S.P.A. Member, Terry McGrady,was recently sued for rescuing a dog!

955.10 Tags to be worn.  No owner of a dog, except a dog constantly confined to a registered kennel, shall fail to require the dog to wear, at all times, a valid tag issued in connection with a certificate of registration. A dog%u2019s failure at any time to wear a valid tag shall be prima-facie evidence of lack of registration and shall subject any dog found not wearing such tag to impounding, sale, or destruction.
http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/955.10




This decision will affect all rescuers! Cross Post to all of your contacts...(FINE DETAILS OF CASE AVAILABLE AT http://www.spaohio.org/)S.P.A. Member, Terry McGrady,was recently sued for rescuing a dog!Judge Adams ruled against McGradyand he was ordered to pay $500,even though he was acting on behalf of S.P.A.by helping a stray dog in need.S.P.A. is appealing this decision,and it will be heard in the Sixth District Court of Appeals in Toledo.There are currently no state laws in Ohiowhich define the rights and responsibilitiesof  organizations or individualswho help stray animals in need.THIS IS TRUE IN MOST STATES.This case could set a precedentregarding rescuers/individualshelping stray cats and dogs everywhere!THE FACTSS.P.A. members rescued a stray dog that was running at large. The dog was not licensed nor was there any sort of  I.D. S.P.A. notified the dog pound on the Saturday that the dog was found, placed a FOUND ad in the local paper first thing on Monday morning when the newspaper office opened, and checked for microchip etc.The dog was boarded at S.P.A.'s vet's office Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. No one had advertised the dog as missing in the local paper. No one had visited the pound looking for the dog (until Friday afternoon), no one had placed a LOST DOG ad in the paper, no one had checked with the neighbors.S.P.A. adopted the dog to a loving home on the eighth day after they had rescued the dog.Had S.P.A. taken the dog to the dog pound, the dog could have been euthanized or adoted out on the 3rd day (Tuesday ). Again, S.P.A. is appealing this decision because they feel they made every effort to locate the owner, who stated that he was too busy farming to look for his dog.Attorney (and animal advocate)Terry Jonathan Lodgewill be filing an appeal.S.P.A. will be covering the expensesand would appreciate any and all donationsto help pay their legal fees.If this case isn't overturned, it would mean that any rescuerwho decides to help a stray dogcould ultimately be sued for doing so.It also means that anyone acting on behalf of an organization can be sued personally for their actions.There needs to be definitive laws created regarding an individual or organization who help a stray animal in need. There is no existing law that states that every stray dog or cat has to be taken to a county shelter.If a rescue group or an individual is willing to help a stray dog or cat in need, why should it have to go to a county shelter, where it can be euthanized, when an interested party is willing to try to find the owner and if the owner is not able to be found, place the animal with a loving family?S.P.A. is paying the legal fees for this case.If you care to donated to S.P.A.'s Legal Fund,donations can be made online at:www.spaohio.org.Please designate that you wish your donationbe used towards S.P.A.'s legal fees.Or, you can mail a donation to:S.P.A. Legal FundP.O. Box 1047Fremont, Ohio 43420Any comments regarding this incident can be sent to spaohio@sbcglobal.net.Please cc the attorney representing this case:Terry Lodge, Esq. at: tjlodge50@yahoo.com. Barbara McGrady
SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF ANIMALS, INC.
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http://www.spaohio.org/ Dr. Albert Schweitzer, a well-respected medical doctor, philosopher, theologian, musician and 1952 Nobel Peace Prize winner said, "Man is only ethical when he obeys the constraint laid on him to aid all life which he is able to help. He does not ask how far this or that life deserves sympathy... nor how far it is capable of feeling. We can't stop all suffering, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't stop any."This is the philosophy of S.P.A.Barbara McGrady
SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF ANIMALS, INC.
http://www.spaohio.org/ district80@ohr.state.oh.us
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