Dogs
Deserve Better Third Anniversary
Membership and Fund Drive
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Please Support our Work at Dogs Deserve BetterCan
you believe it's our Third Anniversary at Dogs Deserve Better? I can't! I feel in some ways like we've just started, and in others like we've been doing this forever! So many of you have stood by us these past three years, and for that we're very grateful. Here are some highlights of what we've accomplished in this time: •
Area Representation by 107 individuals in 31 states, Puerto Rico,
Canada, and Australia. Special thanks to Sandy Clinton for her
hard work bringing on representation in the states and around the
world. •
First prize in the 2003 ASPCA/Chase Pet Protector Contest for
our chained dog campaigns •
Over 70 Areas now have Anti-Chaining Legislation (While DDB
cannot take credit for this—many individuals worked VERY hard
even before we came along to make this happen—many of these
areas have used our materials in their efforts to free the chained
dogs). This in an issue who's time has come, and DDB is poised with
materials, support, and enthusiasm to get nationwide laws against
chaining. •
Paid Vet bills, spay/neuter for over 135 dogs nationwide, most
of which were fostered and placed into an inside home and family,
others were taken into the home from a chained or penned life. Instrumental
in countless cases of dogs being rehomed or brought into the home
from letters or contact with our group or information. • Helped install, donate, or pay for fencing for at least 31 dogs to enable them freedom within the yard, time in the house, and ability to play with other dogs. • Created an ongoing program of mailing information anonymously to people with chained/penned dogs living in the backyard. Addresses can be e-mailed to Bronwyn at info@dogsdeservebetter.org. •
Mailed and/or hand-delivered 5690 Valentines to chained or penned
dogs. Over 3500 of these valentines were made by schoolchildren
or other groups. To read each years synopsis, see the below links. •
Sponsored 28 fostered, formerly chained or penned dogs for the Holidays,
giving them gifts of toys, food, bedding, thanks to YOUR help! •
Printed and distributed approximately: • Featured in over 100 newspaper articles, letters to the editor, or magazine articles such as Dog Fancy and Bark, thereby dramatically increasing awareness of this issue. •
Created 21 different designs for t-shirts and other peripheral
wear to raise awareness for the chained dogs. •
Created the Mothers Against Dog Chaining initiative, which held
it's first demo in South Carolina June 13th, 2005. •
Produced three Anniversary Chain Off Campaigns, with this year FOUR-FIVE
volunteers nationwide chaining themselves to doghouses for the cause
this July 2-3. We
will continue to be the driving force in this issue. WE NEED AND
DESERVE YOUR SUPPORT! Here are three ways to help Dogs Deserve Better
right now: Membership: Currently, despite contacts in the thousands, Dogs Deserve Better has only about 250 actual members...we'd like to have 10X that many! Membership in Dogs Deserve Better carries no difficult or voting duties, yet is a way to show your support for the organization. It enables us to say, "Yes, we have many, many people standing with us!" To
join now, go to: Monthly Donations: Our monthly donors form the backbone of our organization. We are able to count on this support on a monthly basis, which is crucial to the survival of our ongoing programs. To
set up a monthly donor program, go to: Donate: If you believe in what Dogs Deserve Better stands for, but would like to think about a membership or monthly donation further, please consider a donation today. To
donate, go to: We
can now accept donations over the phone Thank you! Please keep standing with us...the dogs NEED us to be there, so they are no longer alone, forlorn and forgotten across the backyards of this country and our world. Tammy
S. Grimes, Founder, P.S.
Still not convinced? Read this e-mail, just sent to us June 20,
2005, by Georgia rep Pam Cheatham: Dear Reps, A couple weeks ago I was contacted by a co-worker here...She had seen my DDB posters about dogs and would I call her to offer help? When I called, she said the Pom was a stray and she also had 2 other strays - all had wondered onto her property located on a busy road in Georgia, over the past couple of years. The Husky mix was tied out front, the Pom and the Jack Russell each had pens in the back. I made an appt. to visit the next day after work. I packed up my camera and some leashes and collars, dog treats, DDB brochures, etc. I was surprised to find no one at home when I arrived. There were several cars but no one responded to my knocks, except the 2 Chihuahuas inside. Outside, there were a total of 5 dogs tied up and 2 in pens and about 20 cats of all ages wandering about. So there were 9 dogs and more cats than I could count. I took pictures of all of the dogs. The Pom was matted but appeared to be in good shape. He even sat when I asked him to. The Husky was too shy to come to me. She'd sniff my outstretched hand and then walk back to where her rope was wound around the tree. The Rottweiler seemed very calm...The other three dogs tied up were manic - running back and forth at the end of the rope - I couldn't even get a picture of one because he was so wild. But my heart broke when I saw the little mix wedged between a dog house and the wall of his pen. It was hard to tell his breed because he was so thin. His coat was wiry and sparse. His hip bones stuck way up from his spine. I put the palm of my hand up to the chain link and he kissed it. He wagged his tail. He looked like a Beagle mix, but he didn't make a sound. It was getting dark so I left a note along with information and asked her to call me. I drove the 60 miles home and couldn't get the little guy out of my head. There was no food in his pen and his water bucket contained something black and green. This little guy was so helpless, so neglected, yet he still wanted to kiss and wag his scrawny little tail. Over the next few days she found a home for the Pom and he would be an indoor dog. She found an indoor home for the Husky, too. She assured me that the other dogs were being fed and watered every day. I told her about the lack of clean water and she said that was fixed. It wasn't. When I arrived a few days later, the little guy's black water was still there. She signed the surrender forms. I had brought a can of Wysong turkey and barely got the can opened and his head was inside the can. He inhaled the food. I had brought fresh water and he chased the turkey and dog biscuits with the water. When I held him, he kissed all over my face. He had never been out of the pen so he wanted to run on the grass and jump on my lap and kiss, kiss, kiss. Judy at Atlanta Pet Rescue said she had never seen that many fleas on a dog. His abdomen was black with them. After administering the capstar, she told me that the fleas were crossing his eyeballs, in his ears and nostrils. He had 2 more flea baths that night. I had left pictures of the neglect for his file along with a donation for his care. Judy changed his name to Trooper because of all he had been through while maintaining a good attitude. He was put up on the APR website the next day (see link http://www.atlantapetrescue.org/www_ver2/pet_pages/small/small.htm scroll down about 11 dogs to get to Trooper) and I became one of his sponsors. One of the volunteers said that everyone at the shelter LOVES Trooper and she has appointments with 2 families who are interested in adopting him this week. Wow. Amazingly, Trooper doesn't have heartworms. He got a break. This little boy really got to me. Pam,
Conyers, GA Rep Dogs Deserve Better is a 501c3 incorporated nonprofit. Your donations are tax-deductible in accordance with the guidelines set out by the IRS. |
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Contact
Info: Dogs
Deserve Better, Inc. • P.O.
Box 23 • Tipton, PA 16684
• Toll Free 1.877.636.1408 • 814.941.7447 |
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