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Vet Confirms Doogie Was Abused

Tammy Grimes, Dogs Deserve Better founder, rescued an abused and dying dog. Then she was arrested. If you have financial or legal means to help Tammy and Doogie, you may contact her directly: 814-941-7447.

9/18/06  ~  Thanks to all at Awareness Day and Woofstock! I spoke to legal experts plus humane officers who said they would prosecute the Arnolds for abuse given the evidence – video, photos, witnesses, vet's affidavit.

Pressure Humane Officer
Ask him to pursue animal cruelty.
Central Pennsylvania Humane Society
Humane Officer Paul Gotshall
814-942-3780
1837 E Pleasant Valley Blvd.
Altoona Pa 16602
814-942-5402, fax: 814-942-8505

Write/Call District Attorney
Demand animal abuse charges.
Blair County District Attorney
Richard Consiglio, Esq.
423 Allegheny St. Suite 421
Hollidaysburg, PA 16648
814-693-3010, blairda@keyconn.net

Vet: Doogie Is Abuse Victim
9/16/06 Altoona Mirror, By Mark Leberfinger  ~  A veterinarian didn't hesitate when asked about a dog he treated. Based on his experience and to a reasonable degree of veterinary certainty, was Jake [the Arnold's name for the dog Doogie, rescued by Grimes] neglected or abused?

"Oh yes, definitely yes," Dr. Nour Hassane of Veterinary Hospital of Altoona said. "Somebody doesn't care about this dog or was very busy and didn't keep up with the dog."

The dog, called Jake by [his guardians] and Doogie by the founder of Dogs Deserve Better, is at the center of a criminal case. Steve and Lori Arnold have not been charged with a crime and deny abusing Jake. They say the 19-year-old German shepherd/black lab mix suffered from arthritis and was given aspirin periodically.

The only charges filed are against Dogs Deserve Better founder Tammy Sneath Grimes, for stealing the dog. She has refused to give the dog back, police said. Grimes says she took the dog to save his life. The dog had laid on the ground for three days before Grimes came to Freedom Township at a neighbor's request.

Jake was dehydrated, malnourished and weak, Hassane said. The dog's spine and hips had deformities. "You can see the skin but you can't feel the muscles. He couldn't stand on his four feet. I tried to help him stand on his back legs, but he would fall back down," Hassane said.

Freedom Township police have no evidence the dog was abused. They've been unable to see the dog, Police Chief John Reilly said. "It would be very hard to prove because I don't have the dog. I can't even get medical records. We are basically at a standstill," Reilly said.

Neglect or abuse is at the heart of Pennsylvania's animal cruelty law. It is punishable by a fine no more than $750, up to 90 days in jail or both.

Neglect is failure to provide vet care, shelter, water or food, said Humane Officer Tina Walter of Lackawanna County Humane Society. "In a neglect case, we usually have to give a warning unless the dog is in imminent danger."

In Jake's case, police and Central Pennsylvania Humane Society say they had no abuse complaints about the dog before Monday's incident. A neighbor says she called the society twice, Saturday and Monday, without results. A society spokesman said a complaint was received over the weekend but couldn't be substantiated because of a lack of a specific address.

Warnings or citations isn't the normal first step in dog cases, educating the [guardian] is. "People may not know or understand what they need to do. Common sense is not so common. I had a woman whose dog was outside in 90-degree heat without shelter or water. She didn't think that was wrong," Humane Officer Joanne Smith of the Elk County Humane Society said.