HoundsGood: Chronicles of a Virtual Volunteer

I received a newsletter from Dogs Deserve Better The registration deadline is fast approaching for the 2010 Chain Off, to raise awareness of the plight of chained dogs. Perhaps their is a dog in your neighborhood who is chained or tethered, and does not get the benefit of a warm bed, sitting at the feet of his or her people, or for some, even regular feeding. Some dogs live life chained to the point where collars have become impeded as they grow. Chain dogs are vulnerable to attacks from wild animals and cruel taunters because they are a sitting duck. They are unable to flee. Especially if they are unneutered they can become extremely territorial…wouldn’t you be if the only space you had was a small circle around a tree?

During the ChainOff, volunteers will chain themselves to dog houses (though many tethered dogs do not even have a shelter) to raise money and awareness. There have been times when their campaign has struck a nerve with others to finally decide to bring their dog inside, where they belong, and away from the sweltering summer heat.

The following was distributed by Dogs Deserve Better, and was written by Tamira Thayne, and its titled Why Chain Off Matters.

I remember the moment eight years ago when I first thought of chaining myself to a doghouse. I was filled with a sense of rightness and excitement at the notion, yet fear and trepidation dogged my every mental step.

I tucked the idea away and ruminated.

The image wouldn’t budge, however, no matter how often I told myself it was impossible, it would be too embarrassing, people would laugh, etc., etc., etc.

What would they think of me?

But in the end the fear and uncertainty didn’t sway me from my vision. On July 3-4, 2004, I chained myself to a doghouse for the first time, facing my own inner demons about social acceptance and the prejudice of others—others who either chain their own dogs, love their own dogs but don’t extend that compassion to others, or know in their guts that chaining is wrong but aren’t willing to stand against it.

I chained myself to make a statement about chaining a dog for life.

I.e., it’s morally wrong.

And, ethically indefensible.

It should be the same no-brainer for the ‘Absolutely Immoral List’ as kicking a puppy or molesting a child.

Sticking a dog on a CHAIN despite the fact that he’s the absolute most-social of animals, affixing him to a doghouse or tree, ignoring his pleas for help, and watching him die ten years later—a mere shell of the glorious creature he was intended to be—IS a criminal act.

Yet, inexplicably, it doesn’t make the list for a large percentage of Americans.

I was raised on a 100-acre farm, and I grew up with a beagle chained to her doghouse behind the honeysuckle bush at the top of the lane. Granted, perhaps on the surface Maggie’s lifelong chaining didn’t top the list of abuses in my household, but looking back I can see that what we did to Maggie was absolutely WRONG.

I just didn’t have the power to stop it.

But don’t you see?

NOW WE DO! Now We DO!

When enough of us burst forth from the fear bubble we’ve put ourselves in, we CAN make things right for America’s chained dogs.

This IS a no-brainer, but we have to be willing to stop tolerating the abuse.

Are we ready yet? Will you work with me to put an end to the abuse?

When I take my place in front of my doghouse on the hot and humid grass of an Alachua, Florida shopping center this July 3rd, it will be my seventh year living chained for 24 hours or longer—suffering one day in comparison to their 365.

I’ve yet to die of embarrassment for doing it. When I spend those 24 miserable hours chained on behalf of chained dogs, what I’m doing matters to me, and it matters to the world we live in—a world which needs to see people strong enough in their belief of the wrongness of an action that they are willing to look stupid on behalf of a creature who has no voice. I’m depriving myself of comfort, adequate food, enough water, a nice soft bed, and protection from the elements because I know that they DO DESERVE BETTER.

Please join me in chaining yourself for them, or in supporting our Chain Off fundraising efforts so we may continue to be their voice.

When you see your dog on the couch tonight, give him or her a hug. And realize, no matter purebred or mutt, there are thousands more dogs who look just like yours living chained at this very moment, needing someone to be a voice for them.

Will you be that voice?

You can be the voice for chained dogs by donating today! Just a few dollars will make a great difference in the life of a chained dog.

For more information, to donate, or to find an individual to pledge, please visit http://dogsdeservebetter.org .

Dogs Deserve Better has once again mounted a Valentine’s Day Campaign.  There is still time to volunteer. Many people, including many children are meeting to create Valentines and stuff envelopes and send them to homes that have chained or penned dogs.

Last year, 12,113 Valentine’s were delivered to homes all over the country (plus to some areas of Canada and Australia).

They are asking for three things:
1) People to make Valentines

2) People to send in discount coupons for dog treats and donations for Valentine postage and materials.

3) People to send in addresses where they know a dog is chained up outside or penned. Last year there were more cards than addresses. This is so important.

At first I was skeptical, thinking that an owner of a chained dog would just throw out the card, and maybe some do, but response from the previous years has proven that some people take it to heart:

From Bobbie (2009 ):  On Valentines day a woman called me and said she received our Valentine again this year. She had received them in previous years and called the police to report harassment. I sent one again this year. And she called and said “come get her.” Not because she was angry with us, but with her family for wanting to keep the dog chained. Her daughter has severe allergies which is why Mackenzie was out there in the first place. She did the brave thing and went against her familys (sic.) wishes and surrendered the dog to us. Now we need to get her out ASAP. She told her husband and children “how would you like to be chained?” She read the brochure and looked at the website and she now believes that chaining is cruel and inhumane and is going to try to teach her family. Mackenzie is about 9 years old spayed, submissive with other dogs. She comes when called off-leash. We took her for a walk but I have 9 dogs and 4 cats here. Regan got adopted and was returned after 4 days or I would have been able to take her. We can help transport almost anywhere.
Thanks,
Bobbie and Terry, Greencastle PA REPS

From PA Rep Tena Emerson (2008), “Two dogs, a chocolate lab and a terrier mix have been taken inside by their owners after getting their Valentines card. I have been working with this family for some time. The husband was all for bringing in the dogs and wife not…she told me ‘that Valentines card just did it, it pushed me to the yes’. Her husband said he was very happy when she said ‘bring them in’ with tears running down her face. Well, after getting their valentines cards, the dogs are happy inside and groomed. I have let them know I am here if they need anything…

From Martha Honus, North Carolina: “I am a volunteer with Carolina Poodle Rescue. One of our members lives in your area and gave us information on your organization. I sent a neighbor’s dog a valentine. It is a beautiful brindle dog that is tied to a tree with a piece of loose tarp for a house. I found out their name and address and sent one of the Valentines to the pup. On February 16 the little dog had a little barn house and is not always tied out there now. Thank you so much for the valentine.”

Ohio Rep, Marla Dakes, reported her first Valentine Success Story. Harley is a beautiful long-haired German Shepherd who spent his life living in a pen. As a Valentine’s Day gift of love – His caretakers called Marla, and released Harley to rescue. On 2/24/08, Harley was delivered to his forever home in Canada! Marla drove many of the miles from Ohio north herself. She is Harley’s rescue angel.

Sometimes its a little message that someone reads in private that makes all the difference.

Some people look at their dogs and say “they have dog food, they have a water bowl, and there’s an awning in case it rains,” and they think that they are fine. Well, a dog is a “pack” animal and being seperated from their “pack” (YOU!) is torture to a dog. It can cause loneliness, behavior problems, and more. Some may justify this because they go out and pat the dog a little each day and then refuse to bring the dog inside because the dog jumps and acts crazy when they are paid attention to. You would act desperate too if you were stranded alone somewhere and saw a chance at being able to be with family again. In a “Pack”, you walk together, you eat together, and you sleep together. Now, I am not saying that every dog has to sleep in a person’s bed, but a dog who is not allowed in the “den” and is forced to live a part has a lonely and unhealthy life indeed.

If you can make Valentine’s, provide addresses of chained dogs, or can help in other ways please go to Dogs Deserve Better’s Valentine’s Day 2010 page http://www.dogsdeservebetter.org/Valentines2010.html

Princess was chained to this tree for three years. The chain wore the tree trunk down as she walked around and around. It is a miracle that it did not fall upon her, as top heavy as it became. The next bad wind storm could have been her end. Three years of dirt and clay were baked on her. Her front teeth were chewed down to a pulp from chewing rocks. Flies nearly ate her alive. Somehow, she survived.

But now the chain is empty, thanks to Saving Shelter Pets, Inc., and Dogs Deserve Better….and dozens of people around the country and world, connected by the internet, who donated to Princess’ rescue and recovery, to the person who said “yes” to giving a spot to Princess at their rescue, and to the family who will look at those blue eyes someday soon and say, “yes, we were meant to be.”

To catch up on my previous post related to this story: CLICK HERE

Tammy Grimes, of Dogs Deserve Better, was charged with theft.  She removed a dog dying as a result of cruelty (chained outside, no food, no water for days) from a property after authorities did not respond in order to save the dog’s life. How crazy is that?

Compliments of Dogs Deserve Better

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 of 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 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?

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.

 

 

From HoundsGood.com:

For more info on the Valentine’s program the judge was talking about: CLICK HERE

This is me talking now. I will provide more commentary on the matter later. I just wanted to make sure the many who were following the case from my blog got the latest information. No court order can blot this out of our minds.

Dogs Deserve better is very real. Tammy Grimes and many other volunteers have made an incredible difference. They approach people stating that they “Help people and their dogs,” rather than chastising people for leaving their dogs out in the cold as they know that the eye on the prize is the end result of a properly cared for dog, staying with their owners.

Tammy Grimes, Founder of Dogs Deserve Better, faces her court trial on Friday. For those of you unfamiliar with the case, Tammy is being charged with property theft. You see, she came to the aid of a dog that was almost dead because his owners saw fit to keep him chained in the yard permanently with no water and no food. Tammy kept an eye on him while she and others contacted authorities. As time went on and nobody acted, she took matters into her own hands and did the only compassionate thing:

In her own words:

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 all weekend 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.

Read Tammy’s Full Letter HERE

 

NOTE from HoundsGood.com: It is a shame that while both cases have garnered national attention, this important case has not received much attention compared to the Vick case. But some of the issues are similar. People supported Vick in that “it was the culture” and he didn’t “know better” which goes beyond dog fighting and addresses the issue of freedom to kill and torture a pet just because its personal property. The right for Doogie’s owners to treat their personal property the way they saw fit overrode any protection he had according to anti-cruelty law. Please support any and all legislation in your local area that forbids chaining and tethering dogs like this.

If Tammy Grimes loses the case, this could send a message to others that the right to ownership overrides the humane.

Animal abuse is often also a missed warning sign for child and spouse abuse to come.

 

What You Can DO:

(Photo at left: the late Doogie thankful to walk again, thankful someone cared)

For those of us folks at home, contact Governor Rendell and urge him to pardon Tammy. Be level headed when you call. Take a deep breath if you have to, in order to let him and his staff see that we are not “crazy animal people” but a compassionate, rational, bunch who will not let this slide.

Governor Edward G. Rendell
225 Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17120
ph: 717-787-2500
Web email:http://sites.state.pa.us/PA_Exec/Governor/govmail.html

***Educate yourself on local anti-tethering laws in your town or county. Support those working hard to educate the public. Anti-tethering laws do not prevent someone from tying their dog to their lawn chair while they are sitting at the beach, just to put minds at rest who think this is radical. It protects dogs like Doogie. If you look you will find every town has too many Doogies to count.

For our friends in Pennsylvania:

Show up (peacefully) at the Blair County Courthouse in support of Tammy. The address is 423 Allegheny St., Hollidaysburg, PA 16648. Her court time is 11:00 am, but get there early as you never know when a schedule may change.

UPDATE 2/22:
Read the Update HERE

Dogs Deserve Better is gearing up to its Valentine’s Day Campaign. Many people, including many children are meeting to create Valentines and stuff envelopes and send them to homes that have chained or penned dogs.

Last year, 7232 Valentine’s were delivered to homes all over the country (plus to some areas of Canada and Australia). The goal this year is to send Valentine’s to 10,000 homes.

They are asking for three things:
1) People to make Valentines

2) People to send in discount coupons for dog treats

3) People to send in addresses where they know a dog is chained up outside or penned. Last year there were more cards than addresses. This is so important.

At first I was skeptical, thinking that an owner of a chained dog would just throw out the card, and maybe some do, but response from the previous year has proven that some people take it to heart:

From the DDB site:

From PA Rep Tena Emerson, “Two dogs, a chocolate lab and a terrier mix have been taken inside by their owners after getting their Valentines card. I have been working with this family for some time. The husband was all for bringing in the dogs and wife not…she told me ‘that Valentines card just did it, it pushed me to the yes’. Her husband said he was very happy when she said ‘bring them in’ with tears running down her face. Well, after getting their valentines cards, the dogs are happy inside and groomed. I have let them know I am here if they need anything…

From Martha Honus, North Carolina: “I am a volunteer with Carolina Poodle Rescue. One of our members lives in your area and gave us information on your organization. I sent a neighbor’s dog a valentine. It is a beautiful brindle dog that is tied to a tree with a piece of loose tarp for a house. I found out their name and address and sent one of the Valentines to the pup. On February 16 the little dog had a little barn house and is not always tied out there now. Thank you so much for the valentine.”

Sometimes its a little message that someone reads in private that makes all the difference.

Some people look at their dogs and say “they have dog food, they have a water bowl, and there’s an awning in case it rains,” and they think that they are fine. Well, a dog is a “pack” animal and being seperated from their “pack” (YOU!) is torture to a dog. It can cause loneliness, behavior problems, and more. Some may justify this because they go out and pat the dog a little each day and then refuse to bring the dog inside because the dog jumps and acts crazy when they are paid attention to. You would act desperate too if you were stranded alone somewhere and saw a chance at being able to be with family again. In a “Pack”, you walk together, you eat together, and you sleep together. Now, I am not saying that every dog has to sleep in a person’s bed, but a dog who is not allowed in the “den” and is forced to live a part has a lonely and unhealthy life indeed.

If you are interested in participating, please visit the page at Dogs Deserve Better