http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vAHZU_xG34
There is a woman in rescue we'll call Lynn. I won't state her full name, because she likes to threaten legal action, so we'll leave it at that. I've defended this woman in the past in her online fights, which are numerous. She also has a lot of contacts in the online rescue community, who tend to believe what she says regardless, and I myself used to at least give her words the benefit of the doubt and have come to her defense on more than one occasion. Especially against an Ohio 'rescue' who keeps the dogs on chains which she shared photo evidence of....
Until last week. I was the unlucky one who adopted a dog out to her brother almost two years ago. (I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this.)
Last fall I got a call from Lynn saying that I had to take back the dog from her brother right away. Rocky, a ddb volunteer at that time, was the one who placed Sammy Sosa with her brother the year prior, but from what he told me it sounded like Sammy had a pretty good home out in the country with plenty of room to run, just what he needed. Sammy is some kind of pointer mix, black with white spots on his chest and front legs. Quite a strikingly beautiful dog, less than a year old when we first got him into rescue. He'd been living on a chain near Philipsburg, PA.
A friend of mine named Mary got the owners to give him up and asked me if I'd foster him. I did. Unfortunately I have no before pictures, and didn't see him chained, but can't imagine how he survived it.
Sammy was a bundle of energy! Not a bad dog, had some tendency to mouth and rip about the house, but just needed to be neutered and some time to grow up, stretch his long legs, run out some energy, and calm down. He went to one home but came back, a bad combination...and then Barbara called asking about him, having seen him on our petfinder site. She felt it was a great match for her home, and so did we from talking to her on the phone. He was adopted there and from all we knew was doing well.
When Lynn called me alleging that the dog was being hit, I asked her if she was willing to stand behind her allegations in a court of law, as I felt there would be no visible signs of abuse and it had been almost a year since he'd been adopted out. She refused, saying she wanted to stay out of it. I told her without a witness to abuse there wouldn't be much I could do about it, because Sammy would show no visible signs of being hit. I called the adopter to check in—she said everything was going great. I heard no further from Lynn for many months.
Then last week, after my Op-Ed Every Life Matters circulated the internet, Lynn sent out an e-mail with this ending line after going on about how Sammy is being abused and why DDB shouldn't have adopted out to her brother:
"My conclusion? DDB=DNA. There, I finally said it. Have wanted to do that for a long time and I feel so much better now. :) Save all the BS Tammy. You just got busted out."
So....
I'm not that concerned about DDB being a DNA in Lynn's World...after all, do we REALLY adopt dogs from rescue groups? My home is plenty full with fosters...Does that mean that rescue groups will no longer give dogs to us? Shouldn't we actually be HAPPY about that?
Because don't we have our hands full enough with all the chained and penned dogs we can't find fosters for already?
AND, on behalf of my wonderful reps who I think are amazing, should this DNA even apply to ALL of DDB? DDB has 150 area reps...not all of which are fostering and adopting out dogs, but a good number of them are, and they are REALLY wonderful people....all VOLUNTEERS, just doing the DAMN best they can for dogs who live their lives on the end of a chain, and just looking to try to help them get a BETTER life.
Should they really be DNA just because I am?
If Queen Lynn should deem anyone DNA, shouldn't it just be ME? And NOT my reps? Because they don't know her from Adam, and it's really not fair to lump them in with my imperfections, right?
So I'm hoping we all agree on one thing at least: Not ALL DDB Reps are DNA, just Tammy Grimes. Thank the Good Lord!
Last fiscal year alone, DDB reps in total rescued 302 chained or penned dogs. Lynn isn't saying that we should leave those 302 dogs out there this year to rot on chains or in pens is she? That our foster or adoptive homes are not better than life on the end of a chain—starving, thirsty, heat stroke, puppies, dying, etc.?
Or, will Lynn now step up to take in these 302 rescued dogs for us? Wouldn't that be great? I'd fundraise for you, Lynn!
Or even, since hopefully I am the ONLY DNA, will Lynn's rescue group take in my 16-20 rescued dogs per year?
I would imagine her group is total perfection, or she wouldn't criticize others, eh?
Please let me know asap, Lynn, as it's important for me to let all my reps know where we're now heading as a group....and if you're taking just mine in, my assistant Kim will be mighty happy that she doesn't have to come in to take care of them when I'm out of town speaking on behalf of the chained dogs...let me know asap, please, ok?
Thanks!
So, after all that went down this week, I called the adopter up, and in an embarrassed tone asked her if her husband was Lynn's brother (she said yes), and told her what all was going on. I asked her if it'd be ok if I came up to take a few pictures of Sammy, to show that he wasn't indeed dead or didn't at least APPEAR to be abused even though that would be very hard to prove either way...
She was very kind about it all, and set up for me to come and see Sammy today, 5/27/07.
Barbara told me that her husband and Lynn hadn't been talking since her mother died last year. From that I can only assume Lynn came out on the losing side of the inheritance and she's pretty angry about it...for which I'm truly sorry, Lynn! I know I'd be pretty mad if that happened to me too...and it probably will, so at least you won't be alone there...
BUT, THAT DOESN'T GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO TAKE SAMMY AND I DOWN WITH YOU!
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So, I spent my Sunday before Memorial Day driving four hours to Clarion, PA and back. And then two more hours creating a video out of the photos and snippets I got of Sammy. And two more hours creating this e-mail. Yes, I had other, probably more pressing things to do...but I chose to do this instead.
And I'm glad I did. It was GREAT to see Sammy again (my stepdaughter ADORED him), and he's grown into such a gorgeous young man! But, more importantly, I hope you can all watch this video compilation I made of him today, and I hope you see in it what I saw. (Sorry about the side-ways doggie door thing, didn't know it would be hard to rotate, and I couldn't figure out how! Just bear with that part, but it's important to show that he does indeed live INSIDE the home...)
Sammy appeared to me to be downright exuberant! Granted, I know that dogs can't really speak...but, here were my observations. I can't disprove all of Lynn's allegations...I don't know if any of them can be true, and I'm not calling her an out and out liar. I always think there's at least a grain of truth in there somewhere....
But here's what I saw today, and what I took photos of and video of—today, 5-27-07. You will have to decide the rest for yourself, as to whether you believe Lynn or not, but after today I'm satisfied that Sammy is happy, and that's what I believe. You have to make your own decision.
1. Sammy has an electric fence, which he does not cross. I didn't know where the line was initially, but Barbara told me I would know when I saw him. I also saw another relative come to visit while I was there..Sammy did not cross the line once.
2. Sammy appeared healthy and happy. He has one acre to roam inside his electronic fence. They live WAY out in the woods. He has a spring which forms into a creek to lay down in during the hot summer days. He made liberal use of this creek for drinks and to cool off while I was there. Barbara says they get their drinking water from this spring as well. (I felt very bad for my fosters after seeing that, they have nothing that awesome! I kinda wished I was her dog...)
3. Sammy has a doggie door. He runs outside and plays as much as he wants to with his partner, Trixie. He is free to come and go as he pleases from inside the home. Barbara keeps the couches covered in sheets in case he gets mud on them, she can just change them. (I didn't intrude in her home today, Sammy doesn't care how clean it is, and neither do I...the home visit was two years ago, and that is none of my business at this point.)
4. Sammy would be hard-pressed to run out to the road to be killed. The lane itself is .3 miles long. Then the single lane road (no yellow divider lines) is an additional 1.8 miles until you even hit a two lane road. Although it is within the realm of possibility that Sammy could ignore his electronic fence, burst out, run out the lane and out into the single lane road, it is still highly unlikely that he would be hit by a car...I passed only ONE car in the 1.8 miles on my way out of there.
5. Barbara told me that she didn't even tell her son why I was coming...that she was so afraid I would take Sammy from them, and that her son would be devastated if I were to do so. I assured her I was not there to do that to her, her son, or to Sammy.
Bottom line: I am NOT the Rescue Gestapo! I don't have the right to go and take a dog back after two years who appears happy and content, and I would not presume to try to do so. If I saw obvious signs of abuse or if he were chained or penned, I would fight tooth and nail for that dog, but I saw no such thing in Sammy.
I am NOT happy that Lynn is taking her war with her brother out on Sammy and I. I personally feel that she owes us both an apology. After what she said about her sister-in-law, her sister-in-law would not even say one unkind word about her.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vAHZU_xG34
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