Tamira Thayne

Peaceful Dog Warrior

By Tamira Thayne Founder of Dogs Deserve Better
Photos Courtesy of Dogs Deserve Better

Will the foster dogs of Dogs Deserve Better finally get good newz?

Dogs Deserve Better, a nonprofit dedicated to ending the chaining of dogs and bringing man’s best friend into the home and family, has been actively rescuing, fostering, and re-homing chained dogs nationwide since its inception in 2002.

After nine years, we estimate we’ve rescued approximately 3500 formerly chained or penned dogs. We’ve then fostered them in our own homes or in those of dedicated volunteers, and we’ve gotten the dogs inside the homes of loving families. But we’ve longed for a center of our own—a place where our dogs can call home, where they can learn to know love and not indifference, where they may live inside and not outdoors chained by the neck, and where they may be part of a pack and not leading a solitary existence day and night.

A November 2010 case in Allegany County, Maryland, brought home to me not only how amazing we rescuers can be when we all pull together, but also how much it is time for DDB to grow up and move on to a place of our own.

Michelle Ingrodi, a Baltimore cat rescuer who was home for the Holidays, got wind of a horrendous situation: two dogs were trapped in an uninhabited, garbage-laden house, and another two dogs were living chained outside the house, underweight, worm-ridden, and crying out for attention. Her cell phone pics of the dogs’ plight quickly made Internet news. Dogs Deserve Better CSI Chief Marie Belanger led the charge for us, coordinating a Facebook plea, getting local media involved, and garnering hundreds of phone calls to the proper authorities demanding action for these poor neglected pups.

When the dust settled we had a success on our hands. The property owner turned all four dogs over to the Allegany County Animal Control. Yay! The AC was willing to release the dogs to DDB, but we had to act fast; the shelter director was well known for euthanizing animals, and, without foster homes for the four dogs, we were forced to pull them out and put them into boarding.

Well, if you know me, you know that I hate boarding—not because the people who own boarding kennels are bad people (they are generally loving and kind). It is because when we as an organization put dogs in boarding, the public perceives this to be a sign that the emergency is over, the dogs are safe, and that they can move on to the next big story.

The rescuers are left holding the bag. We compile boarding bills daily that quickly add up to hundreds—even thousands—of dollars, with no foster homes in sight and dogs who are not getting the medical attention, house training, or socialization that is needed for them to find new homes.

Such was the case with the four dogs Zoe, Jax, Brodie, and Baxton. Unable to find them foster homes, I ended up fostering all the dogs myself, except Jax, who was adopted directly from the boarding facility. First I brought Zoe and Baxton home, the two shyest pups, because they needed more immediate socialization. Zoe, a gorgeous but oddly quiet Malamute mix, was the first to get a home. Her new mom has reported that she has since heard her first bark and is celebrating the finding of her voice. Brodie came next. The beautiful yellow mixed breed quickly found a home with a divorced military sergeant who was planning a full travel itinerary for himself and his new best friend. Baxton is still here with me. I call him Poppet because he’s so silly and, oddly enough, loves to pose for the camera. He’s still shy with most new people and not fond of kids, but he would come to trust the person or persons lucky enough to adopt him as a member of their family.

Over the years, Dogs Deserve Better has been able to tuck away a little money here and there toward our rehab center for chained and penned dogs, and since February, we’ve been actively pursuing purchasing and transforming Michael Vick’s Bad Newz Kennels into the DDB Good Newz Rehab Center for Chained and Penned Dogs.

The idea of turning a place that was so harmful to dogs into a place of love and light for these beings is both compelling and empowering to us as dog lovers. Stay tuned to www.dogsdeservebetter.org for the outcome or to become involved in our quest.

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