FOLLOW UP: Letter to the Editor: Humane Society President Accused of Stealing Dog

Update: Friday, March 8, 7:54 a.m.

It has been more than two weeks since Lance White, president of the Humane Society of Forsyth County, wrote his "Letter to the Editor" to Cumming Patch. Since publication of the letter we heard from more than 100 readers in Forsyth County and across the U.S. who had plenty to say about the situation.

During a brief conversation with Lance, he told me that no action has been taken against him from the woman who accused him of stealing her dog (mentioned in the letter to the editor). Since the week of Feb. 18, Lance told me that the woman and her male dog (pictured) has since left the residence, where Lance found the tethered dog, to an unknown location. In the meantime, the female dog Lance rescued remains at the Humane Society shelter off Keith Bridge Road in Cumming. She will be getting spayed when she is ready and eventually will be up for adoption.

Lance also told me that he is currently gathering support to propose a non-tethering law in the county to the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners. Stay with Cumming Patch for developments.

Liz Kennedy
Editor, Cumming Patch

Original Article:

CUMMING, GA -- Dear Editor,

I am the president of the Humane Society of Forsyth County.

On Monday February 18, 2013 I was contacted by Angela Watkins that lives in the Evergreen Apartments at Aubrey's Landing. She had found a female pit bull that still looked like she was nursing puppies. The puppies were nowhere to be found. I decided to put a leash around her neck to see if she would lead us to her puppies or possibly her home.

The Pit Bull we now call Aubrey took Mark Schullstrom and Tiffani Rassel (two volunteers for HSFC) down Hutchinson Road, then across Castleberry Road down Tolbert Street to the neighborhood on the left, Cherokee Chase. Aubrey took them right to the front door of the right side of a duplex. A Hispanic man came out and took the female Pit from them.  Mark and Tiffani were waiting at the top of the street for me and Brendan Kelly (another volunteer of HSFC) to pick them up. Once we arrived at the end of the street I asked Mark if he questioned him about possibly letting us spay her? Mark and Tiffani were so shocked that the dog led them back to her house they forgot about asking if we could help to get her spayed, so I said lets go back and see.

We walked up on the right side of the duplex and knocked on the door. There was no answer but we heard voices coming from the back yard. I walked around the backside of the house and tried to speak to the gentlemen that were having afternoon cocktails by a fire pit. I asked where the dog was and he pointed toward the woods. After a minute, I realized that he meant that she was tied up in the woods of an undeveloped subdivision behind the duplex. I walked back into the woods and saw the female pit tied up to a small makeshift doghouse. I asked him how she had gotten off of her chain? He said that she did not get off the chain that he had given her away. I then said well if you want to give her away I will take her. He said good because the landlord told all the tenants that they had to get rid of all the pit bull dogs.

I was trying to get the chain to release from the female pit's neck and heard a dog barking and crying further into the woods. I started walking towards the dog's cries for help. I came up on a gray male pit bull that was tangled up in his chain that was being used as his restraint. He was tethered to a doghouse and was tangled in a couple of small trees. The dog we now call Tolbert could not move six inches either way. I turned and asked the Hispanic man if I could have this dog also. He said yes. The Hispanic man started to untangle the dog and he unlocked the locks to release the dog. (The dog had large pad locks on the chain around his neck to secure the tethering chain.) AS I was taking Tolbert the gray pit away I saw another dog and asked him if I could have it also. It was a large black male lab. He declined to give me that dog.  I gave him my card so that he would have my number in case they needed help in getting the male lab neutered and/or if he changed his mind about giving me the dog.

About three hours later a lady called me and said I hear you have my dog. I asked her to describe the dog. After a perfect description I said, yes I have your dog. She asked if she could get him back that night? I had just dropped of the dog at a boarding facility located on the north end of the county and I was almost home which is located on the south end of the county, plus the facility was closed by the time she called me. I told her I could not pick up the dog until the morning. She said how early could she get the dog? I stated that I could have it [to her] by 8 a.m. The owner said that was too early for her. I then said that I have appointments at 10:30 and 11:30 at my jewelry store, so I could not get the dog to her until 12:30 or 1 p.m.

She agreed then we started chatting and I asked why he was way out in the woods. She told me they were hiding the dogs from the landlord. I asked why she did not keep the dog in the house when she was gone. Her reply was that he tears up the house and that she cannot afford to get a $500 crate. I told her that if giving her a crate would get the dog off the tether then I would give her a $200 crate. She was happy and even said she was glad she had met me. Even laughing that sometimes things happen for a reason. We hung up the phone and then she called me back about 20 minutes later and stated that she had forgot she has a doctor's appointment in Norcross at 1 p.m. She could not meet me until sometime in the evening and asked me how late could I meet her? I said the latest that I could meet would be 8 p.m. I then told her to call me when she was finished with her doctor's appointment and we would set a time to meet from that call.

On Tuesday morning at 10:30 I received a text from her demanding that I give her the dog right then. I told her that I was still at my appointments. The owner stated that she did not care she wanted her dog now. I finished my meetings then drove to get the dog. On the way back with the dog I contacted her and asked her to meet me at animal control. I wanted a witness that she was getting the dog back. I walked in and did not realize that she (dog owner) was already in the office with animal control. She told them that I had stolen her dog. She stated that I had entered her property and took the dog off its chain. Therefore stealing the dog.

The animal control officer Lieutenant Waters came in to interview me. He did not want to hear my side of the story, he just kept cutting me off. Mr. Waters told me that I was not Animal Control and to quit acting like I was. He said that he knew what he would do if I had come onto his property and stole his dog. He said he would have me arrested. Mr. Waters stated we will see what she decides.

The dog’s owner did make an incident report with the City of Cumming Police, Officer C. Cook. It will now go before the Magistrates Court of Forsyth County to see if the judge feels that there is just cause to press charges against me.  

I thank you for letting me voice my side of the story. I feel that if our county had an anti-tethering law that states an exact time limit instead of saying primary restraint this would have never happened. People would have complained about the dog being tied up before I ever found the dog. The Animal Control officers and the attorneys for the county tell me that the meaning of Primary Restraint in the current anti-tethering law is that you can have a dog on a tether for 12 hours (half the day). Primary would mean more than half the day so one minute over the 12 hours and they would be breaking the law. But there is no way to monitor this 12:01 law (Primary Restraint). The only way to change this is to change the law. Please write or call your Forsyth County Commissioner and tell them we want stronger anti-tethering laws.

Lance White
President
Humane Society of Forsyth County

Editor's Note: The opinion(s) expressed here are those of the writer and not of Cumming Patch. If you have something to share send liz.kennedy@patch.com a "Letter to the Editor."