Days 27-30. Tami undertakes a Silent Vigil. Candle and poem donated by Cathie MacArthur.

Days 27-30, September 7-10, 2010.
Operation Fido's Freedom.
The Silent Vigil and Fast

The chained dogs have no voice, and for four days neither did I. These dogs rely on us, and now I have an even greater understanding of why they need to.

We are more important to them than we can possibly understand.

I am one of the loudest voices for chained dogs…with me silenced for four days, I have to ask—did you speak for me? For them? Did you spread the word, ask others to call their Senators, make plans to attend the rally on the 13th or Mike Brubaker's town hall meeting on the 15th?

The internet can be our best friend or our worst enemy. It has enabled us to spread the news worldwide and instantly, yet has given people the false sense that they are being active when they haven't left the computer desk.

Making time in my life to chain myself at the Capitol was an excruciating process. Not only did I have my plate full with everyday DDB tasks and campaigns—some of which is my own armchair activism—but I had speaking engagements lined up, events planned, and I wanted time to play with my family and dogs and cats.

I knew I would have to give up most everything for months, find a way to squeeze in absolutely necessary work and my loved ones, and somehow still find time to sleep.

I was afraid to do it, and kept putting it off.

It's not convenient. It's not easy. And it's not fun.

Fasting so much stinks, and because my thyroid is sluggish and I'm too stubborn to take any but natural remedies, I barely lose weight anyway, and am not getting much in the way of side benefits. I feel like I'm starving, and I get sick from not eating, but I know the dogs are lucky if they get one meal per day. So I stick it out.

And who's idea was it to do a silent vigil, anyway? I initially though I might like it, because I'm an introvert, but mostly it was just annoying and exhausting.

So what did I gain from a 4-day silent vigil? Besides the desire to never partake of one again?

A better understanding of the amount of helplessness felt by the chained dog. Not only are they unable to make their needs known (I'm ever more floored by the nerve of chainers to tell me—and delude themselves that it's true—that these dogs LIKE it out on the chain) but they are increasingly more frustrated with the effort to communicate with their human caregivers.

I also gained an understanding of how the vigil brings spiritual power to a cause. I felt strongly that our campaign needed to touch the divine, to reach a place where barriers are exploded and so are the chains man has shackled our best friends to.

By being silent for four days, I was able to keep my energy focused inward, to pull in more God-strength, and become more of a channel for the power of the Divine.

I'll be the first to say I'm not outwardly religious these days, although I've always been very spiritual, and carry a deep belief in the effects of this power in our lives.

I wrote a prayer for chained dogs, which I used as a basis for spiritual interaction daily around 8 a.m., noon, and 4 p.m. I read it repeatedly to myself, and I felt the energy of the prayer swirl through me, felt it's force.

Through these efforts, I drew to myself a praying mantis (get it?—literally, he landed on my back and then sat with me for 1/2 hour), a nice young man who wanted to pray together, and numerous interviews and media attention even while silent.

From these days of silence I learned just have valuable is my ability to speak. My voice is a treasure that I must use as much as possible on behalf of chained dogs, and other who are suffering. Your voice is equally as valuable. Please use it now to let the PA Senators know that chaining is unacceptable.

Attend Senator Brubaker's town hall meeting:
September 15, 2010, 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Witmer Fire Protective Association
455 Mount Sidney Rd.
Witmer, PA 17585

Our Prayer for Chained Dogs

Dear God,
We bring to your our voiceless,
Our sad, our lonely,
Our chained.

And ask that you will
Scoop them up
Into the arms of
The Divine.

Comforting them, protecting them,
Calming them.
Breaking the chains
Man has bound them to.

Free them with
A Love so Powerful
It shatters all barriers
Destroys all opposition

And knows the Truth:
Dogs DO Deserve Better

Tamira Ci Thayne, September 7, 2010

i got letters from the following people, for a total of 74:

Brett LaCroix sent me a t-shirt from LaCroixtees.com, Oregon. Thank you, Brett! Gordon Bakalar, PA. Ariel Wulff and Dalene Deliworth, Ohio. Cathie MacArthur, PA. Orna Locker, WA. (Orna, thanks for your generosity, as always!) Lisa Yohon, NY. Unknown in Hawaii. Gayla Frances Evans-Rine, OH. Gail Downie, OH. Angella Stell, NM. Kim Schena & Valentine, NY. Lisa Walthers, VA. Tina Pittman, VA. Mollie Burnett, MS. [I apologize for any names I got wrong…sometimes it's hard to read the envelopes!]

Find your Senator and House Rep at: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/
Please contact them TODAY and tell them “I’m here for their law.”
Remember, they work FOR us. Insist that they support SB1435.

I will be actively blogging, facebooking, and tweeting daily from my chain.
To follow me, fan me, or read the nightly blog, check out the links below:

Follow the campaign, Operation Fidos Freedom on:

Can you donate for this campaign which aims to save tens of thousands of dogs from life at the end of the chain? To donate by phone, call 814.941.7447.

Dogs Deserve Better is a 501c3 nonprofit organization.
To donate by mail, send check made out to Dogs Deserve Better,
P.O. Box 23, Tipton, PA 16684