A 33 page lawsuit details how Cindy King claims she was wrongfully accused of animal abuse in August, 2016. She was charged with five counts of animal cruelty and the five dogs found in her Clarksville home were seized. Officials later seized ten more dogs from other locations.
"This woman was looking at ten years in prison," her attorney Eddie Schmidt said.
When the case went to trial in 2017, however, the judge dismissed it. "It was an illegal search and seizure," he said.
However, Kings life since then has been a hard one, according to her attorney. "She was evicted from her home, she was fired from her job. When she got a new job whispers were spread that this is the animal cruelty person, she'd be released from that job," Schmidt explained.
The lawsuit names several defendants including an animal control officer and the director, Jeanette Farrell, who has since resigned and moved out of state for a new job opportunity. A police officer who responded to the complaint is also named in the suit.
"We felt strongly that there were several constitutional violations for which she should seek compensation," said Schmidt.
Officials involved in the case would not comment, siting pending litigation.
Before all of this King worked to rescue dogs her attorney said were on death's door. Now he's working to rescue her reputation.
King no longer lives in Tennessee. She was able recover five of the 15 dogs that were taken. We're told the other ten were adopted out. </p>
UPDATE - A ruling was made by the appeals court in this case: Court rules in favor of Montgomery Co. in animal abuse case
