"Scream Like Banshee" Book for Dog Foster Parents Now Available!

With 29 Days of Tips and Tales for Animal Rescuers
who Struggle with Foster Dogs from a Leading Animal
Activist and Non-Profit Founder

March 2009, Tipton, PA — Termed “A really insightful book and a no-bullshit diary,” Scream Like Banshee: 29 Days of Tips and Tales to Keep your Sanity as a Doggie Foster Parent hits the market with a unique edge over other animal-related books.

The book combines not only tips for both adequate training and containment of foster dogs, but also tips for the rescuer’s mental health, as well as pleas to those who have not yet stepped up to foster a dog.

Says Cherie Smith of SmithVirtualOffice.com: “I finished reading your book and all I can say is WOW!!! You are an inspiration…you had me crying, laughing, and then crying again! The story of Banshee had me on edge the entire book.

I liked how you incorporated wellness; this book is not only for those who foster or want to foster but for everybody because it is a ‘feel good book.’ It has joy, love, sadness, grief, and how to love yourself.”

Thayne combines seven years of foster knowledge gained from housing America’s formerly chained or penned dogs with an M.S. in Naturology, the study of the body/mind/soul connection, to send a positive message of hope for mental stability while fostering.

“Fostering dogs is one of the hardest yet most rewarding experiences an animal advocate will ever have. Many of us struggle with it, and many of us feel we are failing because we are not doing it perfectly. Screw perfect! I say just do it, and I hope the tips and tales of my own struggles will inspire those who haven’t yet fostered to step up, and those who overdo to take a sanity break because their own health is important too,” states Thayne.

The book is available from lulu.com and soon will be available at all online booksellers. Dogs Deserve Better will receive $2 per every book sold on lulu.com, and—as a fundraiser for chained and penned dogs—signed and dedicated books can be purchased on the DogsDeserveBetter.org website for an additional $9.99. All additional funds will go directly to Dogs Deserve Better’s work.

For more information, visit the website at http://www.ScreamLikeBanshee.com.

About the Author

Tamira Ci Thayne is founder and CEO of Dogs Deserve Better, an award-winning national nonprofit working on behalf of America’s chained and penned dogs.

Thayne holds a B.A. in Visual Arts from the University of Maryland, and a B.S. and M.S. in Naturology (study of the Body/Mind/Spirit connection) from American Institute of Holistic Theology.

She has written articles for nationwide publications including American Dog, and has been the subject of articles in magazines such as Bark, Animal Sheltering, The New Barker, and Dog’s Life, which won a Genesis Award Honorable Mention.

She has created over 30 animal advocacy art pieces, available for viewing and purchase on littlegirllooking.com, and illustrated Puddles on the Floor for Dogs Deserve Better, a humane education book written by Lorena Estep.

Scream Like Banshee is Thayne’s first book.

Thayne is available for interviews, author visits, and book signings. Please contact her at 814.941.7447 or Tami@littlegirllooking.com to request an appearance.

PA's Wall of Shame Features Photos of Chained Dogs Who Still Wait-for the Third Year-for a Law

Anti-Chaining Organization To Document Dogs Living Chained In Every County in Preparation for Year Three of Battle for a Law Limiting Tethering

http://www.dogsdeservebetter.org/pawallofshame.html

Tipton, PA -- March 19, 2009 -- Dogs Deserve Better today posted "Pennsylvania's Wall of Shame: Chained Dogs Still Waiting for a Law" on its website at DogsDeserveBetter.org, starting with photos of dogs in seven counties who are still living chained, and plans to expand the collection to every county in Pennsylvania.

Tamira Ci Thayne, founder and CEO of Dogs Deserve Better, spent much of the former weekend documenting dogs who've spent their lives at the end of a chain, sadly looking to all passers-by for help. "By far the worst town we found so far was Blandburg, Cambria County. Driving down a single alley netted us an easy 10-12 dogs chained and begging for attention. It's time for even the mountain boys to understand what a dog needs, and it's not life at the end of a chain."

Thayne also documented a small black and white fufu dog in Blair County whose caretaker is an old middle school boyfriend. The little dog still lives chained despite personal letters and yearly Valentines; its yardmate, an old shepherd mix, died last year, still chained and never knowing human kindness.

One photo already causing upset amongst viewers features a tan dog chained to a blue doghouse with "Do Not Water or Feed This Dog" painted in large white letters on the side.

Thayne says, "It's obvious that a neighbor was worried about this dog and was trying to give it aid, so the owners felt a need to make sure no one came near 'their property.' Good people in Pennsylvania are tired of watching dogs suffer and die at the end of chains and in pens. It's time our lawmakers 'get it' and put a stop to it. We will not back down and this year we are stepping up the pace. We aim to picture dogs from every single county of Pennsylvania on our site. Any lawmaker who thinks the dogs deserve this life of misery can face irate constituents who want answers after viewing the dogs from their county. We are requesting that citizens in every county send us photos of chained dogs to photos@dogsdeservebetter.org so we can post them in the appropriate county."

Thayne reminds lawmakers of the December 19th death of Brianna Shanor, an 8-year-old girl killed in Beaver County by a chained mixed breed dog.

"If state legislators had acted to pass our all-too-reasonable law limiting chaining of dogs for life last session, there's a good chance that this attack would not have happened. How many lives must end—both dogs and children—before legislators take the action that is both needed and demanded by our citizens?"

Dogs Deserve Better has been one of the organizations at the forefront of the push for a state law, and in the last two sessions house bills were put forward to limit chaining. Animal advocacy groups banded together to lobby for the legislation, which last year made it out of the House and to the floor before being blocked and left to die.

Connecticut, California, and Texas have all enacted some legislation limiting chaining, and over 150 cities and counties have followed suit.

For more information on Dogs Deserve Better, visit their website at dogsdeservebetter.org.

http://www.dogsdeservebetter.org/pawallofshame.html

Thayne Receives Key to the City in Fort Pierce Florida Plus an Animal Control Ride-Along

Woman convicted of dog theft in Pennsylvania
Receives 'key to the city' in Fort Pierce Florida
for her compassionate act

Tamira Thayne, founder of Dogs Deserve Better, honored at ceremony in late February 2009

March 1, 2009, Altoona, PA — Tamira Ci Thayne, founder of the award-winning non-profit Dogs Deserve Better, was granted the Key to the City of Fort Pierce Florida by the Mayor's office at a ceremony in late February. Thayne, formerly Tammy Grimes, was found guilty of theft and receiving stolen property in December 2007 after a three-day trial in Blair County, Pennsylvania. The case, which pitted dogs as property against the inherent rights of animals kept as companions, made headlines nationally and was featured on Inside Edition and in a host of news publications and Internet blogs.

Thayne was presented the Key to the City by Mrs. Donna Benton, wife of Mayor Bob Benton, who commended Thayne for her actions in helping Doogie, telling the audience "When you see a dog in distress, take heart and give it some aid—because they should all have a home with a family."

Thayne was arrested September 11, 2006 after rescuing a dog that had lain on the ground in a yard in East Freedom, Pennsylvania for three days, unable to stand and pleading for help. A distraught neighbor tried repeatedly to convince humane agents to help the dog, but no officer ever returned calls or showed up. Finally, the neighbor turned to Dogs Deserve Better.

Thayne, touched and honored by receiving the key to Fort Pierce, was also amused by the contrast between the actions of Fort Pierce, Florida and the actions of those in power in her hometown of Altoona, Pennsylvania.

"It's a night and day reaction," she explains with a grin. "In Altoona I am treated as a pariah, a criminal, and in fact was termed 'worse than his worst hardened-criminal' and 'a piece of trash' by District Attorney Richard Consiglio. Yet here, and in many other areas, I am honored for my efforts to help the aging shepherd, and people are able to recognize the truth for what it is.

"I want to thank Fort Pierce and Mayor Benton and his wife Donna for their courage in coming to stand behind me. No dog should be left outside for life, and no dog should ever be left to die there, unable to stand, still chained, and flailing about in the mud and his own feces.

"We are still working to bring private cruelty charges against the caretakers of this dog, and will be back in court in June to attempt to override the DA's denial of the case. We will always remember Doogie, and I never, EVER, have regretted for one moment my actions in helping him."

During the case, jurors were permitted to view photos of the dog’s emaciated condition on the day of rescue; however video taken at the scene, photographs of the dog’s much-improved condition post-rescue, and expert vet and investigation procedure testimony were barred from the courtroom. An appeal is still pending.

To learn more about the Doogie case, visit the website at http://www.dogsdeservebetter.org/doogie.html.

Dogs Deserve Better, a 501c3 nonprofit organization headquartered in Tipton, Pennsylvania, is the 2003 First Place Winner of the ASPCA Pet Protector Award. The group has 130 area reps in 35 states as well as in Canada and Hong Kong. Thayne was also a Top Ten Finalist for the 2006 Animal Planet Hero of the Year Contest.

YouTube Video Link of Award Plus Animal Control Ride-Along

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_vyZp_zR8I


For Immediate Release

Contact: Tamira Ci Thayne • founder, Dogs Deserve Better • info@dogsdeservebetter.org

www.dogsdeservebetter.org • P.O. Box 23, Tipton, PA 16684 • 1.877.636.1408 • 814.941.7447