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And
together. Please help the dogs today, in any way that
you can and with all that you are.
I
started this organization August 15, 2002. We've grown tremendously
since that day! We've sent letters and made contact all across
the country. We have people standing with us. And we will
continue to grow, in strength as well as in numbers. In the
coming years we have much work ahead of us. I will be there.
Please join me in making this world a better place for our
companions, our best friends.
I'm
often asked, surely your platform is much broader than chained
dogs? What about all the other animal atrocities? What about
spay and neuter? And my answer is, of course we support ALL
animal efforts. Spay/neuter support and stopping other forms
of animal abuse are absolutely critical. However, our focus
must remain on the chained (and penned) dogs.
Because
they are the forgotten cause. Their abuse is much more
subtle, no less insidious. They may not be in immediate danger
of death. But death of the soul is still death to me. And
they are dying out there, piece by piece, hour by hour.
Sometimes
the fear that we cannot help them is overwhelming. Stop, take
a deep breath, and promise you will take one more step. That's
all I ask, and we will all do the best we can for them just
for today. And just for today. And soon all our todays
will add up to one great big tomorrow, and we can look back
and feel the pride of a journey well-taken.
And
they can look back and see no more chains.
And
that will be the happiest day of my eternal existence.
—Tamira
Ci Thayne (the activist formerly known as Tammy
Grimes)
Note:
I've changed my name! Please read the release below
to see why...
Animal activist changes name to
translation of "Peaceful Dog Warrior"
Tammy Sneath
Grimes legally changes name to Tamira Ci Thayne
July 22, 2008,
Altoona, PA—Tammy S. Grimes, an animal
activist, artist, and founder of Dogs Deserve Better, has
legally changed her name to Tamira Ci Thayne, which roughly
translates in its Czech, Welsh, and Gaelic heritage to "Peaceful
Dog Warrior".
Thayne, a Czech linguist
in the U.S. Air Force, added the word for peace, 'mir', to
her given name of Tammy to create Tamira. Her family ancestry
hails from Wales, so she chose the Welsh word for 'dog',
'Ci', as a middle name and added the Gaelic word for 'warrior',
'Thayne', as a surname.
Thayne, convicted
of theft in late 2007 for helping a chained dog who could no longer
stand and refusing to return him to his abusers, realized
during the course of her trials that abuse had been a recurring
part of her life since childhood. Men who abuse women and
children and people who abuse animals are no different from
one another: they seek to control and dominate those they
see as 'less than', and use all methods at their disposal
to harm and diminish them, keeping them 'in their place'.
She
states, "Unfortunately all too often, both in courtrooms
and in homes across the world, the abusers conquer and their
victims are left helpless and hopeless. As I sat in the courtroom
at my sentencing and listened to the DA tell me I was 'worse
than his worst hardened criminal'—for helping a dog?—I
was transported back to the supper table of my family home,
12 years old, enduring the shame of verbal abuse
from my father. The cycle had once again repeated itself,
and even though I thought I was 'the good girl', I was being
told by a man that I was nothing more than a piece of trash
in an attempt to 'put me in my place'.
I vowed to drop my chains
of abuse, seek my own independence from domination, and continue
to fight for freedom for those still abused—animals,
women, and children. Changing my name to symbolically become
my own father, my own husband, is a step in that direction
for me. I will never again bear the name of another, but
carve my own path in this world. With this act I send out
a prayer for freedom from abuse for every soul on this planet.
You Deserve Better."
Dogs Deserve Better is a
501c3 nonprofit organization headquartered in Tipton, Pennsylvania,
is the 2003 First Place Winner of the ASPCA Pet Protector
Award, and currently has over 150 area reps in 38 states
as well as in Canada. Thayne was a top-ten finalist for the
2006 Animal Planet Hero of the Year Award, and the March
2007 In Defense of Animals Guardian of the Month.
Hi-Resolution
Photos for download
Worthless,
the dog who 'started' DDB
Chained
Akita on porch
Shepherd
chained in mud
Dog with
50-lb. Chain
Black lab
puppy chained
Husky
in pen
Tammy
S. Grimes with Bo, "Worthless"
Grimes
at Chain Off 2004
Grimes
at Chain Off 2005
Doogie
as if Dead
Grimes Helping
Doogie
Pennsylvania
Citizens Lobby for HB1065
PA
State Rep Mario Scavello Speaking at March 08 Press Conference
PLAN
Lobbyist Mary Jo McClain Speaking at March 08 Capitol Press Conf
Thayne at Chain
Off 2008-1
Thayne
at Chain Off 2008-2
Thayne
at Chain Off 2008-3
(Above
3 photos (and below) by Christine Jaksy, Dog Day Art,
she's awesome,
I highly recommend her, she's a model herself!)
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