Animal Law
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- 2. New York Beats Animal Abuse
- 3. Beware of Breed Bans
- 4. Calgary's Animal Laws Win the Gold
- 5. Animal Welfare Law in New York
- 6. Lab Animal Protection Under Fire
- 7. Humane Law Enforcement in Illinois
- 8. Legal Rights for Animals
- 9. Dangerous Dog Legislation
Maine Legislators Rescue Vest-a-Dog Program
Ryan Slattery
Sarge was one of the first police canines in Maine to receive a bulletproof vest, so it was only fitting that the five-year-old German shepherd put his paw print on a new law passed last April that allows the state's Vest-A-Dog™ chapter to resume its fundraising efforts.
In less than a year the chapter, which was founded by 11-year-old Bath, Maine resident Kelly Davis in November 2000, had raised more than $12,000 and was able to purchase 18 bullet- and stab-proof vests for Maine's police dogs. They were on their way to their goal of outfitting all of the state's 60 narcotics- and bomb-sniffing dogs when things hit a snag. In August 2001, Maine Attorney General G. Steven Rowe phoned the Davis family with bad news. Rowe informed them that they would have to stop fundraising efforts immediately because they were violating a state law prohibiting solicitations that directly benefit law enforcement agencies.
"I was shocked and frustrated," says Davis, now a 13-year-old seventh grader at Bath Middle School. "I had no idea why they were taking the program away. I thought I was doing something good." According to Charles Dow, a spokesman for Rowe, the controversy began when complaints came filtering in to the attorney general's office pointing out a perceived "double standard" when it came to enforcing the law. The office, Dow says, had no choice but to shut down the Vest-A-Dog program.
But Dow says Rowe realized that this was a special case, and felt the law could be expanded to allow some third party fundraising. Shortly after Vest-A-Dog suspended operation, Rowe met with the Davis family at their home to explain the law and to go over their options, which included continuing to violate the law and being subjected to fines, ending their efforts altogether or trying to change the law. The young Davis chose to fight. "Police dogs don't choose their lives," she said. "They deserve the same protections as the officers."
Modifying the Law
The original law, passed in the late 1970s, was intended to keep citizens from feeling pressured into making donations. But as written, it was a law that Sally Davis, Kelly's mother, says didn't allow residents to hold a bone marrow drive for a sick police officer. "If you want to do something out of the goodness of your heart, you should be able to," Sally Davis argues. But the state's chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) feared that changing the law would open the door to fraud. "Our concerns weren't with the dogs or the vests or anything like that," says ACLU legislative counsel Joan Sturm-thal. "It was a good law intended to protect residents from fraud. Raising money for law enforcement is never a good idea."
In February 2002, Kelly Davis testified in front of the state Criminal Justice Committee arguing for the right to purchase vests for dogs. And with the help of Lewiston K-9 officer Tim Morin, Sarge's handler, she was able to convince the committee to recommend the change. One month later the Maine legislature approved a bill, sponsored by Senator Mary Small, that allows nonprofit organizations like Vest-A-Dog, which receive no benefits from their solicitations, the right to raise money on behalf of law enforcement agencies. The new law took effect July 24, 2002.
| For more information, visit the Maine Vest-a-Dog website at www.mainevestadog.homestead.com or the nationals program at www.dogvest.com. |
The Idea Takes Hold
Across the country, similar programs have outfitted more than 2,000 police canines with protective vests. The lightweight vests, which cost roughly $700 apiece, are made from the same material as vests made for human officers and are adjustable to fit a dog's body. The Associated Humane Society in Newark, New Jersey, was the first to raise money for the sole purpose of purchasing vests for K-9 units. It was the death of Solo, a K-9 with the Monmouth County Sheriff's Department who was shot while attempting to apprehend a suspect, that started the effort. Ten-year-old Oceanside, California resident Stephanie Taylor read about Solo in her local newspaper and wanted to collect money for a vest for Tiko, a K-9 with
the Oceanside Police Department. She made fliers, left collection boxes at local businesses and raised enough money to vest all six dogs in the department's canine unit.
Overwhelmed by the response, Taylor, with the help of her mother, Kathy Ryan, founded the Vest-A-Dog program in June 1999. Since then, word of the program has spread, and chapters have formed in Arizona, Massachusetts and Maine.
Ryan Slattery is a freelance writer living in Ware, Massachusetts. His work frequently appears in The Boston Globe.
© 2002
ASPCA Animal Watch - Fall 2002
Courtesy of
ASPCA
424 East 92nd St.
New York, NY 10128-6804
(212) 876-7700
www.aspca.org
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