News

[12/03/07] ARRAIGNMENT HEARING SET FOR GRIFFITHS.

A date for Gary Griffiths arraignment hearing has been set for Friday, December 14th at 9am. This will take place, as before at Matheson Courthouse, 450 South State Street, Salt Lake, on the fourth floor in room W47 with Judge Henriod presiding. This court date is when Gary Griffiths makes his plea. For those of you able to attend we encourage you to wear a Henry's Law t-shirt.

[11/25/2007] Ching Farm Sanctuary 9th Annual Vegan Thanksgiving Dinner. Last Sunday, November 18th, HelpUsHelpThem attended the Ching Farm Sanctuary 9th Annual Vegan Thanksgiving Dinner. The event sold out and was a huge success, with Rhonda Kamper speaking to the crowd of several hundred about how they can help pass Henry's Law. We also gathered many more names on our petition. A BIG thank you to Faith Ching for all her good work and support for Henry's Law.

[11/17/2007] Henry's Law T-Shirts Now in XXL. You're now able to get the black or white Henry's Law t-shirts from us in the larger XXL size.

[11/15/2007] Spotlight continues to shine on Utah's poor animal abuse laws. The proclamation from the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) this week regarding Utah's poor standing amongst the 50 States for its animal abuse laws has been getting a lot of good media coverage. KSL has a written report along with video featuring our friend, Henry. The Deseret Morning News also has an article.

[11/14/2007] Utah has weakest animal abuse laws in country. According to this article in the Salt Lake Tribune, the Animal Legal Defense Fund says that Utah has the unfortunate distinction, along with Alaska, Arkansas, Kentucky and North Dakota of being one of the five "best states to be animal abuser". Help us change this!

[11/13/2007] HelpUsHelpThem at Orem Petsmart this Saturday. HelpUsHelpThem along with Henry the dog will be at the Orem Petsmart this coming Saturday, November 17th between 11am-3pm gathering signatures for the petition. We'd love to see you there! The address is 20 W. University Parkway in Orem.

Last Saturday you may have spotted us at the American Fork Petsmart, where we gathered over 200 signatures. Henry was there with some of his friends.

[11/10/2007] Volunteer with HelpUsHelpThem! We'd love to have you join us to work on the campaign to help pass Henry's Law. Help us help them!

Please email us at helpushelpthem.org@gmail.com.

[11/06/2007] Recent Utah animal-cruelty cases. As reported by law-enforcement authorities, in yesterday's Salt Lake Tribune.

[11/05/2007] How to advocate, not alienate. More coverage of the Lobbying 101 classes, this time from The Salt Lake Tribune.

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Also, we've updated the How you can help page with some more ideas. Be sure to check it out!

[11/03/2007] Humane Society joins fight for law. The Deseret Morning News is today running an article about the Humane Society of the United States putting its weight behind Henry's Law by sponsoring the three "Lobbying 101" information meetings that took place over the last couple of days.

[11/01/2007] New Henry's Law T-Shirts Available! Our first set of t-shirts have been so popular we decided to put together a second design, this time on a white shirt. These sell for $10 a piece, plus S&H, and as before are available in men's small, medium, large and XL. Please email us for further information on ordering. Click HERE to see larger pics.

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State Soft On Animal Cruelty Law. The Salt Lake Tribune has some commentary today by columnist, Rebecca Walsh, on the state of animal cruelty laws in Utah.

[10/31/2007] Preliminary Hearing Set For Griffiths. A date for Gary Griffiths preliminary hearing has been set for Thursday, November 29th at 9am. This will take place, as before at Matheson Courthouse, 450 South State Street, Salt Lake, on the fourth floor in room S45 with Judge Judith S. Atherton presiding. For those of you able to attend we encourage you to wear a Henry's Law t-shirt.

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Henry's Story Updated. We have updated Henry's story, written in the words of Henry's owner, Rhonda Kamper.

[10/25/2007] Court Appearance For Dog Killer. Gary Griffiths from West Valley City, who shot his neighbors dog on September 10th 2007 will be appearing in court on Tuesday October 30th, 2007 at 1:30pm. They will be reviewing the status of his case, scheduling future hearings and appointing counsel. We are encouraging the public to attend wearing your Henry's Law t-shirt. The address is 450 South State Street, SLC, on the 4th floor in Judge McCleve's courtroom.

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You may have noticed we have also added an Alerts link to the right hand side menu, where we'll keep you up to date regarding upcoming calendar events of interest and concern to the HelpUsHelpThem community.

[10/20/2007] We're Back! Despite the absence of updates to the website, HelpUsHelpThem have been very busy re-organizing and prepping for the upcoming Legislative Session and continuing to let the public know all about Henry's Law.

HelpUsHelpThem continues to be committed to, and working towards the implementation of a first offense felony option when prosecuting animal abusers without reducing or compromising our current animal cruelty laws.

To help get the message out there we're now offering "Henry's Law" t-shirts, for $7 a piece plus shipping and handling. They come in men's small, medium, large and XL sizes. Please email us for further information on ordering.

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Yappy Hour! On Friday, October 19, Henry and friends attended "The Yappy Hour" a benefit for No More Homeless Pets. Many signed the petition and showed their support for Henry's Law.

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Lobbying 101. The Humane Society of the United States is hosting free Lobby 101 seminars -- Tuesday, October 30 in St. George, Wednesday, October 31 in Ogden and Thursday November 1 in Murray (Salt Lake City) -- where participants will learn how to make a tremendous difference for animals.

These events are free of charge, but an R.S.V.P. is requested to attend. It'd be great to see you all there, wearing your "Henry's Law" t-shirts!

[08/26/2007] Henry's not so special session. Last Wednesday's special session was met with disappointment by Henry's supporters, and by all accounts the public at large as it failed again to pass through the Legislature (Salt Lake Tribune). We were outraged to learn that a substitute bill, SB1002, sponsored by Senator Christensen and Representative Gibson, would not only relegate animal torture to a felony on the second offense, but also would reduce penalties in our current animal cruelty laws! Because of the confusion and public outcry, both bills were sent to the Senate Rules Committee for further public input. In the last hours of the session, Senator Davis and Senator Christensen made a pact to seek a compromise to upgrade torture penalties in the next session. We support Henry's Law as it is written.

Our organization is committed to seeking a first offense felony without reducing or compromising our current animal cruelty laws. We will continue to work to pass Henry's Law next session.

Thank you to all the Henry's Law supporters that signed petitions, spread the word and attended our rallies. We also want to Governor Huntsman for supporting this bill and fulfilling his promise to add Henry's Bill to the special session. Also to every organization both local and national who joined the fight to help pass this law. Keep fighting the good fight and let's make sure it goes through in '08!

Additional media coverage of the special session can be found at the ABC4, Salt Lake Tribune and Utah NOW sites.

Also, thanks to Paige Miller for the wonderfully shot photos above. You can go to her blog to see some larger versions of the images and coverage of the event.

[08/19/2007] Substitute Bill to be offered by Henry's opponents. It has come to our attention that Senator Allen Christensen from South Ogden plans to offer a substitute bill during the coming special session of the Legislature on Wednesday, with a felony existing only for second offenses of animal torture. This bill has not been released for review.

You may remember Christensen, as the Senator who stated his strong opposition to Henry's Bill earlier this year. His motives on this substitute bill are highly suspect, and we encourage you to let him, other representatives, and the press know that you will only support the original "Henry's Bill", SB1001, as sponsored by Senator Gene Davis.

[08/17/2007] Special Session Called by Governor!! Finally, in what's been a roller coaster ride for HelpUsHelpThem and all animal advocates in Utah, Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. on Thursday called for a special session (Salt Lake Tribune) of the Legislature to be held next Wednesday, August 22nd to address amongst other things "Henry's Law", which as you know calls for much tougher penalties for intentional animal cruelty.

HelpUsHelpThem will be at the capital first thing Wednesday morning at 9am to show our support and we encourage all supporters to join us as well as contacting your representative to impress upon them the need for their endorsement of this vital law.

Once again, thank you so much to all those who signed the petition and supported Henry and this Bill, and thanks to Governor Huntsman for calling this session.

The Deseret News also has a supportive article covering the special session announcement.

UPDATE: You can download a flyer HERE (in MS Word format) that can be e-mailed or printed in an effort to get people out in support of Henry's Bill. Vets, groomers, dog parks are good places for this. Also community bulletin boards, libraries etc. We WILL see it passed on Wednesday. Think positive.

[05/26/2007] Kitten torturer finally sentenced. Last Monday, May 21st, HelpUsHelpThem attended the sentencing of Clint L Wilkes, the man charged with the torturing of kittens, used in some sick attempt to gain the sympathy of his ex-girlfriend. Although he recieved 60 days jail time it was not for the animal abandonment charge but for assault on his girlfriend. You can read more here (Deseret News) or see a Real Player feed stream of a report from KSL here.

On a brighter note, you can find a report on the Blessing of the Animals that Henry attended at the Salt Lake Tribune site.

[04/24/2007] Special session all but confirmed for May. According to the Deseret Morning News we are likely to see a special legislative session called in late May. However, Senate President John Valentine has again re-iterated his feelings that SB190 (Henry's Bill) should be modified to accomodate a second offence as a felony. HelpUsHelpThem will vigorously oppose such a change.

Meanwhile, the Salt Lake Tribune today has another great editorial on the need for felony provisions against animal cruelty.

(Above) HelpUsHelpThem at the EarthJam festival last Sunday.

[04/21/2007] SB190 being considered for special session! The Salt Lake Tribune is reporting that Governor Huntsman anticipates calling a special session later this year that could likely include placing Henry's Bill on the agenda.

We want to thank everyone for contacting the Governor and signing our petition. So far we have faxed over 10,000 names of support over the last seven weeks. It is because of an "astounding amount of public comment" that we are being considered. Although the session will not be until fall, we will still press on until "Henry's Bill" SB190 is signed into law.

We are still concerned with the possibility that it could be amended to a second offense felony. Both Senate President John L. Valentine and Majority Leader Curtis S. Bramble have publicly announced that they would support "a change in the animal cruelty law that would make the second offense a felony." We of course oppose such measures and are asking for your support in contacting them to let them know that we want SB190 as is! Also contact your Senator and Representative and ask them to vote against any amendments that weaken our bill. Finally we ask you to thank the Governor for listening and considering SB190 for the special session.

We will continue to monitor animal cruelty cases to see that they are charged and prosecuted to the fullest extent of our current law. We will keep you updated on future events.

Thank you again for your support and efforts!

[04/15/2007] Henry at EarthJam. This coming Sunday, April 22, Henry will be at EarthJam at Liberty Park in Salt Lake along with HelpUsHelpThem. Come and meet Henry and show your support!

Also, this last Saturday night at the Hotel Monaco, Henry was a guest at No More Homeless Pets Save A Stray Soiree. We were there gathering hundreds of signature to be given to the Governor in support of a special session. Thank you to NMHP for their support and the good work that they do for companion animals.

We're also pleased to report that in recent weeks the State of Hawaii has passed felony provisions for intentional animal cruelty through both the House and Senate and should very shortly become law. Let's hope it doesn't take much longer for Utah to follow suite. You can find excellent information regarding animal cruelty laws for each State on the Pet-Abuse.com web site.

[03/31/2007] Kitten torturer to be sentenced. Once again showing the direct link between animal cruelty and domestic violence, Salt Lake County man, Clint Wilkes plead "guilty" to assaulting his former girlfriend, as well as "no contest" to one count of animal abandonment. The charging documents claim that Wilkes would obtain stray and abandoned kittens, abuse them in a quite heinous manner and then turn them over to his former girlfriend in an apparent ploy to obtain her sympathy.

Disappointingly, the original charges have been significantly reduced, so we ask everyone to respectfully call upon the presiding judge to apply the maximum penalty for the remaining charges.

Please address your letters to:

Wilkes is due for sentencing at 10am on May 21st.

Additional information on this story can be found on the KUTV and KSL sites, as well as Pet-Abuse.com.

[03/29/2007] Henry to appear on Good Things Utah. Tomorrow at 10am, Henry and Rhonda will be making an appearance on the TV show Good Things Utah on channel 4. Meanwhile, if you'd like to meet Henry (the cutie) in the flesh and sign the petition, he will be at The Dogs Meow located at 2047 East and 33rd South from noon until 2pm, following his TV appearance.

Also, earlier today, Rhonda and Anne Davis from HelpUsHelpThem were featured on Abby Bonnell's show on 570 KRNS, discussing Henry's Bill. Click HERE to find the show and listen.

Thank you to everyone for your ongoing support!

UPDATE: You can view Henry's appearance on Good Things Utah HERE.

[03/24/2007] Governor's Mansion gathering. Outside the Governor's Mansion, Henry made his voice, or rather, bark heard. With around fifty people in attendance today, along with companion animals, they showed their support for the Animal Torture Bill SB190 and many passing cars honked in agreement.

There's been widespread media coverage, which is exactly what we had hoped for. You can find video reports on today's event at ABC4, MyFOX and at KSL. Also the KUTV and Desert News sites have written coverage.

Now it's up to Governor Huntsman Jr. to show us that he has heard the people, and call a special session of the Legislature. But don't forget to send him a friendly reminder!

[03/22/2007] Two days until Governor's Mansion gathering. We are all systems go for Saturday's 11am gathering at the Governor's Mansion, hoping to convince him of the need to see SB190 (Henry's Bill) passed into law. We hope to see you all there!

A recent poll conducted Dan Jones & Associates on behalf of the Desert Morning News showed overwhelming support for these measures to pass. In addition KSL Nightside Project have been doing a wonderful job of promoting Henry's Bill and also mentioning the Governor's Mansion gathering this weekend.

If you cannot make the gathering or wish to provide us with additional assistance, we ask that you download and print copies of the online petition and pass them out to local businesses, encouraging local support, and then fax them onto the Governor as they are filled. The fax number is 801-538-1528.

Also, we have updated our Links page with one or two additional items.

[03/12/2007] Rhonda and Henry on KSL Nightside Radio. Rhonda and Henry were again invited on to KSL Nightside Radio with Michael Castner to discuss the Governor and Henry's Law. Our thanks to Mr. Castner and KSL for their support and encouragement to see SB190 passed into law. You can listen to the show HERE.

[03/03/2007] Henry's abuser released early from jail. Marc Vincent, the man responsible for Henry's atrocious injuries was yesterday released from jail one month earlier than expected after having spent 5 of his 6 month sentence behind bars. This comes hot on the heels of Temma Martin, spokeswoman for the Salt Lake County Animal Services adding to the chorus of calls to have Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. consider a special session so that SB190 (Henry's Bill) can be given a fair hearing. Information on how to contact Governor Huntsman to voice your support for this action can be found in our last news update below.

[03/01/2007] SB190 fails to clear the House. It came down to the wire, but in the end Henry's Bill ran out of time due to what looked suspiciously like intentional stalling tactics by opponents. The Bill was released from the House Rules Committee last evening. Upon entering the House, amendments were called for by Representative Mathis (a veterinarian, no less) which steered it back to the Senate, before finally running out of time.

We need your support today more than ever! Our last and final hope to see this Bill pass this year is for us to show the Governor how much backing SB190 has from the public so that he is convinced to convene a special session of the House and Senate to see it passed into law. Please, everyone, we ask that you spend 5 minutes today to contact the Governor's office, either by phone at 801-538-1000 or by email through this online form and let him know that you are behind Henry's Bill becoming Henry's Law THIS YEAR!

UPDATE: You can view video news coverage of yesterday's disappointing outcome at the Senate HERE and HERE.

[02/28/2007] Attention! We need your support! While SB190 remains mired in the House Rules Committee we're not as upbeat about the prospects of it passing as we once were. Should it be given a chance to be put to the House vote we still believe we have the numbers to put Henry's Law in place.

Meanwhile, yesterday's press conference went ahead with speakers including Senator Gene Davis, Representative Scott Wyatt, Humane Society Director Gene Bairschmidt, Mayor JoAnn Seghim and Rhonda Kamper. Everyone was urged to contact the House Rules Committee members and demand that SB190 be released immediately! You can also make a difference by contacting your Representative asking for their vote of support.

News coverage of the press conference and the urgent need to move the Bill into the House for a vote today can be found HERE.

[02/26/2007] To Henry's Heroes. Tomorrow, Tuesday February 27th at noon, the Utah Humane Society is holding a press conference with Henry at the State Legislature. We would love to see a strong show of support. If you are available to attend please meet at the Capitol west building at 11:45am. Come early as parking can be difficult.

We are close to the passage of Henry's Law. Contact your House Representative asking them to please make SB190 a priority for a floor vote.

[02/25/2007] Henry's Bill moves to the House. Henry's Bill is currently in the House Rules Committee, comprised of the following members...

• Rep. Stephen H. Urquhart, Chair
• Rep. Gregory H. Hughes, Vice Chair
• Rep. Jackie Biskupski
• Rep. James A. Dunnigan
• Rep. Kevin S. Garn
• Rep. Neal B. Hendrickson
• Rep. Michael T. Morley
• Rep. Mark W. Walker

We call on readers of this site to please contact members of this Committee, asking them to make SB190 a priority and release it to a House Floor vote as soon as possible.

[02/23/2007] Henry's Bill passes 3rd reading! House next. Henry's Bill (SB190) has just passed its third reading. It now moves to the House to be voted into law.

We wish to thank Senator Gene Davis for sponsoring the Bill and all the Senators who voted "yes" for its passage. Also a BIG thank you to everyone who has been supporting the measures on this Bill, pressing their representatives to vote yes and writing all those wonderful letters to the editor(s).

While we're nearly there we still need your ongoing support to ensure this passes into law! We'll keep you updated regarding any developments in the House.

UPDATE: You can view video coverage of the day's proceedings HERE, on the ABC4.com site.

[02/22/2007] Henry's Bill passes 2nd reading. Today Senate Bill 190 was put to a 2nd vote and passed with the 15 votes required.

The Bill now moves to a 3rd reading tomorrow morning. Assuming it passes the vote during this 3rd reading it is crucial that this Bill's passage through the House is expedited before the session ends next Wednesday at midnight. Whether Henry's Bill becomes Henry's Law still hangs in the balance, so please help us (help them) by contacting your state representative, asking for their support.

[02/20/2007] Rhonda Kamper and Henry to lobby Senate. PRESS RELEASE. For Immediate Release: February 20, 2007. Rhonda Kamper and Henry the dog to lobby the Utah state Senate in order to save Henry's law-SB190, Animal Torture Act.

Rhonda Kamper, the companion of Henry the dog, is fighting to see not only that the animal torture act, or SB190, comes out of the Rules committee and onto the Senate calendar, but also passes both houses. She believes, because of the reception that Henry has received, the public wants this legislation and feels that Utah is behind the times with its antiquated animal cruelty laws. Rhonda urges the public to get involved and to contact their representatives. If they don't know who their representative's are they can go to our website www.helpushelpthem.org and click on the link find your legislator. Believing that Henry is probably representative of many other abused animals in Utah, Kamper holds her mixed breed dog out as an example of both the extent to which cruelty can go, and the resilience of Henry's spirit.

Last summer, Rhonda's then husband, Marc Vincent blinded Henry with a leaf blower resulting in the loss of his left eye, and then put him in a 200 degree oven for 5 minutes burning him and scarring him permanently.

Help Us Help Them believes that there are sufficient votes for the bill to pass. This legislation was introduced in both the 2005 and 2006 sessions. The measure passed the house both times but stalled in the Senate Rules Committee. HUHT believes that chances are good to see this legislation passed through, and urge public involvement to ensure a successful passage.

UPDATE: The Salt Lake Tribune site has coverage of Henry and Rhonda's visit to the Legislature.

[02/16/2007] SB190 delayed again. On February 13th, Senate Bill 190 was returned to the Senate Rules Committee. As soon as we have more information on this we will provide an update. Until then you can track the latest developments with this bill at the Utah State Legislature site.

[02/13/2007] Henry at the senate. Yesterday, HelpUsHelpThem along with Henry presented Senator Gene Davis of Salt Lake County with signatures and names collected through our online petition as well as those collected at a number of business locations. Senator Davis is the chief sponsor of "Henry's bill".

Henry was also introduced to a number of Senators and seemed to be a big hit. Let's hope that translates into a successful passage of the bill into the house. We're still waiting on word about when the Senate will actually vote on the bill, but at this stage it looks set to happen later in the week around Thursday or Friday.

[02/09/2007] Vote on SB190 close at hand. The Senate vote on SB190 (Henry's Law) is fast approaching. We believe it could be as early as Monday or Tuesday next week. Of the Senators contacted 13 are in favor, 3 opposed and a further 13 are unknown and have not responded. We need 15 votes to pass this bill to the house.

We implore readers to contact their Senator if they have not responded and ask how they intend to vote. If you can gather any information regarding your Senators vote please forward it on to us. Below is the list of Senators and their intentions for SB190...

• Wayne Niederhauser
• D. Chris Buttars
• Mark B. Madsen
• John L. Valentine
• Peter C. Knudson
• John J. Greiner
• Scott K. Jenkins
• Sheldon Killpack
• Gregory S. Bell
• Dan R. Eastman
• Lyle W. Hillyard
• Kevin VanTassell
• John W. (Bill) Hickman

• Margaret Dayton
• Allen M. Christensen
• Curtis S. Bramble

• Fred J. Fife III
• Scott D. McCoy
• Gene Davis (Chief Sponsor)
• Patricia W. Jones
• Ed Mayne
• Michael G Waddoups
• Carlene M. Walker
• Howard A. Stephenson
• Darin Peterson
• Mike Dmitrich
• Ross I. Romero
• Brent H. Goodfellow
• Dennis E. Stowell

[02/07/2007] Should animal cruelty be a felony? YES! The Daily Herald site's weekly poll asks "Should animal cruelty be a felony?" Also the editorial presents a rather negative view of the proposed animal torture bill. We encourage all readers to respond and let them know why SB190 needs to pass!

[02/05/2007] Hail the king! This last Saturday saw the Wasatch Humane's 10th Annual Fur Ball. Helpushelpthem was there along with with Henry and owner Rhonda Kamper. Henry who attended wearing a very fetching tuxedo was guest of honor, and crowned King of the Ball. Rhonda spoke to the 400 plus guests about what they could do to help pass "Henry's Law".