Dog-collar case against worker at PETA dismissed

hunters don't care about their dogs... we spend hundreds of dollars(each) to put a tracking collar on them, hundreds of dollars of medicine, thousands of dollars on food, microchipping, tatoos, all because we don't care...yeah that makes sense...i spend countless hours raising pups from birth,training,playing, nd taking care of my beagles beacuse i don't care.. i wake up 2 hours early to scoop poop and santitize my kennels because i don't car....grow up... i love my dogs as does every hound owner i know

I saw a dead beagle on the side of the road yesterday. Hunters have no regard for their dogs or any other animals for that matter. If a hunter walks cowardly through the woods with a rifle looking to shoot deer do you really think they care about their dogs? They view dogs and deer in the same light, just animals, not living creatures. Hunters, get a life and leave the animals alone. The world would be a better place. And as far as the whole "overpopulation" argument it is incorrect. Nature has a way of natural selection and population control so it does not need your help.

If these two girls didn't work for PETA they never would have been charged in the first place. This is quite obviously payback by the good ol' boy, redneck hunters in Hickville. Anyone who allows their dog to roam freely along the highway (whether or not its a "hunting" dog) should not be allowed to have animals at all. Kudos to these two women for doing the right thing--rescuing a helpless animal who was about to be obliterated by cars on the highway. It's pathetic that the real criminal in this case (the hunter who owned the dog) got away scott-free. And by the way, if hunters really cared about their dogs, they wouldn't dump them at shelters after hunting season is over.

Can anyone explain why the PETA worker decided not to call the phone number on the tracking collar? ("Hello? Yes, I found your dog wandering along the side of the road and was afraid he might get hit by a car. I can bring him to you if you'd like as I'm sure you're concerned for his safety.") Or maybe why she felt the need to lie about take the dog in the first place when she was stopped. (Officer: Did you pick up a dog on the side of the road? PETA worker: No. Officer: You didn't just pick up a dog with zeroes on the side and 'JT' on the leg? PETA worker: Oh, you mean that dog. Yes. Officer: Where is his tracking collar? PETA worker: I don't know what you're talking about.) What were their plans had they not been seen and been stopped?

Months ago the hunting lobby argued that 91% of the dogs they turned out to hunt along these highways returned safely. They argued that since less than 10% were being killed by traffic and they were closer to livestock than pets, we city folks should butt out.

Last time I travelled route 58 I saw 2 dead beagles on the roadway. The hunters will be glad to hear their tracking collars were still in place so they'll be able to retrieve them later. I might have stopped to help, except I did worry the crazed sheriff/animal control officer might arrest me and his hunting buddy the judge would fine me so they'd have enough money to go out drinking afterwards.

Good to see common sense prevail.

I know Ms. Harris personally and just cannot believe the ignorance that allowed this to go so far as to her arrest and a trial. She is a wonderful person who has always been a huge animal lover and always does the right thing. I don't think it's possible for her to even fathom hurting/stealing an animal or any living being. It's too bad officers (and nosy people who call them) have nothing better to do there. Shame on them and Hooray for Ms. Harris for trying to better this world by working for animal rights. Regardless of your feelings of PETA, Ms. Harris is a stand up woman!

As someone who is very active in the animal rescue community, I can tell you there is a huge problem with the abuse and abandonment of hunting dogs. Many hunters only get dogs together to hunt and then simply leave them in the woods. Few of them get their dogs veterinary care. Most of the dogs that are are actually kept year round are kept in an outside kennel their whole lives and fed barely sustaining food. Hunters who don't feel inclined to keep and feed them either set them loose or kill them at the end of the season. Many end up starved to death or hit by cars. TONS of these dogs are being put to sleep every day in animal shelters. Hunters aren't even held responsible for letting their dogs roam on or for damage to private property done by their dogs near where they hunt. Chances are this guy didn't plan on ever going to find his dog.

This truly shows how the system works. If a true and ethical hunter that owns dogs has them for hunting purposes, has a name colar on their dog so if lost, they can be contacted. The colars alone cost around $135 - $150 each and the boxes are upwards of $500.00. If someone takes the colar off the dog and throughs it in the ditch and still takes the dog, then it is theft. The name tag on the colar has a phone number or address where the owner can be found. No mater which way you cut it, it is still stealing period. PETA has been getting away with so much for so long, it is getting out of hand. I personally own 16 deer hounds with tracking systems and colars for each dog. That is roughly $3000.00. Please PETA do me a favor. If you find one of my dogs, call me. Or better yet leave it alone, I will retreave my dog. This way you dont have to put it in a black trash bag and throw it in a dumpster behind the food lion.

From what I have seen with hunting dogs, most hunters don't care about their dogs or their neighbors. I believe in the right to bear arms and hunting, but when hunters drop off their dogs on a public roadway so 30 or 40 dogs can run amuck across private property attacking and trying to kill cats and other dogs, it's time to stop hunting with dogs. If hunters actually tried going into the woods and tracking the game rather than expecting the hounds to herd the deer for them so they can shoot them from the road, they might be a lot thinner and the non-hunting public might respect them better.

I felt bad this hunting season because after nearly running over a Walker dog that was walking down the middle of the road, I didn't pick him up. The following Monday, I spied him dead on the road. He lay their a week. He was wearing a tracking collar when I almost hit him, but when he was lying dead on the road, his collar had been removed. Wasn't that nice of the hunter to remove his collar but not even pick up his dog to give it a decent burial? The PETA ladies were right on that call.

Why was the dog out there anyway? There is no chase season or hunting season that allows the use of a dog for deer in October. So Mr Animal Control officer and Sheriff why was your dog out there? It didn't just accidentally get out because the dog hunters do not keep tracking collars on them all the time. Just when they're out running or training. How come no one questions that? The law does allow for chasing of foxes all year. Did he arrive on horseback tooting a horn wearing red breeches? The deer hound hunters have found this loophole and use it as an excuse to chase deer anytime they feel like it. My guess this is what Shouthampton's finest was out there doing. Acts like this are why the VDGIF has been forced to take a look at hound hunting. But with a stacked committee making the decisions who knows how it will turn out? They even have a hound dog killer on the committee. I've personally, along with my 12 yr old daughter who found the dead dog, seen his dirty work. You see dog hunters shoot dogs that don't run well. No point wasting time or money at the vets to be put down properly or given a chance to live as a someones pet. But they care a lot for the ones that do run. Yes t

These charges were ridiculous to begin with. I can't believe that someone who was simply trying to save a dog from getting hit by a car could be charged with a misdemeanor. I hope Ondrea doesn't stop the good work she's doing!

When I got my dog from the Norfolk Animal shelter she still had her collar on. The workers do it so if an owner comes to claim the dog, he's more identifiable.

I don't know about that particular hunting dog, but, hounds by their very nature are prone to wander. I doubt that abandonment was the owner's objective. Most hunting dogs aren't exactly cheap, & everyone I know that has one loves their 4 legged hunting partners. The point about the dog maybe getting run over by a vehicle is probably valid, as a lot of hounds are more interested in what passed on the road before(example deer, rabbit, other dogs) instead of what is passing now(example car, truck, Peta members), & spend a lot of time with "nose to the ground" action. Either way removing the tracking collar from the canine, in my opinion does NOT show good intentions, concerning the hound being returned to the owner, & should at the very least be considered attempted theft, & possibly grand theft, depending upon the value of the dog, combined with the value of the tracking collar.

At least this time they didn't kill the animal the moment it entered the van.

The judge is out of touch with reality. I wonder if PETA has EVER returned an actual hunting dog to it's lawful owner.

Once again, I must say I am not a PETA fan, however, it seems like this was handled quite poorly. Why are we not reading about charges against the deputy for leaving his hounds loose in the woods, especially near a roadway? We wouldn't have even heard about this if, instead, the deputy/hunter had used the tracking system to find his dog plastered to the asphalt stiff as a board... This is a huge problem in Virginia and most of the South. Collecting, setting loose, and abandoning hunting dogs needs to be a criminal offense.