Free Franklin

My name is Olivia Johnson. I am the proud owner of Franklin, a beagle-lab mixed dog, that I was lucky enough to have come into my life in 2010. The well-mannered young dog needed a home, and he quickly bonded to my young daughter and I. He was perfect for us. 

When other dogs (on separate occasions), unleashed and not properly supervised, approached Franklin in a threatening manner, he acted in the way a dog should. He protected his "person" and stopped the immediate threat.  Due to Franklin being the larger, stronger dog, he unfortunately was labeled the "dangerous" dog. If this was a person, he would be hailed a hero for protecting his loved ones. However, being a dog, the state looks at him as a worthless trouble-maker.

Due to the gross negligence showed by the owners of the other dogs, I found myself in an unbelievable legal and emotional mess that has been ongoing for over three years to date. I became a convicted criminal, fighting for Franklin’s freedom.

 I decided it was my duty to be Franklin’s voice, and clear his name. I fought for his innocence. Not everyone wanted to hear what I had to say, but I kept speaking the truth about Franklin. A lot of people told me, “he’s just a dog,” or “he’s not worth it,” but frankly he is worth every ounce of energy I have to give. I finally found someone who would listen: the Kentucky Supreme Court. And you know what they said? That we were innocent. That the ridiculous charges against us would be removed.

I won.

Franklin has been in the custody of Louisville Metro Animal Services since August 2013. After presenting the Supreme Court’s opinion, it was decided that I could resume ownership of Franklin immediately. But at a cost, and an extreme one at that. LMAS expects me to pay roughly $5,300 before I can bring Franklin home.

I hoped my emotional distress and his daily absence was costly enough, but it wasn’t. So here I am reaching out to friends, family, and strangers, to help me bring my boy home.   Any amount of support will be greatly appreciated. 

The following links may provide you with more information:

KY Supreme Court's official opinion

WDRB's Jason Riley writes an article about Franklin's potential impact on KY law

Special thanks to the amazing team of lawyers that believed in me and helped me along the way.