Tamira Thayne is the founder of Dogs Deserve Better, a national nonprofit working to bring dogs out of the backyard and into the home and family. She is an artist and animal advocate living in rural PA, the author of Scream Like Banshee: 29 Days of Tips and Tales to Keep your Sanity as a Doggie Foster Parent, and editor of Unchain My Heart: Dogs Deserve Better Rescue Stories of Courage, Compassion, and Caring.
Chain Off has been held annually around the 4th of July since 2003, highlighting the reality that while Americans are celebrating their own freedom, there are tens of thousands of Man's Best Friends in every state who are still not free: America's chained and penned dogs. These dogs are found in backyards stretching from Delaware to Alaska, from Maine to Hawaii, all throughout the provinces of Canada, and in countries around the world.
Chain Off has evolved from one woman chaining herself to a doghouse in 2004 for 33 hours, to108 people chaining themselves in 36 states and Canada during last year's 2007 Chain Off to raise awareness for chained dogs.
This year help us blow that 108 total out of the water by chaining yourself in your own backyard, your neighborhood, a local park, or with us in Chicago! Join up 'in packs' to make a local event of it, or take it low-key in a one-woman or one-man show in your own backyard. However it works for you, it's ok by us! We've got more excitement than ever, with a large event in Chicago where activists will be chained, and new ways to fundraise in groups or on your own. We'd like to see 200 people, and at least one from EVERY SINGLE STATE, living chained to doghouses sometime during the week from June 27th through July 7th. We can do it!
This is also our biggest fundraising event of the year, last year raising over $20,000 for our work with chained and penned dogs. $20,000? Let's blow that out of the water this year too, with a goal of $60,000 raised during Chain Off! Be part of it! You can be a sponsor, exhibitor, chain yourself, or just donate and cheer from the sidelines. You can fundraise even if you're not going to live chained to the doghouse...join a fundraising 'team' near you, start your own fundraising page, and make it happen.
Please, please don't ever call me a 'hero' again! Between the judge and the DA, they have taken a word that SHOULD make a person feel good and turned it into something so ugly, I can't even bear to hear it again! What is wrong with these people?
2/22/08. Today Grimes was sentenced to 300 hours community service for a 'people organization', because 'people are dogs too'. She was also ordered to pay for the cost of the trial. This was justified by the judge because she said that Grimes chose to go to trial over ARD, therefore she should have to pay for it. Isn't it every person's right to go to trial? Does that right come with a price tag? Interestingly enough, according to Grimes' attorneys, this is not only NOT OFTEN done, but RARELY done. The costs were around $1700.
She was also ordered within 10 days to take everything Doogie related off any any site she 'has control or influence over'.
We will be appealing most if not all of the sentencing asap.
The absolute worst part of it all was the way she was treated by both the DA and the judge. The saddest thing is that they actually seem to BELIEVE the horrible things they said about her. They seem to actually BELIEVE that the taking of Doogie was a publicity stunt by Grimes, so that she could be a 'hero'. That the Arnolds are 'victims' of her lies, and that 'the dog was just old'.
The DA said he was shocked this was her first offense, because her disrespect for the law and it's officials is like his worst hardened criminals. He also said that everything on the DDB site is a lie, twisted by Grimes to make people believe her. He was seriously ticked off that the Arnolds received Valentines and a brochure attempting to educate them this Valentine's Day. Yet, at trial he insisted DDB should try to educate them, so which is it? Do you want them educated or not?
She is now again not to have any contact with 'the victims'.
The judge said that Grimes was no Rosa Parks or Martin Luther King, Jr. That she has disgraced herself and her cause, as well as her supporters by her actions. That two wrongs don't make a right. (If she's admitting there were 'two wrongs', then why are the Arnolds still not being convicted of abuse?)
We are saddened by the state of affairs in Blair County, Pennsylvania. Saddened by the people 'in control', and saddened by the beliefs they put out into the world.
Pictures and video do not lie. If it were a he said/she said situation, we could understand how they would believe the Arnolds when they say the dog was just old. But with the abundance of evidence of neglect, there is absolutely NO EXCUSE for the behavior of both DA Richard Consiglio and Judge Elizabeth Doyle. Pictures and video DO NOT LIE.
On December 14, 2007, I was convicted of theft and receiving stolen property for coming to the aid of this dog, who lay chained, unable to stand, and suffering in an East Freedom, Pennsylvania backyard.
Despite overwhelming evidence of cruelty on the part of the dog's caretakers, no charges were ever brought against them by either the humane officer or the police. A private criminal complaint filed by myself and Dogs Deserve Better languishes unaddressed on the desk of DA Richard Consiglio.
Both video evidence of the dog struggling to get up and after-photos and video of the dog walking were suppressed from the jury. These videos are currently available for viewing on YouTube and our site.
I am to be sentenced by Judge Elizabeth Doyle on February 22, 2008. I am expected to receive a fine and/or community service, as well as probation for this supposed crime. I am morally and ethically unable and unwilling to pay any fine that goes to pay the salaries of those who use power wrongly; those who punish citizens for helping animals and allow animal abusers to go free will not receive monetary support from me.
The DA has taken flack in the opinion columns of local newspapers for wasting Blair County taxpayer money on my trial. His solution? To charge ME for the cost of the trial, reported to be over $1000. He expects me to pay costs for a jury who knew nothing of jury nullification, and knew not that they were free to exercise their own judgment based on their consciences rather than follow the advice of those in power just because they said they had to. They were therefore railroaded into a conviction by the actions of the DA and Judge Doyle.
It is not enough for Mr. Consiglio to drag my name and the name of Dogs Deserve Better through the mud in order to distract our citizens from the fact that cruelty laws were already being broken, and that the humane officer and the police failed to do their jobs. He would have me foot the bill for it. As a taxpayer of Blair County, Pennsylvania, I have already contributed my share to this trial. I will contribute no more.
As founder and director of Dogs Deserve Better, I do community service virtually ever day of my life. If fact, I was performing community service the day I picked an aged and dying dog out of the mud and got him the veterinary care he was entitled to by law.
I am a law-abiding citizen of both Pennsylvania and the United States of America. I have served my country as a top-secret cleared linguist in the U. S. Air Force, reaching the rank of Staff Sergeant at my first available opportunity, and honorably discharged in 1988. I strive very hard to obey all laws that seem fair and do not cause harm to others. I stop short of obeying any law that would force me to watch a dog die in the dirt, just because he is considered mere property of another. I will continue to fight for better laws for man's best friend, as well as shine a light on the current lack of enforcement of existing cruelty laws.
This dog was not just another piece of trash that a Pennsylvania couple could allow to die unassisted, chained, and flailing about in the mud and his own feces in their yard. Doogie had the right to live or the right to a death free from cruelty, and the right to veterinary help by Pennsylvania law.
It is incumbent upon Blair County voters to remove from office anyone who by their actions or inactions condones animal cruelty and abuse and punishes those who seek to help these animals. This includes Judge Elizabeth Doyle and DA Richard Consiglio.
Martin Luther King, Jr. stated that "noncooperation with evil is just as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good." And Thoreau stated "Under a government which imprisons unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison...where the state places those who are not with her, but against her—the only house in a slave state in which a free man or woman can abide with honor."
The only way for me to maintain a clear conscience is to choose prison as punishment for my crime. I hereby request that Judge Doyle jail me for however many days I should be imprisoned for the taking of a piece of property who's value, while stated in the misdemeanor charges at 0-$50, after vet fees was more like negative $960.65. However, as one of our supporters said, Doogie's freedom from abuse and restoration to health was truly more valuable than any precious gem; it was indeed priceless.
This morning I was eating breakfast alone at my favorite breakfast establishment, Friendly's. I love them because they are always nice, but mostly because you can substitute home fries for meat, and garden vegetables for toast. Yummy and almost downright healthy if you don't count the deep-frying!
So there I was, one of only three customers in the place. My waiter, a cute 20-30ish boy with tattoos and a nice smile who I had seen in there before (and maybe I did think for a moment about getting a closer look at those tattoos), was pleasant but we didn't chit chat or anything like that. I tend to be on the shy side, which many people don't believe, but it's true.
I had no book to read because I'd inadvertently left it at the VA. (Apparently when I picked up my antiobiotic for possible Lyme's Disease...which I may or may not have gotten from the deer tick I found embedded in my head a week and a half ago, totally creeping me out...but as always when this happens, I figure God took it because someone else needed it more than me...the book, not the tick...so I just let it go.) Bottom line, I was done and kinda aimlessly sitting there waiting for the check cause I had nothing better to do.
The cute waiter comes over and tells me there's not going to be a check today. Now, this has never happened to me before and I'm thrown for a loop, so I say, 'what do you mean?' He says 'I'm getting it, you're not paying today'. Now even more confused, I say, 'why?'
And that's when he says the words that just may have changed my life, but I don't know how yet.
He says, 'I know who you are, and I know what you do.'
Wow. I'm not sure I've ever been so touched.
A simple gesture of kindness when least expected can truly change your world.
Welcome to the debut of my second tattoo design, Dog Warrior. The first one was so much fun, and so many of us are sporting them today, that I couldn't wait to get working on the second! It took awhile, though, due not only to the trial and custody battle, but also making sure I got it right.
I know I don't want a design on my wrist that I'm not ok with looking at every day for the rest of my life. To be honest, I'm still not sure I'm ready to commit to my first tattoo, (which is now on my left inner wrist) let alone add another to my right wrist!
The Dog Warrior tattoo follows a similar design style as the Rescue Angel tattoo, but while the rescue angel is serene and calm, the dog warrior is strong and sure, moving forward to win rights for Man's Best Friend.
But for me these tattoos are more than tattoos, and that's why I'm doing it. They are my promise to the animals that I will fight for them for the remainder of my lifetime....read more and see the new tattoo design at http://www.littlegirllooking.com/dogwarriortattoo.html.
On September 11, 2006, I rescued a dog that was dying at the end of a chain in a muddy yard in a small Pennsylvania town. I was subsequently arrested. A little over a year later, on December 15, 2007, I was convicted of theft and receiving stolen property.
The last year has been the most traumatic and the most inspirational of my life. I have been labeled a "terrorist" a "vigilante", and an "anarchist." I have been called a hero. I have been humbled by encouragement and well wishes from people all over the world. I have been attacked in person and in print in my small town, where the prevailing view is that it is fine and dandy to tie a dog to a tree or a dog house and leave it to pace back and forth for year after agonizing year, in skull-cracking cold or 100-degree weather, with nothing but parasites for company.
I don't regret what I did. Not for one second. And when it comes to rescuing dogs and changing minds and laws, I'm just getting started. Here's why.
The dog at the center of all this, a dog we would eventually name Doogie, had been lying in the mud and rain for three days, chained to the dog house he had been attached to for years. He was unable to stand and was pawing the air in desperation. His owners chose to go four-wheeling and to work on Monday instead of getting him the vet help he needed and deserved, but most importantly was entitled to by law. A distraught neighbor had called animal control repeatedly over the course of the three days. But as so often happens, no "humane" officer called back. No one ever showed up. (Surprised? Trust me, it happens all the time, and not just in my town.) The frantic neighbor eventually reached out to me and to Dogs Deserve Better.
What I did next set in motion a chain of events that would eventually garner national attention, the wrath of some, the support of others, and an agonizing trial during which I had to listen to lies and mischaracterizations for three days: I removed that dog's chain and I took him to the veterinarian. It was all very clear to me as I lifted the emaciated, wet dog into my van. I had been in animal rescue long enough to know that I would probably be labeled the villain while the dog's caretakers wouldn't even be questioned for leaving a suffering dog on the ground for three days, not to mention all the years they tied him to a shabby box in the yard; letting his toenails to grow so long they were curling back toward his pads, denying him vet care when he most needed it.
But I also knew that what I was doing was morally correct. It was the compassionate thing to do. It was the only thing I could do. Time was of the essence. A dog was suffering. I felt he was dying.
In court, it became increasingly clear that our 'humane officer' left me "holding the bag." He had been offered the dog by me as part of what should have been a cruelty case against the caretakers 2 times on September 11th, but ignored me both times. On the witness stand the officer, in an attempt to cover his own ass, stated he told me and the vet assistants not to remove Doogie from the vets. This is absolutely untrue, and if he had done so I would not have been put in the position of choosing between Doogie's skin and my own.
So, now I'm guilty. Ah yes, guilty of caring about a dog that had been left to die. Guilty of putting myself and my reputation on the line because I can't stand to see suffering. Yes, call me guilty.
At Dogs Deserve Better, we see dogs in horrific situations every day. Sometimes these sad animals are neurotic or aggressive from years at the end of a chain. Sometimes, they are half-starved or have collars embedded in their necks. Sometimes they are dead. So, why go out on a limb for one old dog? Why take a moral stand in this one instance? Why challenge a law, when Dogs Deserve Better has stuck to the letter of the law in almost 1,000 rescues to date?
The answer is simple: because it was the right thing to do. Because our laws regarding personal property and animal welfare are contradictory and archaic. Because Michael Vick can't kill his dogs, but the Arnolds can. Because, at the end of the day, I knew I simply couldn't live with myself if I walked away from that dog and left him to suffer there in the mud.
Doogie blossomed after we got him medical care and showed him a warm bed and a little love. He not only walked again, but actually ambled around with a spring in his step. Imagine. A dog that for many years could not take more than a few steps before being yanked back by a chain, was trotting around a yard and enjoying soft hands and a warm home!
I have no illusions about my life's work. I know some people will never get it. I know some people think "it is just a dog." I know some people consider me the representation of all that is evil because I have compassion for animals and because in one isolated incident, where the clock was ticking and life was ebbing, I took someone's "property" -- property that the owners had for all intents and purposes abandoned on the ground like a used-up piece of junk. But I don't care what my detractors think because I now know that I have more support, more friends, more allies, than I ever dreamed possible.
The support I have received during the last year has made me stronger in my convictions and more steadfast in my work. I know that the vast majority of reasonable, educated, compassionate people believe that it is barbaric beyond imagining to chain a dog for its life. I know that anti-tethering laws will continue to be passed in states, cities and counties across this country. ("No-brainers" a recent news article called these laws.) And I'm going to work harder than ever to make sure that happens.
Five years ago, when I started Dogs Deserve Better, people laughed in my face when I talked about laws against chaining. Today, three states have passed laws that severely limit the practice, as have hundreds of cities and counties, some banning chaining altogether. I know that I will see the day when our society sees tying a dog to a doghouse for 15 years as abhorrent as eating a dog.
Oh yes, make no mistake: times change and morality and compassion eventually triumph over ignorance and stupid, blind habit. Slavery ended. Women got the right to vote. Wife beating is no long accepted. You don't see a lot of kids working in mines or sweat shops anymore. Even dog fighting was made a crime.
I can't help but think about Rosa Parks. We can be sure she never regretted refusing to budge from that Montgomery bus seat. And though I may never be as brave as she was, I'll never regret taking a half-dead dog from someone's yard.
I've been asked to provide the Animal Rescue Angel Tattoos in temporary tattoos, for those who are not interested in permanent tattoos, or would like to give it a try before deciding if they want the real thing.
So check it out! I have to tell you all I still haven't gotten the real thing yet...It's been more a matter of logistics and time than anything else, but I'm getting much closer.
My experiment with the temporary version has made me even more sure that's what I want. I've had the temporary tattoo on my inner wrist for the past 4 days, and it's still going strong. And I LOVE It! I'm glad I had the chance to see my vision there first, it makes me more sure.
Meanwhile, if you never want the real thing, try a temporary tattoo, or get them for an event. It's fun!
What a Wild, Strange Trip it's Been: AKA the Bear, the Bobcat, and the Coyote
I've started walking the dogs back in the woods about 3 miles from my house, near a beautiful creek, which is where I photographed Flag and Chia for this year's calendar. I've actually always been one of the majority of females, I'm embarrassed to admit, who is a big coward in the woods, afraid of being there alone.
It's my theory that this fear in inborn in us, carried forth from times long past where a lone female in the woods was sure to be tortured and killed by either man or beast; therefore, I rationalized, this fear is a survival instinct handed down through the ages, which was certainly not my fault, right? It was just programmed into my genes...
That being said, I'm sure there are brave women out there who go it alone in the woods daily without a second thought. I wasn't one of them.
Walking with the dogs in the woods is a whole 'nother matter, and I'm excited that I feel secure when they are with me. I don't hesitate now to get right out there and revel in the glory of this forest...I absolutely LOVE these woods, they're so mysterious, so gorgeous, so full of peace, something I'm sorely lacking in the rest of my life.
I've finally learned, after repeatedly being told by dog experts, that dogs NEED a good daily walk. For the longest time I figured the large fenced yard should do fine and dandy for them, that they should get plenty of exercise on their own. But dogs aren't like that. They're too busy being up my or Kim's butts all day long to go out and roam the yard. They want to travel as a pack in search of food, as one trainer told me, and it finally hit home with me that I have to really understand their nature, their needs, which go well beyond even just living inside the home as part of the family.
I had to start making this walk a priority, because I'm busy as hell like most of you. Taking time out every day to walk the dogs seemed like something that had to come only 'if there was time', which of course there never was. Meanwhile, I was eating too much (my self-medication of choice...at least it's legal), not exercising at all, and whatever hot sexy body I may have ever had had truly gone to the dogs. The day I decided that this walk had to be a priority was a great day both for the dogs health and well-being, and for my own.
Now if a day goes by that we don't get a walk, either in the forest or the new rails-to-trails near me, I feel guilty for both them and me. When I get ready to go out the door, they are excitedly jumping around thinking it's FINALLY time for our walk...their disappointment thereby becomes my burden.
So we've started walking in these woods some days, usually when it's just me and the dogs because I can let the ones I trust off leash. Kim, my office mate at DDB, went with me a few times back there, but now when she walks we always go to the rails to trails—ever since the day I saw the bear.
I'm assuming most of you had an animal who chased you in your dreams over and over...mine was always a bear. He would chase me through the woods at the farm where I grew up, and I'd finally make it inside the farmhouse, thinking I was safe...but suddenly he'd break through the door and chase me inside the house as well, and I knew there was no place I was safe. At this point I usually woke in terror.
Suffice it to say, a bear is the last thing I really WANTED to see in the woods. The day I saw him we weren't even half way through our walk, I had three dogs on leashes and Heidi, my rottie mix, and Levi, the cocker were loose. I was experimenting with getting the loose dogs to stay behind me so I could be the true pack leader (an exhausting pasttime which I've given up for the present), so I kept telling Heidi and Levi to stay behind me. I looked about 100 yards up the path, and I saw a big black animal with it's back to me, sniffling around in the ground. At first I thought it was Heidi, and I thought to myself, 'I told her to stay behind me'.
I slowly turned and looked behind me, and there was Heidi trotting away...and I thought, 'Uh-oh, if that's not Heidi, then it can only be ONE thing...a BEAR!'
Luckily for me, the dogs hadn't noticed him/her. I'm not sure why, but I'm happy about it, because no one made a peep, which would have alerted the bear to our presence and forced action in a way I may have had no control over. The bear hadn't seen us, since his/her back was to us. So I stopped, thought about my fear of bears, decided this was no time to be challenging these fears, and turned and ran like a little girlie mon back in the direction of the van.
If it's any consolation to those of you who thought I was braver than that, I did laugh at myself while I was doing it, a step in the right direction at least. The dogs were very confused, wondering why we were cutting our walk so short, and why we'd suddenly taken up running. I figured I'd explain it all to them later.
If I were truly as cowardly as my running seems, I would not go back in the woods again, but the opposite has in fact been true. I've gone back time and again, always keeping my eye out for the bear, but enjoying sharing the woods with other living beings and gradually relaxing a bit more again. I haven't seen him/her since.
I started experimenting with letting the other dogs off leash, and they're all doing pretty well except for Magnum. He's had three offleash chances, but he just doesn't get it, and takes off in the opposite direction the second he's let off the leash. He doesn't seem to have the pack mentality he needs to have to stick with us. Each time I had to hunt him down or come back and get him later when he'd run himself out and finally decided to come looking for me.
This actually works out better for me, because it gives me a reason to keep one dog leashed up close to me. I noticed that when they were all running around, which was a joy to watch, I felt pretty insecure, realizing if something came right up to me I would have no dog next to me to protect me. So Maggy, whether he likes it or not, is my guard dog on the woods-walks.
This Sunday was a GORGEOUS fall day. Both days this weekend were awesome; Saturday we'd walked in the woods in the late afternoon, and I'd taken my camera along to capture the beauty of the fall leaves. We've had a glorious fall for leaf color, after the disappointing show the past few years. The heavens smiled upon us this year, and the colors were vibrant. I thought I'd walk them in the afternoon again; but, wanting to procrastinate with work, and seeing the sky so blue, I asked the dogs if they wanted to go early. They did, so off we went.
I took my camera along again, but as luck would have it, left it sitting on the passenger seat of the van. I had Magnum on leash, and was carrying one more leash, just in case. This left only Heidi, Miss Deer, and Cassie offleash. We were nearing the spot where I usually turn around, probably a mile back in the woods, when something growled at Miss Deer, who came running like a girlie dog back to her mommy. My first thought was a badger, which we apparently don't have in Pennsylvania (you'll see that my knowledge of PA critters is very poor, although improving as I go), and my second thought was that someone dropped a cat off in the woods.
Of course, a homeless and needy cat would have been unacceptable to my rescuer mentality. I had to see what it was in case I needed to take it along home with me...so I walked toward the end of the path where it dropped down to a high, grassy area. Suddenly, out sprang a bobcat, shocking the crap out of me, and probably her too! (I didn't know for sure what she was, as I said, my knowledge is/was poor.) She ran about 20 feet to the small stream, and crawled under a tree that hung over the stream's edge, it's roots creating a cavern beneath.
Miss Deer ran after her, so Magnum and I went down to see her and get Miss Deer away from her. Miss Deer probably would have lost a battle with a bobcat, but I wasn't taking chances of either of them harming the other. She was standing in the water looking right at me from probably about 20 feet away, and she was the most gorgeous creature I'd ever seen! I was so ticked I didn't have my camera...her image is emblazoned in my memory, but will never be seen by anyone else, and will surely fade over time.
Immediately after all this happened, and only about 100 yards away, a coyote howled, a very piercing yip and a howl together. Once again, not knowing PA wildlife, I thought it could be wolf or coyote, but I've since learned we don't have wolves here...not sure I'm buying it. Turns out from my research, the eastern coyotes seem to be a cross between the western coyote and the wolf, so I was kinda right either way.
By this point I'm pretty freaked out, like, WTF is going on here? I'd somehow landed in the wooded version of the twilight zone. After seeing no more than a chipmunk for the past 20 or so walks, I was suddenly being inundated with new and somewhat scary critters! I'd hoped it was one of my dogs who decided to take up howling, but they were all right with me until that point, when a couple of them decided to go investigate where THAT noise came from.
I figured the best thing to do was get the dogs and continue down the path a bit further, giving the bobcat time to get out from under the tree and either climb or find another spot further away where we wouldn't run across her again. And giving the, hopefully lone, coyote time to go in another direction himself.
Ten minutes later, when we got back to the same spot, the bobcat was now on top of the roots, and Heidi ran over to check her out. I wondered why she was still there, but I wanted to get Heidi out of there and away from her. When I got over there, she had crawled in between a root, and was just laying there in a funny position. I suddenly realized that she didn't seem ok, that there must be something wrong with her. This of course put me in a quandary, because you can't just walk up to a bobcat and give it a hand they way you could do with a housecat. Meanwhile, all the dogs were barking at her, and I had no idea how to proceed. I got the other leash I'd carried with me, and leashed Heidi and Magnum to a tree to keep them away from her. (Yes, I admit, I did it! Chained ma durn dogs to a tree...but I swear, it was only for a few minutes and out of grave necessity.)
The bobcat was now sitting in the water, but she was swaying back and forth. I needed to help her get out of the water, so I got a large stick and tried to put it under her to drag her to the edge. She didn't take kindly to it, and with what little strength she had she growled and hissed and struck at the stick, which helped me pull her toward shore. When she was close to the edge, her head fell forward into the water, and she started drowning. I was able to get her head up with a smaller stick, still afraid she'd bite me, and finally she was too weak to even growl anymore. I knew at this point she was dying. I was able to pull her totally out of the water with my hands, and I sat with her for five minutes until she died.
It was so damn sad!
And confusing...I could swear that when I first saw her she was a normal, healthy bobcat. And then suddenly she was dead. I had been SO excited and felt so privileged to see a bobcat in the wild, something most people never get to see, and so bummed I didn't have my camera. And then she was gone, a mere shell of the vibrant being I'd seen 1/2 hour ago.
I went through quite a few theories...rabies, some other disease, worn out from the coyote chasing her, lack of food...my latest theory, and the one which seems most plausible to me, is that she was bitten by a rattlesnake or a copperhead when she went under the tree, and it killed her that fast. Seems to be the only thing that makes sense, the only thing that would cause her to fail so suddenly.
I didn't want to leave her there, and not knowing whether she was endangered or not or what to do with her, I decided to carry her out with me. This was no easy task, given that I had to keep Magnum on a leash, and she weighed a good 20 lbs. It was at least a mile to the car.
When I finally made it home with her, I called the game warden, but since it was a Sunday I doubted anyone would get back to me right away. I ended up putting her in my freezer (quadruple-bagged, just seemed gross) to await instructions from the game warden. God forbid I get arrested for doing the wrong thing with wildlife, and I had no idea what 'proper protocol' was in this sort of case.
He did come by and pick her up on Monday. I learned that she should have been refrigerated and not frozen, but he was very nice about it all. They are doing testing now to see if they can determine the cause of death.
When/if I find out, I'll let ya know. One last thing worth mentioning, I thought the game warden would tell me "for my safety's sake, I should stay out of the woods" (keep the little ladies safe and all)...and he didn't! He told me to get myself a whistle, and keep on walking back there, which I thought was pretty cool. Seems he's the only one who thinks I should continue to walk my dogs in the wilds of Pennsylvania....
Controversial Pennsylvania Dog Rescue Case Goes to Second Motion Hearing October 29th
Blair County D.A. seeks to bar defense evidence from the courtroom
October 24, 2007, Altoona, PA—Dogs Deserve Better founder Tammy Grimes will be back in court October 29th at 9:00 a.m. for a motion hearing to defend against the Blair County DA's attempt to bar her most-compelling evidence—video, photos, and vet testimony of the dog's condition—from the courtroom. Grimes was arrested September 11, 2006 after taking a dog—unable to stand for three days—for veterinary care; then protecting him from returning to the abusive situation.
Grimes maintains that there were clearly Pennsylvania cruelty laws being broken for at least three days by the time she arrived on the scene, and charges should instead be filed against the Arnolds for abuse and neglect.
She states, "We need to take a serious look at a justice system that favors animal abusers, and I would ask what kind of example this is setting for our children. We have ample proof of abuse in this case: neighbor testimony, vet testimony, video and photo evidence. If we as humans see an animal or human dying and in need of immediate help, it is our moral duty to help that being and protect him/her from further harm. A system that instead requires an abused child or animal to be returned to the situation in which the abuse is occurring is corrupt, and must be questioned and examined if we are to evolve as a society."
The dog, who Grimes dubbed Doogie, had been kept safe and lived inside as part of a family until March 1, 2007, when he passed away due to age and a lifetime of neglect. Doogie's body was returned to Altoona, Pennsylvania, where an autopsy was performed. The DA subsequently ordered the body to be held at the vet and returned to the Arnolds.
Grimes continues, "Barring my evidence from the courtroom may change the verdict in my case, but it will never change the truth. The DA knows that, and so do the supporters of our work at Dogs Deserve Better. I am confident that in the end the truth will set both Doogie and I free."
Dogs Deserve Better has put out two new t-shirt slogans poking fun at the Pennsylvania justice system in Grimes' case, and in honor of Monday's motion hearing. "Only in Pennsyltucky: Save a Life=Go to Jail" and "Only in Pennsyltucky: The Best Offense is to Bar All Defense" shirts and other items are available from http://www.cafepress.com/dogsdeserve.
The Grimes case has made national headlines, and has been featured on Inside Edition, the National Enquirer, Animal People, animal magazines, and on blogs all over the internet.
Dogs Deserve Better is a 501c3 nonprofit organization headquartered in Tipton, Pennsylvania, is the 2003 First Place Winner of the ASPCA Pet Protector Award, and currently has 150 area reps in 38 states as well as in Canada and France. Grimes was a Top Ten Finalist for the 2006 Animal Planet Hero of the Year Contest.
I received this today from numerous sources...upon searching the internet, it is too disturbingly true:
An "artist" from Costa Rica, named Guillermo Habacuc Vargas, put a starved dog as a work of art, the poor dog died there, he did not want anyone to give him food or water."
His photo, his face hurts my heart so violently that I can't inflict that pain onto our supporters...cannot allow them to feel the suffering I feel, feel his ending as I know it. To be so helpless for another living being...to know it's too late for him...to cry and feel like my guts are exposed, but all for naught...to look at his face, want to run to him, protect him, most of all get him water, food.
To feel a hatred for his captor and for those who stand by drinking, socializing, watching "the exhibit." Fuck you.
As an artist I document suffering, push society's boundaries, challenge ideas. As an artist I seek to better the world. Guillermo Habacuc Vargas, the 'human' who starved this dog as part of his exhibit, calls himself an artist. I call him a coward, a murderer.
Worse than a murderer, I call him unfeeling. To deliberately take life, any life, in the name of art defiles the very meaning of art. Art is feeling, feeling art. One without feeling enough to stand and watch death and not intervene, seek to exhibit and promote that death is no more than death itself.
As a rescuer, every cell in my body screams to help this dog. These cells are denied.
As founder of an organization working for chained dogs, I long to step in to give him what he needs. But he no longer needs our help.
Forgive my kind, little old yellow dog. I'm ashamed of my species.
Now it is we who need help, help to come to terms with the cruel world in which we are forced to co-exist with those who abuse and torture our companions.
I wish I had words to soothe your souls, but my soul is too tormented, so betrayed by the cruelty of another artist that I cannot even process the depth of the depravity, cannot fathom the darkness within.
As one arrested for aiding a dog in a similar situation, in essence little more than an 'exhibit' for passers-by and neighbors, I despair of a world where sanity reigns.
Why are abusers not punished, why are those who save life criminals? Those who take life protected, honored? Are we of the same world? Is there a huge dichotomy that we cannot ever move beyond? Are we to suffer the painful deaths that result from bearing constant witness to torture by depraved beings?
I ask these questions and more, silently in my soul, over and over. All my questioning won't help you now, little old yellow dog.
You sweet, precious, innocent little old yellow dog. I'm so sad for you, for us, for humanity. God help us.
Anniversaries, Acts of Love, and the Caverns Beneath
A year since Doogie. A year since my arrest. A year.
6 months since his death. I struggle to understand what happened, still, today.
Am I really a human? A woman? A mother? A leader? An American? A thief?
Who are these people who relentlessly pursue me? Are they human? Why are we so different? I don't comprehend.
People say I'm a hero for rescuing Doogie. I like it. I hate it when anyone saves anything and then denies that they are a hero, for it steals the beauty in the act. In that one moment of your life you are a hero, regardless of whether you embrace it or not. Whether comfortable with it or not. And maybe you'd return the dog and maybe you wouldn't. You don't know until you're there.
People say I'm a devil for stealing a dog. I hate it. I hate it that they can't see, that they can't perceive of anyone doing anything selfless, and so attribute vile, self-serving motives to it. Because they never could or would.
I hate that I care. I resolve to stop caring.
My ex-husband is trying to take my kids. I hate it. I struggle to understand. I cry every day, and I couldn't cry before. But now I can. Facing the loss of my children I have rediscovered that I am human after all. And mother.
Some will say it's karma. I took Doogie, therefore now I may lose something I love. Trouble is, I didn't chain my children until they could no longer stand. And ride ATVs while they writhed on the ground begging for me to see them.
Love?
I bore both children without drugs. None. I did that for them, not me. Now when a doctor asks me to compare my pain to the worst pain I ever felt, I have to say it's a 1. Because once you've born a child without drugs, most everything else is just a 1.
I breastfed my children for 1 and 2 years respectively. I did that for them, not me. Anything which ties a woman to a baby, sagging her breasts for life, cannot be attributed to selfishness in a society tied only to looks and body image.
Will I lose my children because I give so much of myself to my other 'child', Dogs Deserve Better, that I've left them open to hostile takeover? I haven't guarded them closely enough, given them enough of me, the mother? I struggle to mother both children and dogs, yet I love them all ferociously, and would gladly lay down my life for all of them.
I shoulder the onus for stealing Doogie. Not without great personal sacrifice, not without absolute conviction in moral right and moral wrong.
A year later, I will spend days in court for both Doogie and my children. Faced with the possibility of losses on both sides. Weakened from pain. Faithless in the rightness of our society and our system...
In the depths of despair, one thing remains clear. No matter how ugly our world, no matter how much pain there is to endure, how you are pursued, persecuted, tortured, tormented, the only thing that truly holds meaning in the end is did you do the right thing? The TRULY right thing...not the thing you justify to yourself and others.
The one you feel in your gut.
I did, and I cling to that knowledge. And for now I cling to my children, and love them ferociously. Give them more of me.
I am terribly flawed like most humans, and some days an utter failure. Then the cat who's life I saved—with a year-long raw food diet (yuk)—jumps to drink from the meditation fountain, and I smile. My children tell me they love me—and mean it—and I melt. And Miss Deer—the biggest scaredy dog in the world—sleeps on my bed and licks my hand, and my heart beats its joy.
Today, September 11, 2007, I feel too deeply the struggles of the world, and the unfairness within. Today, we hold a collective sadness in America, and my suffering is only the tiniest particle in that sadness.
Today, I hold every suffering soul in my heart, and wish for you all the courage to do the right thing, even when it's hardest. Maybe in that awakening alone will be the salvation of mankind, and with it man's best friends.
Woman accused of dog theft issues statement in response to Pennsylvania DA's attempt to bar defense evidence from trial
Tammy Grimes says "Let's make it easy for you—I did it."
Tipton, PA — September 3, 2007 — Tammy Grimes, founder of Dogs Deserve Better, a national nonprofit working to end the suffering endured by dogs who are kept chained or penned for life, today released a statement in response to District Attorney Richard Consiglio's attempt to bar all defense evidence from the courtroom.
An article in Saturday, September 1st's Altoona Mirror states: "Consiglio on Thursday filed a request to exclude testimony during the trial [from]...a veterinarian as an expert witness to discuss the dog's condition," as well as videotape of the dog and any reference to the dog as being 'abandoned property'.
Grimes aided a dog September 11, 2006, who'd lain chained and on the ground for 3 days, unable to stand and without enforcement of existing cruelty laws. She was subsequently arrested after refusing to return the dog who she dubbed Doogie to his abusive environment.
Grimes response to the DA is as follows:
"Mr. Consiglio has stated that 'the Grimes case has nothing to do with canine rights.' On the contrary, this case has everything to do with Doogie's rights—his right to live free of abuse being already inherent in Pennsylvania anti-cruelty laws.
Whether you bar the evidence or not, the fact remains that laws were being broken for at least three days before I got there. Yet you've shown no interest in pursuing cruelty charges against the perpetrators.
It's a shame you choose not to uphold those laws, especially when the Michael Vick case clearly shows that most of America actually CARES about Man's Best Friend. I'm sorry the police force of East Freedom, Pennsylvania and District Attorney Richard Consiglio apparently do not.
My case not only has to do with the right of a dog not to be abused as per already-existing Pennsylvania laws, but also has to do with MY rights—my right to defend myself in a court of law being first and foremost.
If you take away my right to defend myself, which is what you are seeking to do, then let me go ahead and make it easy for you:
I T-O-O-K T-H-E D-O-G. Throw me in jail. I will not pay you a dime.
I have the right to defend my actions, and without evidence I have no defense.
This case has nothing to do with theft and everything to do with inadequacy. Inadequacy of enforcement, inadequacy of investigation, and inadequacy of prosecution.
In seeking to convict me, you actually seek instead to cover up your own inadequacies.
I will gladly go to jail for Doogie, and I would do so a thousand times over. I am not scared nor intimidated. Barring my evidence cannot stop it from being viewed by the public, which has happened over 50,000 times on YouTube, as well as on local and national news. You may seek to hide the truth, but the truth always finds its way out.
Doogie's truth is my truth, and HIS truth WILL set us BOTH free."
Dogs Deserve Better (www.dogsdeservebetter.org) is a 501c3 nonprofit organization headquartered in Tipton, Pennsylvania, is the 2003 First Place Winner of the ASPCA Pet Protector Award, and currently has over 150 area reps in 38 states as well as in Canada and France.
Tipton, PA — September 3, 2007 — Dogs Deserve Better, a national nonprofit working to end the suffering endured by dogs kept chained or penned for life, announced that auction has started today for a one-of-a-kind artpiece addressing dog chaining, dog fighting, and the abuse of America's pit bull type dogs. The piece, created by founder Tammy Grimes, is entitled "Falling Star, Rising Son: The Football Player and the Pit Bull", and contains stars and a shard border cut from actual NFL football tickets which were donated to the organization.
The tickets, from a DDB supporter, were for an August 26th pre-season game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles, and were intended for use as a fundraiser for the organization. When the Michael Vick case came to light and organizations began boycotting NFL games, the decision was made not to sell the tickets. Ideas were solicited on YouTube, and the winning suggestion was to create an original piece of art on the issue and encompassing the actual tickets.
The piece features Phoenix, who many people fought to save and who became DDB's September's calendar dog, as the Rising Son. Grimes states her motivation as follows: "A star falls, breaking walls of depravity, immorality, inhumanity. From the ashes the son rises, conquering those who objectify him; his true champions hail and shield him...they, the Rescue Angels."
All proceeds from the auction will go to Dogs Deserve Better, with prints of the piece without the ticket stars and shards donating 50% of the proceeds to Dogs Deserve Better. In addition, the first 5 signed prints sold online will get 1 small star each cut from the remaining portions of the Steeler-Eagle tickets.
Dogs Deserve Better (www.dogsdeservebetter.org) is a 501c3 nonprofit organization headquartered in Tipton, Pennsylvania, is the 2003 First Place Winner of the ASPCA Pet Protector Award, and currently has over 150 area reps in 38 states as well as in Canada and France.
DDB's 5th Anniversary Letter from the Founder: Let's Celebrate, Plan Ahead, Forge the Way! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meet Levi, one of the estimated 300+ chained or penned dogs rescued by DDB area reps and volunteers since August 2006.
I rescued Levi, an AKC-registered cocker spaniel, from his chained existence in Bellwood, Pennsylvania just two short months ago. Levi's existed on that chain for 10 years of his life, but you'd never guess it from the spring in his step, the daily joy he exhibits, or the forgiveness he musters for the failings of humankind--failings that cost him most of his adult life.
As I took photos and video of Levi on the chain prior to bringing him home, I was most struck by his sense of continued hope; hope that, even after 10 years, showed no signs of dying. He paced back and forth between his bedraggled doghouse with its 'Beware of Dog' sign (were they joking?) and me, dragging his chain along behind him, and what did he do every few seconds?
Stopped, then with longing, and yes, HOPE, looked toward the house, waiting for someone from his 'pack' to come out and bring him home.
For as he and I both knew, although they'd given Levi a house, they'd never given him a home. (This is the theme of our new brochure, debuting soon.)
How many times had he looked for them in the past 10 years, I wonder? If I conservatively (very conservatively) estimate it at 20x a day, Levi had looked at that house with hope 73,000 times in the past 10 years!
73,000 times.
There are many more than 73,000 chained and penned dogs across America, the world. If even 73,000 dogs look with hope for their family to bring them home 73,000 times in their lifetime, the dogs we work for are heartbroken over 5 BILLION times in just 10 years!
This situation MUST end.
We can accomplish our happy ending most quickly by aggressive legislative changes. California, Texas, and Connecticut have limits on tethering, along with over 100 others cities and counties nationwide. In 2007 there were tethering bills proposed in 14 states. Bills failed in Virginia, Maine, Nevada, West Virginia, and Tennessee. Maryland’s passed but got so watered down it lost its tethering limits. Bills are still alive in North Carolina, South Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, with Rhode Island’s being ‘held over’. If you’re from one of these states, PLEASE contact your local representative to tell them to support the bill.
We're coming off a MAJOR success with our Chain Off 2007, Unchain the 50, in which we had 108 people in 36 states living chained to doghouses. These 108 people brought in over 200 media hits and over $20,000 in funds for the chained dogs! Lisa Michelson Kukowski of Texas was our winner of $100 worth of DDB materials, bringing in over $1900 in funds. She also pushed Texas to an overall total win, which means a billboard in an area of heavy chaining, just in time for the new law to take effect.
New years are always new beginnings, and a time for gratitude for the good from the previous year. Here's my 'Top Ten' Gratitude list for Dogs Deserve Better for our 5th Anniversary:
1. Doogie was safe, alive, and had six months with a wonderful foster mom! That made everything that has come since worth it.
2. DDB's amazing area reps, who work so hard on their free time to make a difference for chained dogs. I love you guys.
3. That 108 people cared enough to risk looking foolish on the end of a chain to make a difference for those who can't leave when they're done. Bravo to all of you.
4. The 'anonymous donor' who planted a seed of funds for the Dogs Deserve Better Rehab and Training Center for chained dogs. May it continue to grow...(More to come soon!)
5. The 300+ chained dogs who were rescued directly by DDB members and reps, fostered, and found new, inside homes and families.
6. The many dogs who were able to stay with their families through our help with housetraining and fencing.
7. The invitations DDB has been getting to speak and exhibit at major conferences nationwide.
8. Levi, our little AKC Cocker Spaniel rescue, and the opportunities that provides as we continue to push for better laws for chained dogs.
9. The thousands of donors who keep DDB afloat. Many say they are upset that all they can do is send funds. You are needed! Many others can help but cannot fund, so those who can fund our efforts are very, very much appreciated.
10. Every single opportunity to help a chained dog. Every success makes the failures fade just a tiny bit!
The Importance of Membership
I'm only just now realizing how important membership is to Dogs Deserve Better as an organization. To you it may add up to a donation with a few side benefits, but to us it provides some measure of sway with the media and other organizations. We're frequently asked what our membership is, and our immediate goal is to double our membership, from 3500 to 7000 (or 100,000, hey, we don't want to limit ourselves)...the greater numbers we show behind our efforts, the more seriously our efforts will be taken. Can you help by becoming a member of Dogs Deserve Better today? Please join today, and ask your family and friends to join, too.
To Celebrate our 5th Anniversary, We've got some New Stuff for YOU to Enjoy!
Buy NOW from our Cafepress Store, because we've just found out they're upping Prices Soon on all items with printing both front and back, which we like to do to get more 'bang' for your buck. For now this costs you NO MORE, but within the next week or so, that price will be going up $3.00...so buy your favorite items NOW before it's too late!
No Chaining, No Fighting Attire http://www.cafepress.com/dogsdeserve ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PLEASE Join Dogs Deserve Better today! We have a chance to change the future. With your help, we can let the world know animal abuse MUST be taken seriously. Don't sit back and let it happen. If we DON'T stand up, this practice WILL NOT END. Please get involved today.
Robin Williams Tops List of Celebrities Donating Pet’s Collars for Charity Auction
"Celebrity Collars for Dollars" Fundraising Auction Benefits Dogs Deserve Better; Set to Begin June 23
June 18, Tipton, PA—Robin Williams tops the list of celebrities donating their dog's used collars for a "Celebrity Collars for Dollars" auction benefiting Dogs Deserve Better, a nonprofit working to bring dogs into the home and family. Williams donated three old collars from family pets Gabby and MableMae, signed with each dog's name as well as Robin's, 3 autographed movie photos, 3 signed Robots movies, and an autographed Dogs Deserve Better Calendar cover.
The group also received 2 collars from Daisy Fuentes' dogs Alfie and Rita, and one from Jack Hanna's dog Ben, Adrian Zmed's dog Kubby, Elvira's rottweiler Mina, Patrick McDonnell's friend Earl, and Betty White's dog Pontiac. All have been framed in shadow boxes with a photo of the celebrity, any personal notes, and a Dogs Deserve Better "Celebrity Collars for Dollars" inscription label specifying the celebrity name, his/her companion's name, and the date of the auction.
Tammy Grimes, founder of Dogs Deserve Better, states "It's been great fun opening the mail from celebrities to see what they've donated. Candice Bergen, who did not have a collar to send, had her assistant call to say they were sending a specially signed photo to DDB; they both loved our work, and gave a generous donation for the chained and penned dogs. What an honor!"
Johnny Depp, Charlize Theron, Elizabeth Taylor, and Dolly Parton donated autographed photos which were framed and will be sold during the auction. Bill Maher sent a signed copy of his book "Polite Musings from a Timid Observer", also to be auctioned, and Martha Stewart autographed the DDB Calendar cover, which has been framed and is slated to be included.
Dogs Deserve Better is pairing the celebrity auction with their annual Chain Off Event, taking place from June 30th through July 7th, 2007. During this year's event, "Unchain the 50", the group seeks Freedom for Chained Dogs in every state in the nation. 70 volunteers in 28 states will live chained to doghouses for 8-24 hours to call attention to those who are still not free—dogs who live their entire lives at the end of a chain, ostracised from what they long for most: family, love, and attention...a "pack" in which to belong.
Dogs Deserve Better is a 501c3 nonprofit organization headquartered in Tipton, Pennsylvania, is the 2003 First Place Winner of the ASPCA Pet Protector Award, and currently has over 150 area reps in 38 states as well as in Canada and France.
I question a society where those who step up to save a dying animal are arrested and prosecuted; yet those who allow an animal to suffer and die in their very own yards are rarely brought to justice and seldom even charged with more than a minor infraction.
I am slated to stand trial for theft and receiving stolen property for aiding a dog who lay chained, unable to stand, and dying in it's owners' yard for three days. May 21st I am back in court to choose a jury in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania.
Ironically, May 21st is also the day the Good Mayor of a town in Minnesota goes back to court for a crime involving his chained dog. In this case the defendant sentenced his "wire-haired hunting dog" (we'll call him Wiry for short) to death by freezing in sub-zero temperatures, with only a feces-laden crate for shelter. He is charged NOT with animal cruelty, as one who has any faith in the justice system would expect, but instead with failure to provide proper housing, a 'petty misdemeanor' charge.
His 'petty misdemeanor' charge is even less for KILLING his dog than my 'misdemeanor' charge is for SAVING a dog. Am I the only one who sees a problem in this scenario?
Neighbors say they heard the dog crying for help. None came.
Before heading to archives, the comment section on the Good Mayor's news story at sctimes.com numbered 105 comments and still climbing, indicative of a story that raises serious moral and ethical questions. One of the more pressing questions on people's minds was "If the neighbors heard the dog crying, why didn't they step up to help?"
A person identifying him/herself only as Fed Up stated the story was indeed true, as he/she had personally heard the dog's cries for help. Indignant questions of "Why didn't you DO something" met only with silence from Fed Up.
As one embroiled in the same ethical/moral dilemma that Fed Up faced, I truly empathize with his/her plight. Since my arrest, I have endured personal onslaughts of my character from the district attorney, police chief, and other organizations as well as from strangers, new-found enemies, and former friends. They range from mild (she broke the law, period) to the irrational (all the evidence is faked, any eighth grader with photoshop could have created both the photos and the video—fyi, my son is in eighth grade, but insists he has NO idea how to work photoshop, so I've proven that one wrong, thank God...)
Fed Up was caught in a moral dilemma, and had to make a choice between his/her own personal safety and the safety of the dog. We know which choice Fed Up made. He/she now has to live every single day with the guilt created by this decision. Fed Up may well endure nightmares and go to the grave with the guilt of Wiry's death heavy on his/her conscience.
Given what I've had to endure at the hands of local authorities as a result of my decision to save Doogie, I can certainly understand why someone would not choose to act to save the life. How much worse would it have been for Fed Up to save the MAYOR's dog? The Good Mayor would have plenty of community pull, and Fed Up would be tarred, feathered, and hanged by daybreak, any thoughts of Wiry's mistreatment and impending doom completely forgotten and rationalized away by authorities and community members alike. They would all wonder what got into that darn neighbor, usually such a nice, quiet citizen...why would Fed Up suddenly go berserk and start stealing the private property of the Good Mayor? It would make no sense in a justice system centered on dogs as nothing more than property, having no feelings or right to life in and of itself.
I myself was duly notified by the Upstanding Police Chief that if I ever came near his dog, he'd put a slug in my ass. He also stated in the Daily Collegian that my video could well have been faked, that he could take his dog out, drag it through the mud, and get horrible-looking video like that too. But Mr. Police Chief, would not that very act of dragging your best friend through the mud actually constitute abusive behavior on your part? As you probably have no fear of being prosecuted, I can see why you would feel free to envision such a form of torture for your pet.
Until we force our nation to evolve, acting as a Good Samaritan for dogs on chains will be a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" kinda' thang. If you DO step up to save the life, you may well be the one arrested; and if you don't, you will live with the poor creature's death on your head for all eternity. Not a pleasant choice by any stretch of the imagination.
I am certainly not the first to take action to save a dying chained dog. I may be the first to get such compelling evidence of the crime committed against the dog, to fight for the right of a dog not to die on the end of a chain, and to stand for my right to act as a Good Samaritan. I won't be the last.
Fed Up is not the first to let fear stop him/her from saving a life, and Fed Up will not be the last.
The Good Mayor and Doogie's owners are not the first and will not be the last to get away with animal cruelty by allowing their dog to die on the end of a chain. They are merely links in a chain of abuse that has been ongoing for centuries, and which only we can stop.
It's up to US to make these kind of Americans a dying breed. It's up to US to stop tolerating the abuse, start enforcing laws protecting animals, and create stronger laws limiting chaining for man's best friend. Every social movement succeeds ONLY when the people stop letting fear get in the way of taking the necessary action. When the people stand up, the power shits from abuser to right action. Laws change, tolerance of social injustice ends.
I consider myself lucky, despite facing charges, that I am not in Fed Up's shoes. I know Doogie would thank me if he could, and nothing man can do to me could take that away from me. I wake up each morning knowing I did as Jesus would have done, and Doogie's life being extended almost six months in a loving, caring environment is more than all the proof I need.
Wiry never made it through the night; dying a cold, sad, lonely, frightening death.
I urge everyone placed in the horrible position of Fed Up and myself to push fear aside, to do whatever it takes to save the life. If time is not of the essence, fight hard for authorities to take the necessary life-saving steps. Don't back down to authorities if they act like you don't know what you're talking about or you should mind your own business. If the dog is suffering and death is imminent, that is EVERYONE'S business!
If they refuse to take the plight of the dying animal seriously or do not respond at all to pleas for help, realize you are on your own, and that life is depending on YOU. You may be the only lifeline that dog has, please do not toss it aside lightly.
