'Pooch on porch' causes social media firestorm, Facebook poster arrested

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - Everyone would probably agree, Amber Cammack should not have spent 14 hours in jail, only to be released with no criminal charges. But the man who had the dog on the porch tells FOX 26, all of this could have been avoided if Cammack would have simply knocked on his door.

“Let justice be served. That dog was hurting, they hurt that animal,” Cammack said at a press conference Thursday afternoon.

Cammack turned to Facebook after she says the Sheriff’s Department, the D.A’s office, and the S.P.C.A. did nothing to help the dog named June.

The dog was wearing a diaper, and had a shoelace around her muzzle when Cammack took to social media accusing Christopher Whittaker of animal cruelty.

“It makes me feel like I’m a liar when I’m really not,” Whittaker said. “There’s three sides to every story. You have my side, other people’s side, and the truth, and apparently people don’t like the truth.”

Cammack shared Whittaker’s address, license plate number, and even the security code for the condo complex on social media after her repeated calls for help were ignored. Those posts got her arrested for harassment, but she was released with no charges after spending 14 hours in jail.

“The S.P.C.A. has not looked at the dog. They’re trying to sweep everything under the rug and come after me,” Cammack said.

Not so according to the S.P.C.A., which is just as adamant that an investigator did indeed examine the dog last Friday, and again on Tuesday.

That agency and the D.A. both say there was insufficient evidence to file animal cruelty charges.

“Amber Cammack alleged she contacted our office several times and did not get a response,” said Harris County D.A. Devon Anderson. “We have no record of an Amber Cammack contacting the D.A.’s office by phone, or email.”

Several unsubstantiated claims in Cammack’s Facebook post include the dog’s owner being the daughter of a Sheriff’s Deputy.

Whittaker’s brother owns June along with his girlfriend, who he says is not the daughter of a Sheriff’s Deputy.

“I feel like I’ve been harassed non- stop. People calling me names, people calling me dog abuser, calling me S.O.B.,” Whittaker said.

While he admits it was wrong to put a shoelace on the dog’s muzzle, Whitaker says he’s an animal lover and would never intentionally hurt a dog.

His little pit bull named Marley appeared healthy and extremely happy.