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Judy gives Tyson a much needed hug

My name is Judy Covington Crawley and I am the initiator of a petition drive against animal abuse and the founder of the Tyson Act Committee, a small group of people in Buncombe County, NC who care about our animals who have no voice. It all began in July, 1999 when I simply wrote out the petition while I was watching the local news and saw a broadcast of a dog named Tyson, who had been tied with a rope behind his "owner's" vehicle and dragged for blocks down the street. Mercifully, the rope finally broke, leaving him lying along the side of the road in puddles of blood, with over 20 wounds, some of which exposed his bones. When I saw Tyson's injured and torn body on the news, I decided I could no longer complain about this kind of violence as, in my opinion, doing nothing made me just as guilty as committing an act of violence myself. I sent the petition to an e-zine list to which I belong, called, "SassyJokesNLinks" and asked the editor to submit it to the others on her list, which is composed of people from all over the country. Due to her kindness and the outpouring of love from states throughout this country, the signatures and letters began pouring in. The next day, the newspaper called me for an interview on this petition drive, having heard about my endeavor. It has grown to now having over 7,000 signatures from not just this local county, but all across the country and the world. The local television called me also, being interested in this petition being placed online. North Carolina is one of 27 states where it is a felony to "maliciously" harm animals, yet as with any crime, the criminal continues to receive a mere "slap on the wrist". The committee was then formed by people who read the media and wanted to also get involved in this fight. We're a very strong, dedicated, kind group of people who are just no longer willing to sit around and do nothing about this horrible crime and the judicial system that continues to give rights to the criminals and not the victims, in any crime. We want felony convictions in any animal cruelty case and attend trials that come to our attention. We write letters to the paper, call the local tv station, call public officials and just inform everyone we know, of what we're doing and that we are as serious about this as we are kind and decent human beings. We've captured the attention of the entire community and the three trials we have attended, both newspaper and tv media have been present for the perpetrators of these animal cruelty acts. We feel we have to defend these little animals who, just like babies, don't ask to be born because we, as humans, didn't spay or neuter our pets. Our ultimate goal is to raise funding to form our own sanctuary, a safe haven for abandoned, mistreated and neglected animals, change the laws concerning spaying and neutering and work with legislation. We are adamant about letting our public officials know that our votes will depend on whether they support our animals, if they want to stay in office. This is already making a difference in this community and I really believe it could be done anywhere. If you stand together and let your elected officials know how strongly you, as a people, feel about something, they'll support you or not be re-elected. A month ago, James Sandlin went to trial for a brutal, heartless torture and decapitation of an abandoned dog. Members of the T.A.C. were there and everyone in the Courtroom, including the presiding Judge AND James Sandlin knew we were there. The jury came back with a hung-jury, 9 voting for felony, 3 for misdemeanor. Due to the public awareness we had gained, along with the knowledge in the community of the thousands of signatures on this petition, our District Attorney decided to reindict Mr. Sandlin; the result was a felony conviction, the FIRST one in Buncombe County history. His victim lived through 4 gunshots and was still alive, yelping in pain, when Sandlin took an ax and proceeded to decapitate him. This dog felt the first fell swoop of the ax, according to three witnesses. As someone so aptly put it, "this dog would have licked the same hand that chose to take his life". Sandlin then threatened to kill one of the teenaged witnesses with the same ax, proving only what has been documented for years: people who will abuse an animal will most likely exhibit violence towards another human being. Our committee has no funding and I work on fighting for animals out of my home. We have even retained an attorney to assist us in these cases as they occur. We are currently working on getting local ordinances changed and modifying the laws that supposedly protect our animals. On Tuesday, April 11, 2000, the jury acquitted Mr. Mapp for dragging Tyson behind his vehicle. I don't ever want to see this happen again and with the support of others, we CAN make a difference and be the voice for these animals. Please help us in our efforts and I urge you to consider following what our small group has done and will continue to do, in your own community. For more information, please e mail: Tysonact@aol.com Thank you, for the animals.......Judy Covington Crawley (Judy works at home on animal abuse issues and lives alone with her 6 pets, 5 of whom are rescue pets)