Dogs
Deserve Better created it's 'coming
out' booth at an AnimalFest in Altoona, Pennsylvania on October
27, 2002.
We
had a great response to our booth! We sold t-shirts,
doggie biscuits, baked goods, as well as sharing flyers about the
organization, our goals, and why chained dogs deserve a better life.
I could feel the relief in the air from those who were happy
someone was finally doing something about this! Like me, many
of them have spent years driving by chained dogs, feeling their
pain and feeling helpless to do anything to stop it. We may have
affected many lives, and these individuals will now feel braver
talking to others, knowing there is an organization out there that
will stand behind them to make changes in this area. We also had
a great response to our handout
letters, one women took at least 10 and requested
that I send her more!
Another
gentleman from Jollyman Animal Sanctuary in Florence, PA,
had a petition that we signed to send to state legislature. He and
I agreed that we will pull together to work on this issue in the
future. He feels as strongly about it as I do, and together we may
make some great changes for the dogs. As much as I wish a law would
come about really soon, I think it will take some time, and I would
love people to change their minds about chaining their dogs because
it's the right thing to do, and not because they will be breaking
a law! That being said, I'll take it however it comes about...
I
took my dog Riley (the dog in the logo), and after puking in the
back seat of my van and peeing on the box with the baked goods (nothing
was ruined!), he calmed down and was quite a hit with the show attendees.
We were asked if he was up for adoption on numerous occasions!
Thanks
so much to Mary Jane from Aid
for Animals/Laws for Paws in Altoona
for donating the booth space for Dogs Deserve Better. And a special
thank you to my wonderful volunteers, Nina Kimberly and Tressa
Masters for all their help leading up to the event and the day
of the event. Thanks also go to Nina for baking doggie biscuits
and pizzelles, and Reni Estep for baking banana cake and
brownies. We had to repeatedly assure people throughout the day
that the pizzelles and cakes were actually for people and not dogs!
The
Dog's
Life t-shirt design was donated by a great
artist and wonderful friend, Tracy
Copes. My son, Rayne Grimes, was kind enough
to draw the See
Spot dog for me, and I
designed the rest of that shirt.
We
are seeking other area venues to set up a booth, if anyone knows
of a local fair or event where we may get a table, please e-mail
us. Also, if you'd like to set up a booth in your
area, please contact me and I will send you all the information
(and t-shirts) you need to make the booth a success!
Thanks
so much for all your support! Please donate or buy a shirt if
you can.
Tammy
S. Grimes, President, Dogs Deserve Better
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