Canine charity issues appeal after theft of celebrity auction items
This autographed photo of actress Candice Bergen is among the celebrity auction items taken from Dogs Deserve Better’s canine rehabilitation center in Virginia. Image appears by permission of Dogs Deserve Better.
SMITHFIELD, Va. (ACNI) – Dogs Deserve Better – the nonprofit organization that purchased and turned Michael Vick’s one-time dog-fighting property into a canine rehabilitation center for formerly chained and penned dogs – is asking collectors for help. A box containing celebrity items that would have served as the centerpiece of their annual holiday fundraising auction has been stolen. The group is now asking for the public’s help with donations of both celebrity-related and general merchandise so the auction can go forward.
“I’ve seen many things that disappointed me since starting work for chained dogs, but this one takes the cake,” said Dogs Deserve Better’s founder, Tamara Thayne. “We had gathered many celebrity items for our Celebrity Collars for Dollars Auction that we intended to run in conjunction with our annual Holiday Auction this year – items from Candice Bergen and John Travolta, amongst many others. But now our box of celebrity items has been stolen.”
Thayne said that over the past week – the timeframe during which the theft occurred – many volunteers had been in and out of the center.
“We know that 99 percent of the people who want to come visit us and help the dogs would never think of something so horrible as stealing from a nonprofit, but apparently we had one of that 1 percent who would,” Thayne said.
“We are so disheartened by this, because we really needed the money these items would have brought us to keep our center going, and now we have lost that income for our dogs and our facility,” Thayne continued.
Dogs Deserve Better is asking for donations of new or very gently used items valued at $10 or more and would be particularly grateful for any celebrity-related items to add to the special Celebrity Collars for Dollars section of the auction.
Auction Central News will start off the renewed celebrity section with the donation of an 8 x 10 inch photograph of Brigitte Bardot with then-child actor Bill Mumy (Lost in Space), autographed in bold blue marker by both Bardot and Mumy. The photograph is accompanied by a letter of provenance.
Auction bidding will begin on Nov. 15, so the charity asks that donations be sent by Nov. 10 to: Dogs Deserve Better, 1915 Moonlight Rd., Smithfield, VA 23430.
Dogs Deserve Better is a 501c3 incorporated nonprofit. Donations are tax-deductible in accordance with IRS guidelines. To contact Dogs Deserve Better, tel. 757-357-9292 or e-mail info@dogsdeservebetter.org. Visit Dogs Deserve Better and Good Newz Rehab Center online at www.dogsdeservebetter.org.
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