| Rescues, Roadtrips and Reflections |
Dogs Deserve Better
E-News 04/09/08 |
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Dear Tammy,
The Dogmatic Duo Tour Has Begun! Bright and early Sunday morning April 6th
Tammy Grimes and Dawn Ashby met with friends and rescuers in St. Louis,
Missouri to begin DDB's tour of backyards across America. The intention
of the tour and the subsequent pictorial and video footage
is to show how prevalent chaining and penning are in the U.S., educate
the nation that it is common in all states, and put forth the idea that
it is indeed something that must be stopped; that it is not humane and
not an acceptable way to house and keep Man's Best Friend. Join
Tammy and Dawn each day as they speak to caretakers of chained and
penned dogs, pass out treats, collars and leashes, educational
materials and fencing applications, and seek local help for situations
that appear to be illegal, as well as engage the public through
speaking and media alerts.
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South Carolina Takes a Stand for Chained Dogs
SB 833 Passes with Changes
SB 833
has passed Senate with quite a few changes creating mixed emotions for
animal advocates and citizens fighting against the horrendous treatment
of backyard dogs. Some changes allow a dog to be tethered during
agricultural business, hunting and as a found stray.
However, Dogs Deserve Better is pleased to acknowledge that South
Carolina is attempting to take an active role in the better treatment
of backyard dogs throughout the state.
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Blakely, GA Adopts No-Chaining Ordinance
 On March 4, 2008, the City of Blakely, GA adopted a no-chaining ordinance, following in the progressive footsteps of 13 other GA counties and cities. The
Mayor of Blakely proposed the ordinance after a dog fighting
organization was shut down, and the Mayor observed that the dogs had
been living tethered to heavy logging chains. The Mayor told our animal
friend, Hannah Tostenson in Darien, GA, when she called to interview
him, that he thought the chaining seemed cruel. Additionally, banning
chaining may deter dog fighters from doing business in Blakely in the
future. The Bibb County Commission in middle Georgia has
moved the proposed ordinance to its Ordinance and Resolution Committee
for review. The county seat of Macon, GA adopted a no-chaining
ordinance last month. ANYONE can start a no-chaining
campaign in his/her city or county. I can help you get started. With
every city and county that adopts the ordinance, the easier the task
becomes. Please push your community to join this life-saving
movement. Chamblee Abernethy in Athens, GA . |
| DDB Wins Honorable Mention from the HSUS Genesis Awards
 We recently received the below note from our supporter, Yvonne B. Mejia, Founder of Dog's Life Magazine:
Hello Tammy,
I've
been keeping up with things via your website and email blasts. I wanted
to give you this news before I send out the press release tomorrow. I
submitted Olivia's story about you and DDB ["Breaking the Chains that
Bind" Article, published in Dog's Life magazine, December
2007] to the HSUS Genesis Awards.
I
know the awards are only for "major media" but I wanted to put the
story in front of people who may have never heard of your organization.
Well as a huge surprise to us we won an honorable mention! We are in
the company of other honorees such as NBC, CBS, CNN, HBO and PBS.
I
am so thankful for the recognition of the story and your organization.
I will continue to do what I can to help keep your message out there.
-Yvonne
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Thoughts About the Life of a Chained Dog
Article by Cynthia Sweet
I was compelled to write this story because of a discussion
that I had with my granddaughter a few weeks ago. We were riding in the
car, on our normal route to the grocery store and she asked in her
mousy voice,
"Grandma"?
"Yes, Pumpkin?" I lovingly answered.
"Do you think doggies get sad?" she asked.
The question was so simple, yet so profound coming from this 8
year-old little cutie pie. I wasn't completely dumbfounded as
this little girl has more compassion in her fingernail then most people
have in their whole bodies. I paused for a moment, looking out towards
the cow pastures.
Hmmm, how do I answer this one, I thought to myself.
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From the Mailbag
 Dear DDB,
I've been monitoring daily the situation I reported to you regarding the dog living in the small pen and wanted to update you.
This
dog's circumstances have very much improved. Although initially the pen
was way too small, at least it was fitted with a tarp for shade and had
a plastic barrel type shelter. So when I sent their address to you, I
had hopes that these were people who could potentially be motivated to
do right by this dog. After all, their other two dogs seem to be well
treated. (They have a bird feeder in their yard, a good sign I thought
- at least it shows they care about animals.)
Over
the past few weeks I've noticed that the dog's pen had been expanded
and was much larger. Then, every time I passed by the pen was empty, so
I thought they may no longer have the dog. And yesterday, hallelujah, I
saw the dog running around loose in the larger fenced yard. So clearly
they still have the dog but are no longer keeping him/her confined in
the pen.
It
appears you can count this as one of your success stories. I know how
important it must be for you to hear about the good outcomes, as they
are often few and far between. Keep up the good work. I know it must be
very discouraging sometimes, we only wish we could help them all. But a
lot of dogs are helped due to your efforts, and to them it means
everything.
Thanks again, Veronica
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Featured Pups
Grace & Babies
This poor girl didn't have a name until Marie Belanger, Indiana
Rep, named her Grace. She was chained outside and became pregnant at
the end of her chain and had seven puppies, only 2 survived.
When the pups
were only one week old they were given away and she was dumped at
another family members house. There she was chained again. That
family member realized the life that Grace should have and called
Marie. The same day Marie handed the case over to Jamie Shively,
Indiana Rep, and with the family members helped to locate Grace's two
puppies.
Good mothers deserve a forever home too!
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