This has been posted on a number of the lists I'm on. Thought I would pass it on. I would hate to see anything happen to anyones dogs.

Permission to cross post was granted.

>Subject: [Virginiashowdogs] Harrisburg, PA Shows...ALERT
>Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 8:07 AM
>
>Nina Shaeffer of the Pennsylvania Dog Federation has informed us that there will be a protest on Friday at the dog show in Harrisburg by Tammy Grimes and her cohorts from Dogs Deserve Better. These are the same people
who have gone into people's yards and taken dogs stating the dogs have been abused.
Presently Ms Grimes will stand trial in Altoona, PA for dog
snatching.
>
It is imperative that you not leave your dogs unattended at any time and I would strongly suggest that you not leave them unattended at any point during the weekend. These people are looking to cause trouble and let's not allow them to use our dogs to do it.
>
>Their "scheduled" protest is on Friday from 9:30am to 12:30pm but I can tell you they are probably there to cause problems for us all weekend.

This is the truth and Nina Shaeffer is spreading lies.
Dogs deserve better has never stolen dogs. Tammy is charged because the dog was unable to stand for 3 days, no food, water or shelter. He was a senior dog with bone spurs in his spine. He was suffering from dehydration and had open sores on his body. This is a veterinary account. All other options had been exhausted, he had to be taken for emergency care which his irresponsible owneres were not giving him, this was a desperate action taken to aleviate his suffering.
We don't steal dogs. Anyone in rescue must know that the last thing any of us needs are more dogs. It's diffcult enough to find homes for the "throw away" dogs that have been relinquished to us.
Dogs deserve better is a 501c3 not for profit organization dedicated to freeing chained dogs who are constantly chained without human interaction or socialization. This is our ONLY mission. We are not affiliated with any AR groups and we are a rescue organization. We rescue dogs who have spent their entire lives at the end of a chain, alone and frustrated in the backyard of irresponsible owners.
The message below is a blatent lie.
We are protesting AKC's stance on anti-tethering legislation ... nothing more.

Laura K
Date Posted: Apr 13, 07 - 10:04 PM
Message: This has been posted on a number of the lists I'm on. Thought I would pass it on. I would hate to see anything happen to anyones dogs.

Permission to cross post was granted.

>Subject: [Virginiashowdogs] Harrisburg, PA Shows...ALERT
>Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 8:07 AM
>
>Nina Shaeffer of the Pennsylvania Dog Federation has informed us that there will be a protest on Friday at the dog show in Harrisburg by Tammy Grimes and her cohorts from Dogs Deserve Better. These are the same people
who have gone into people's yards and taken dogs stating the dogs have been abused.

It's still stealing.

I don't understand, sorry.

Marie, I' don't know the history/story you are reporting about the old dog being taken (here is the first I'm hearing/reading about it), so I'm just asking here... so what was the procedure for removing the dog... just asking maybe so we can all learn about the organization's procedure? I would assume local humane or dog law enforcement officers or maybe a police officer would be needed on scene when the animal was removed?? Just asking so we can all learn.

Just trying to understand the story. I was just wondering if the organization has a court appointed humane officer on Board to enforce animal cruelty laws ... I visited their site, I didn't see that they did... or did I miss it?

Found this info about humane officers:
http://www.wpahumane.com/investigations.html#police

http://www.humaneinpa.org/HSPO_Training_2007.pdf

Dogs Deserve Better is a animal rights leaning group whose main goal is to eliminate all chaining and penning of dogs. Last fall Tammy Grimes, the leader of this organization, went into a private citizens yard and took their elderly dog. She filmed it and posted it on youtube and was an instant "hero"! She was subsequently charged for this. The actual video of the dog being taken was removed from youtube since it is evidence in a pending criminal case.

I have a pretty scraggly looking elderly dog myself and if someone tried taking him from my yard I would be pretty steamed about it.

CROSS POSTED from PA-Animal-Law

A report from the front lines - of relief - whew!
For any of you not aware of the situation - here's some background. Today was a pretrial hearing for Tammy Grimes of "Dogs Deserve Better" infamy at the Blair Co. Courthouse. Ms Grimes allegedly went onto private property and removed an allegedly abused 19 year old dog last fall in Freedom, PA. The dog was taken away to a vet and then to a foster home, never again to be seen by the family that owned him for 19 years. Ms. Grimes claimed the dog was abused. Since she did not wait for law enforcement officials to deal with the situation, the chain of evidence was broken and any charges of animal cruelty will not stand up in court. Ms. Grimes "proof" besides her word - 1) a vet report - from the vet she took the dog to, therefore no "proof" that it is the same dog, 2) photos - taken by Ms. Grimes and her group - again, no "proof" it is the same dog, 3) video - also taken by Ms. Grimes group - same problem here (not to mention the fact that any 8th grader with a computer and Photoshop can alter a photo or video to the point that it is totally unrecognizable) 4) eyewitness report - of the next door neighbor, any good lawyer could make mincemeat out of that in a hurry - all it takes is one report of bad blood between the neighbors and the eyewitness is no longer creditable due to prejudice, I believe. Keep in mind, I am not a lawyer, simply passing on what I have been told. Over and above the injustice done to the poor elderly dog, is an equal injustice done to a family that will never have their day in court whether they were guilty of animal cruelty or not. They were tried and condemned by Ms. Grimes and the media with no chance for any defense. Guess innocent until PROVEN guilty has gone with the wind. Even if they HAD abused the dog they were entitled to a fair hearing just as Ms. Grimes is. JMO.
We were told that today, Ms. Grimes' very expensive lawyer, provided by the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary was going to make a motion for dismissal of all charges against Ms. Grimes. The dog died last month. Ms. Grimes' group DDB was holding a rally on the courthouse steps. Thus it was decided that a counter rally should be organized. Please keep in mind - no one is against rescue. It is simply believed that rescue should and must always work within the framework of the law and with the local law enforcement authorities. PERIOD. We cannot decide which laws we chose to obey. Not to mention the danger of the example set by Ms. Grimes for her "rescue rangers". There are people who will shoot trespassers and ask question later. Is it going to take a death or severe injury for people to see the danger of vigilantism.
We did our best to gather a group together. Due to weather, (this is located in the mountains of central PA and we had SNOW this morning) several people who planned to attend were unable to be there. The hearing was scheduled for 10:30 and we planned to gather at 9:30. "WE" turned out to be Jennifer Tomlinson and myself as reps for many rescuers who sent their best wishes and support but were unable to be off from work long enough to be there. Jen is currently on leave due to a work related injury - she is on crutches at the moment. I owe her a tremendous thank you for her hard work today. Not only does she has experience with marketing and sales but she is employed by a humane society and does rescue work. I have experience with the media and have also been involved with rescue. Between the two of us, she worked the passersby and I worked the media and law enforcement. Ms. Grimes' arresting officer came by and spoke to us at length. He thanked us for being there and told us that the DA plans to carry through on this. The impression I received overall from the community and all those who helped us was of a quiet, proud people who were neither impressed with nor pleased with the media circus Ms. Grimes has brought down on their heads. Several expressed thanks to us for our presence to support the law enforcement officers. We had a letter from the County Commissioners giving us permission to assemble on the Courthouse patio - separate from Ms. Grimes' supporters by a safe distance but highly visible due to a bright YELLOW banner with large black letters arranged for and paid for by Alice of the pet-law list. Thank you so much Alice for the banner and matching bumper stickers. We gave away all of the stickers and probably could have given out more. Both the banner and the stickers proclaimed in very large letters "Rescue Responsibly - Abide by the Law" Also a thank you to Alice for insisting I get our permission in writing. One of the few people who was actively hostile to us all day was a man who came out of the courthouse and started ranting at us about our presence and did we have permission. I told him we had a letter from the County Commissioners and he stormed off saying "I'll just see about that". Since he never came back we can only assume he was told we did indeed have permission. A big thanks is also owed to the Blair Co. Commissioners and Ms. H. Schmitt for their support and permission. We also had handouts printed from NAIA on ethical rescue. We emphasized to everyone we talked to that we were in favor of rescue "within the law"!! I tried to make sure the media types knew that while we were members of clubs and organizations (for me, Three Rivers SSC and NAIA) we were NOT there as reps for the organizations. We will see how well that came out in the media reports
Despite having sent me an email that she was "looking forward" to seeing me at the rally, Ms. Grimes never came near us - probably because she would have had to stand behind our large YELLOW banner proclaiming "Rescue Ethically - Abide by the Law" in order to talk to us. Wouldn't that have made a great photo op for the media? Some members of her group did approach us. Most of them were not actively hostile. They somehow thought we were with the AKC. We explained to them that the AKC was a dog registry and that individuals could not be members - that we were members of AKC clubs but there on our own. One lady came over and after haranguing us for several minutes, never allowing us to get a word in edgewise she stomped off, loudly proclaiming that we were rude and mean. We just looked at each other and laughed since she had been standing there screaming at us. The others were not unreasonable, they just thought we were misguided . We told them our message - rescue ethically and they looked slightly confused that we weren't the boogie men we had evidently been painted.
Their group dispersed about 10:30 since it was announced that the hearing had been postponed until 1:30 pm. Unfortunately neither Jennifer or I were able to stay for the hearing since we both had afternoon appts.