Reprinted from Animail, January 1979
on the occasion of the MCHS 20th Anniversary
by Sherry Reed, Vice President
Every time an organization reaches another decade, it is natural for people to wonder who, why, or how the organization began. As one of the three signers of the Montgomery County Humane Society Charter, which is filed with the Secretary of State in Annapolis, I hope I can answer that question.
The story is not a pleasant one, but it tells why we exist today as a humane society. It is about an animal that I can never forget because he was truly the founder of our organization.
During the cold part of early spring in 1958 when I had moved into a new house in Bethesda, the plaintive cries of a Great Dane, tied to a four foot chain which was fastened to the north wall of the house next door, signalled the need of the animals in Montgomery County for a “People” control law before they needed an animal Control Law.
From my window a few yards away, I could see one of the two middle-aged owners of this dog bring out a pan of food and a can of water once every day. The dog wagged his tail ever so lightly as if his spirit had waned to the point that he wondered whether they were actually people. They never spoke to him or touched him. I listened for his name but he had no name – just “dog.” The neighbors had said that he had been in the same spot for two years and never been off that chain. Nevertheless, he would stretch his neck, trying to touch their hands, or perhaps to lick them for something a human couldn’t see. They simply backed away without a pat or a word, when he tried to become friendly, and returned to their warm house. There was a high fence around the year and no children passed by. In fact, no other neighbor could see him without making some effort.
The deep hole that the dog kept digging deeper then filling it up again, covered almost all the space in the half circle of bare ground on which he could move. The short chain allowed him to sit in the hold but he could not lie down because of his position. So he slept in a half-sitting position. His back had become partly deformed into a curve!
During the night the Dane’s groans and whining became my whines and groans. He never barked. I would open my window, even if the cold wind blew in, and speak to him. At first, this would only distract him because he didn’t seem to understand that it was an offer of kindness. But later, he would stand and slightly wag his tail every time he saw me outdoors.
One day, I bought a long chain and took it over and offered it to the owner while he was feeding the dog. He said. “No..I don’t want it… if the dog had more room he would ruin more of my grass roots. The only reason we have him is to keep the burglars away.” I said, “So this is the life of a guard dog? How could a tied up dog get to a burglar?” He replied, “Oh, he would at least scare him away, but Lady, this really isn’t any of your business. Take your chain and go home.” The next day I tried to present some humane education to his wife by speaking neighborly with her over the fence, but she also was unapproachable.
I went to the police and they laughed at me and said that the dog was the family’s personal property and that the County would never prosecute a human in favor of an animal. This was 20 years ago, of course.
What else could I do? I listened to the groans a few more days and suddenly an old quotation from Edmund Burke came to mind: “Evil triumphs where good men do nothing!”
“OK, I thought, I’ll start an organization of some kind.” From the telephone directory I selected a name from the Animal welfare list which happened to the Humane Society of the United States, in Washington, D.C.
I called Fred Meyers [sic], the director, who had organized a small group 3 years before and had begun to add branches in other states. He invited me to help him organize a branch in Montgomery County where he said he had heard of a great deal of cruelty. He mentioned that a Mr. and Mrs. Peter Solem in Bethesda, had reported several cases in their own affluent neighborhood.
Each branch of the H.S.U.S. had to be autonomous because at that time, Fred had to be careful with finances and the number of his own employees while he was spreading out. So, we had to take care of ourselves. But he tried to help me with the case of the Great Dane by calling the owners on the telephone and each time, having them hang up the receiver and by not allowing him to come on their property.
I shall never know whether this story had a good or bad ending, because within six weeks of my living close to this suffering animal, he disappeared one night, chain and all.
I asked neighbors to try to find out what happened to him but they said the owners had never desired to have friends share their secrets… especially about the Great Dane who suffered for two years so that we might have a successful Humane Society.
Yes, the Dane was indeed Great.
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[Blog Editor's note: The late Sherry Reed was the founding president of MCHS. All who have served our cause since that time are indebted to her memory. We have therefore nicknamed the Great Dane blog mascot whose image you see above in her honor -- Reed.]
