For quite some time, readers have been sending me tips, both pro and con, regarding the group who bought the Michael Vick property in Surry Co, VA. Dogs Deserve Better, an anti-tethering group founded and operated by Tamira Thayne (fka Tammy Grimes), purchased the home and land in May 2011, reportedly intending to turn it into some type of dog sanctuary. There have been problems from the beginning and to be honest, I never could make heads or tails of what was going on so I didn’t blog about it. But this is newsworthy:
According to Tracy Terry, Chief Animal Control officer for Surry County, Tamira Thayne is wanted for animal cruelty and inadequate care of animals.
[…]
Terry told WAVY.com Thayne has been operating an illegal shelter as long as she has been in the state of Virginia.
No details have been provided regarding the cruelty complaints and authorities have been unable to locate Ms. Thayne as of today.
Update, August 28: The story on WAVY.com was updated late last night to include a bit of additional info. Ms.Thayne has been served with the animal cruelty warrant.
Thayne allowed WAVY.com to observe the dogs Monday afternoon and where they are kept.
One dog was seized by AC during the TV crew’s visit but the other eight were left in place. The chief ACO promised more information by the end of the week. There is a video from the late news broadcast showing some of the dogs who appear to be well cared for and socialized.
I guess the thing that raises a red flag for me here is the fact that AC did not seize any dogs, even when there was an outstanding cruelty warrant, until the TV news crew arrived. It could be a coincidence but it looks suspicious to me.