Animal advocate loses dog theft case appeal
By Phil Ray, pray@altoonamirror.comThe founder of Dogs Deserve Better lost her appeal Wednesday in state Superior Court for her 2007 Blair County dog theft conviction.
Tamira Ci Thayne, formerly known as Tammy Sneath Grimes, 45, of Tyrone RD, saw the poor physical condition of a 19-year-old German Shepherd mix named Jake outside an East Freedom-area home in September 2006. She took the dog to a veterinarian and never returned him to the owners.
The act led to police filing theft and receiving stolen property charges and to a trial in which Thayne wanted to tell jurors that she was justified in taking the dog to save its life.
A jury took less than 30 minutes to find her guilty in December 2007.
Blair County Judge Elizabeth Doyle refused to allow the justification defense, a decision upheld by a three-judge Superior Court panel. It also upheld Thayne's sentence that included probation and performing 300 hours of community service.
"We agree with the trial court that [the law] provides a justification defense only when it is a person who is in danger of harm, and therefore, the statute does not apply to dogs," Judges John T. Bender, Mary Jane Bowes and John M. Cleland stated in their ruling.
A dog, under state law, is personal property, the judges said.
Even if the dog wasn't personal property, a justification defense would still not be allowed because Thayne had other options including paying for the dog's treatment, returning him to his owners and calling authorities or talking to the owners to urge them to better care for their dog, the judges said.
Thayne continues her effort to gain court permission to file animal cruelty charges against the owners of Jake, even though the dog died in early 2007 while being cared for in a canine "foster home." Her request was heard by Senior Judge John Reilly of Clearfield County.
Thayne and her nonprofit group wants dogs taken off chains and brought into the family home.
Her arrest attracted dog lovers from all over the world, who were critical of Doyle's ruling that dogs under Pennsylvania law are property.
The judges ruled that the defense, led by attorney Phillip O. Robertson, failed to show how Doyle violated her power as a judge in imposing sentence on Thayne.
Doyle also ordered Thayne to pay for the costs of her trial and take down Internet pictures of Jake, the dog she renamed Doogie. The defense contended the community service sentence, which will cost Thayne $1,500 in fees, was a "hidden fine," an argument the court didn't accept.
The court rejected Thayne's argument that the sentence punished her for going to trial.
Robertson had not seen the Superior Court decision Thursday and said he could not comment. The case could be appealed to the state Supreme Court, but Robertson said he has not talked to Thayne about that possibility.
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homerbeep
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10-04-09 7:45 AM
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bueller: I'm with you! Common sense still applies.
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Squirrel45
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10-04-09 2:01 AM
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People like Blogsniper and Ferndawg44 must feel like big men as they sit behind their computers and verbally attack a woman who did what she felt was the right thing to do. Did they make informed comments? No. Did they make intelligent comments? No again. Did they make valid comments? Uh, nope. They just made comments and acted like the bullies they probably were in school. If you want to disagree with someone, that is fine, but do it respectfully and be informed. Making sarcastic, meaningless comments just takes the guess work out of trying to decide if you are ignorant.
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Bennett
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10-03-09 4:58 PM
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There are humane laws for animals in PA. There are no humane laws for "property" in PA. Therefore, by legal definition, animals in PA are not merely property, and the judge knew this full well. However, outside influences often have more to do with some jurist's decisions.
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Bennett
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10-03-09 4:55 PM
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As for the attitudes of the people who attack Grimes, the racist comments from those such as blogsniper show you the mentality and hatefulness of these people. It is sad also when JUDGES support people like blogsniper.
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Bennett
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10-03-09 4:51 PM
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I am sorry to say that I am an AKC breeder. The AKC profits from the registration of puppy mill dogs in PA. The puppy mills oppose laws like anti chaining laws. The puppy mills oppose anti cruelty laws. The AKC lobbies with these puppy mill breeders. Some AKC breeders have made an organized attack on Tammy Grimes and this issue because they are trying to protect the money interests that keep the AKC in the black. And also because too many of these AKC breeders are keeping their dogs in poorer conditions than people realize. Some AKC lobbyists and breeders put personal, direcxt pressure on the DA in this case to influence the court. It is a sad and sick situation. There also are many dog fighter breeders in PA, and the dog fighters keep their dogs chained outside as a normal practice. They have organized to attack Tammy Grimes as well. It is a sad day when the courts consider the interests of businesses as more important than the law.
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dtedesco
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10-03-09 11:27 AM
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You're a hypocrite. I was making the comment because you're complaining about people like Tami spending YOUR tax dollars, then stating that we should be helping a woman who is doing the same! Duh! I was making a point, Mr. Baffoon, that she has chosen the life, yet MY tax dollars are supporting her and her kids. How is that so much better than what Tami did?
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pete22
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10-02-09 11:06 PM
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Great reading everybody. This was definitely worth a few laughs. Unbelievable that Gandhi could be quoted here. Don't they have a temple for rats over there? If we kill a rat is that worse than chaining one up? What if it is like 10 years old?
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bueller
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10-02-09 10:21 PM
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Wow, I can't believe people are still arguing this. So here's a couple of things to remember. The PA Dog law require the owner of a dog to confine it to his property. So the owner of this dog was complying with the law by putting it on a chain in his yard. To let it run free would be violating the law. Compare that to Tammy Grimes, who trespassed on the owner's property and took his property. She did not comply with the law. You can argue all of your various theories about why she was "morally right", but the law is what will be enforced in court. Don't like the law? Work to get it changed. But don't break it doing what you think is "right" when society has already decided that you are wrong.
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LessGov
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10-02-09 7:58 PM
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ICareToo: My e-mail address is: petzrpeepletoo@doggiedoodoo**** But if you want to meet me, just say so!
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dtedesco
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10-02-09 7:50 PM
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"and I will continue to judge people that SPEND my taxes!...MAYBE you can help some poor deprived human like Shanaynay from Fairview Hills. Don Witherspoon & the NAACP is taking donations." You don't think Shanaynay is spending your tax dollars? Who do you think is paying for the health care of her children? Who is paying for their food? She has had the opportunity to live her life the way she sees fit, having numerous children she cannot take care of. That was a CHOICE she made. Do you not see the difference between one who has a CHOICE and one who has NO CHOICE? Do you think that if the dog was let off of his chain while he could still walk he would have hung around? This may be a critical issue that you cannot fathom.
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Ann2323
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10-02-09 5:53 PM
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I have absolutely nothing against any pets, Tamira (or whatever the name is) or her group, but it makes no sense to compare pets & children in this article. Obviously you are not going to run onto someone's yard & steal a child that you feel is being mistreated. The same goes for someone's pet. Yes, the abuse was wrong, but stealing is stealing, no matter which way you look at it.
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ICareToo
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10-02-09 5:23 PM
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LESSGOV: I'd be happy to. How many pictures would you like? What is your e-mail address?
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ICareToo
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10-02-09 5:22 PM
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BLOGSNIPER: I only posted here because I believe in Dogs Deserve Better. I don't post under every story I read, no matter how sad they may be. I don't need to be a serial poster all over the web to show my passion for animal rights. I'll just keep posting under relavent stories in the hopes that one day, people like you and the other critics won't see animals as pieces of dirt. Open your eyes to compassion - not just for humans, but for all living creatures. (I promise it won't make you a "nutjob".)
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LessGov
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10-02-09 5:16 PM
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ICareToo: Show me a 19 year-old dog that ISN'T a bag of bones.
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ICareToo
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10-02-09 4:42 PM
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TO DTEDESCO: If you can get an answer to your last question, you would be able to solve the terrible way that some animals are left to live out their lives - in ALL states. Thank you for your show of character.
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dtedesco
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10-02-09 4:28 PM
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To EPOCH1: She did try to turn the animal over to Animal control. Twice.
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dtedesco
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10-02-09 4:25 PM
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My next question, my dear PA people who are so against what Tami has done, is why do you have dogs if you're just going to tie them up and ignore them the rest of their life? What is the point? To say you own a dog? The dog can't protect your house being tied up like that. Only can bark, and when it's half dead it can't even do that! Is it just ignorance? Or is there something I am missing?
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Happy77
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10-02-09 4:22 PM
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Imagine if yer wife was yer property and you could keep her on a chain in a 6 foot circle. Would anyone see anything wrong with that?
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dtedesco
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10-02-09 4:19 PM
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Ok. Here's what kills me. There are so many people who have posted on this who have absolutely NO idea what they are talking about, because they don't know the whole story. They take little bits and pieces and completely fail when they post, because they don't know the whole story! Why don't all of you who don't KNOW the WHOLE story not comment until you do.
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sharonm1
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10-02-09 4:16 PM
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my son was a cop, he came to my home took a dog, i never found him, it cost mt me 600 dollars fine over his ********
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ICareToo
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10-02-09 4:11 PM
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TO LESSGOV: Just because the dog was alive doesn't mean he was healthy. An abused dog can live for years and years; it just means the abuse stops short of killing. Did you see any pictures of that dog? Obviously NO quality of life and he was just a bag of bones.
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ICareToo
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10-02-09 4:10 PM
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TO BLOGSNIPER: I have an answer to your question... but it involves you not being such a judgemental -------, so it wouldn't do any good to post it.
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PamGeorgia
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10-02-09 4:08 PM
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I'm from PA, now live in GA. I know that dogs are property in PA (and in GA). Should we expect a response if we report to the police that a bicycle is rusting out of neglect next door and will be ruined unless they intervene? No. But we do expect a response if we report a sick dog, unable to stand, chained in a yard with several other dogs, and the owners haven’t been home. Tami agreed to drive out there only after locals tried to reach authorities for days. Tami was their last hope to do something for this poor dog. A bike and a dog are both property, so you’d expect the animal cruelty laws would protect the dog. I hope I would have done the same thing Tami did – take the dog to a vet and then when the humane officer showed up, turn the dog over to him. In this case, he refused to take resonsibility for the dog. What would I have done then? From that moment on, the story becomes a mess of authorities lying to cover their mistakes. PA tax dollars at work!
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LessGov
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10-02-09 4:05 PM
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Question: If this dog was being treated so badly by it's owner, how did it live to be 19 years old?
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idaburfel
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10-02-09 4:04 PM
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Speaking of inhumane treat, wasn't the boy that was brutally beaten to death in Chicago at the time. Possibly the Olympic committee was swayed toward Rio by this recent incident?
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