Camp — who went to trial Thursday on charges of theft, obstruction and lying to police — heard about the allegedly abused dog on an online forum last year in December and within hours, she had driven to the property to see the dog.
She found him living the life of a guard dog on a property near Twisp, chained to a rotting flatbed trailer with a frozen bowl of water, according to Camp's Facebook page.
"I did the right thing, for the right reason," Camp told The Spokesman-Review.
The forecast for that December day called for below-freezing temperatures and a wicked wind chill. So Camp cut the pup loose, took him home and called him "Tank."
The original owners reported the dog stolen shortly afterward.
Camp was caught by an Okanogan sheriff's deputy and arrested when she took the six-year-old blue heeler to the veterinarian's office, The Spokesman-Review reported.
She claimed the dog belonged to her and while Deputy Dave Yarnell, the county's animal control officer, collected records from the vet, Camp grabbed Tank and gave him the slip.
Yarnell found her in the parking lot and a scuffle ensued. He arrested Camp for theft of a pet, gave her a citation and released her.
Later that day, she called up the true owners of the dog — whose name was actually "Duke" — and offered them $500 for the pup. They accepted.
But Camp still faces the theft charge. She refused to accept a plea deal, according to the Spokesman-Review. In early March, Okanogan County prosecutors filed additional criminal charges against Camp.
Camps insists she made the right decision to steal the dog from his degrading home.
She returned to the vet for an additional check up which detailed Tank's real well-being. He was obese and arthritic and had red, runny eyes, veterinarian Dan DeWeert says in a court statement, according to the Methow Valley News.
The last time he had medical care, Tank was a puppy, the Methow Valley News reported.
He had damage to his scrotum, which DeWeert said came from either a botched neutering surgery or from exposed skin being frozen to the ground.
Camp appeared in Okanogan County District Court for a jury trial Thursday, but a verdict has not been reached. If she's found guilty, she could be sent to prison for three years.
Tank remains “OK,” Camp wrote on Facebook, even though her husband accidentally hit him with a truck March 17 and the dog suffered a concussion.
(NY Daily News - Mar 27, 2014)
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