scanned stories about the vigil and the Facebook sites today to see if anybody, anybody at all, tried to include Laura in the circle of care. I saw no sign of it. It is, at best, deeply disappointing. I understand the desire to place blame when evil emerges, to say “not me,” but to know that people around the world are waking up with nightmares due to this story, their hearts breaking for one’s terrible loss, and to know that one is an exile from the community of grief–when it’s one’s baby–I just do hope she has some good support and knows that at least some people are on her side. She has shown great courage and self-discipline and has even joined the movement to get pet listings off CraigsList, which I basically can see the point of, though if it was a particularly clever sociopath who took the dog (or a very intimidating person in the Grafton adopter’s life, or really any one of a number of circumstances) it wouldn’t have made a difference, frankly, if Kiya was put on CraigsList or not. A person who has to rehome a pet quickly would be likely to respond to a seemingly trustworthy person just as Laura Hankins did. The sociopath could be your neighbor, your coworker, your relative, OR a son or brother or partner or some other associate of them. The horrible thing is that when the absolute worst-case scenario happens, one can do shoulda woulda coulda forever, and yet still not be able to prevent it. Not that one should not exercise care–not that CraigsList is entirely safe–but that at the same time, to stay human in the face of such evil we must resist the temptation to scapegoat, especially someone who is going through the worst hell a pet owner can face.
September 29, 2013 at 1:23 am
And I recognize that it is always possible there is “backstory” about Kiya’s original rehoming. Another fact about rehoming, in addition to its often not being optional, is that it can be contentious within the family of origin. But there’s no solid evidence thus far that any such thing has any bearing on how Kiya was adopted out and Hankins’ attitude to her rehoming, nor on Kiya’s final sad fate. It truly could have happened to most pet owners.
September 30, 2013 at 1:03 pm
I left a message to Laura on the ‘Justice for “Puppy Doe”‘ Facebook page (the one with 40K Likes, there are two sites and I joined both.) My hope is that she sees them, because I know for a fact she’s been to the site. Leave her a message there. I’d also hope she sees this website. Something else I saw today – the ‘Purple for Puppy Doe’ FB page said that the woman who found Kiya and brought her to the vet has been asked by the police not to speak, but she did say she had named the puppy “Sweet Pea.” I wonder if Laura has been asked not to talk to the press? Good idea if that’s the case.
September 30, 2013 at 1:15 pm
Laura has a friend who was defending her on the big Justice page just days after the story broke. I messaged her to let her know I thought it was awful that people were being so cruel. I mean isn’t this whole story about how awful cruelty is?
September 30, 2013 at 1:06 pm
…and I, too have seen nothing in the press that even remotely blames Laura at all. If someone finds something, let me know. I know Christa, on this site, has asked naysayers to post details and proof of any wrong-doing by Laura. To date, I have seen nothing.
September 30, 2013 at 1:18 pm
No one has contacted me directly about it either. I will post what I get, if I get anything. I only moderate comments for spam, not censorship. I welcome all points of view.
October 13, 2013 at 3:31 pm
If possible, can you please correct the paragraphs that incorrectly name the original owner as “Laura Haskins”? I know it was just a typo, but I AM a Laura Haskins, and I have nothing to do directly with Kiya – I’m just an animal lover who happens to be following this case, and I don’t want any crazies contacting me. You know the man who was wrongly names on Facebook, and perhaps elsewhere, as a suspect, received death threats, to him AND his two-year old son. So if you CAN correct it, that would be great.
That being said, I’m glad to find a discussion of this case that is rational and sane, and not filled with wild speculation and accusation. I particularly like your observation that, “Sure, it’s inadvisable to rehome pets on Craigslist, but that’s something the rescue community has failed to educate the general public about.” The original owner has been castigated – indeed, torn apart – for re-homing Kiya on craigslist, but how often do we in the animal rescue community warn people against owner surrendering their pet to the (kill) shelter? I have many times posted the information that these animals are not guaranteed even a “Hold” period, and can be walked directly to the Kill Room if the shelter wants empty kennels. So, people are damned by us either way. We have created a double bind, and turning it around and ranting on and on about how the person shouldn’t have taken on the animal companion in the first place, doesn’t solve the problem of what to (advise people to) do with the animal they, whether we agree with it or not, are looking to re-home. We can’t just judge and blame and march around saying, “I would NEVER”. Fine. And…? WE are precisely the people who should be coming up with, and facilitating, solutions.
Thank you for this thread, and to the other thoughtful and reasonable posters here.