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Athena Lethcoe-Harman - alaskan collie abuser, dies in mexico.



 
 
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Old June 25th 04, 08:08 PM
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Default Athena Lethcoe-Harman - alaskan collie abuser, dies in mexico.

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/new...ws/715888.html

Alaska collie breeder, 42, dies

By Carol Bradley
Tribune Staff Writer


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Athena Lethcoe-Harman, the Alaska collie breeder convicted of 180
counts of animal cruelty in Montana a year ago, died early this week of
complications from diabetes, a friend of hers confirmed Thursday.

The 42-year-old Lethcoe-Harman reportedly was living in Mexico at the
time of her death. A neighbor found her Wednesday morning after
Lethcoe-Harman's husband, Jon, who was living in Alaska, asked her to check
on Lethcoe-Harman when she failed to answer his phone calls Tuesday night,
according to the friend, Gwen Town of Kenai, Alaska.

Lethcoe-Harman appeared to have died in her sleep, Town said. She was
found lying in her bed. Her pet collie Panache was licking her face.

"The diabetes is what got her," Town said.

News of Lethcoe-Harman's death surprised collie lovers in Montana who
rolled up their sleeves to help care for the dogs for nine months after
authorities discovered the animals wet, shivering, hungry and diseased in
the back of the Harmans' tractor-trailer the night of Halloween 2002.

The couple was moving the dogs from Alaska to Arizona when U.S.
Customs officials stopped them at the U.S.-Canadian border. Toole County
officials charged the Harmans with dozens of counts of misdemeanor animal
cruelty and, with help from the Humane Society of the United States,
established "Camp Collie" at the Marias Fairgrounds outside Shelby as a
temporary home for the dogs. Volunteers from across the United States
traveled to Montana to help care for the dogs.

After five months in Shelby, the collies were moved to Great Falls,
where a fresh wave of volunteers oversaw their care. The Harmans' first
trial, in Shelby, ended with a hung jury, but they were convicted
unanimously the following May by a Justice Court jury in Anaconda.

By last August officials had adopted more than 180 animals out to
carefully screened new homes.

"I tell you, I'm speechless," Barb Mercer of Shelby, who devoted
thousands of hours to Camp Collie, said Thursday when told of
Lethcoe-Harman's death.

From her home in Vermont, Jean Levitt, president of the American
Working Collie Association, which paid thousands of dollars in medical bills
for the dogs, said she was sorry to learn of Lethcoe-Harman's demise. Her
precarious health "doesn't justify what she did," Levitt said, but "I
wouldn't wish an early death on anyone."

Lethcoe-Harman was diagnosed a brittle diabetic at 16 and had relied
on collies to warn her when her blood sugar level was plummeting, she
testified in court. She moved to Montana after her arrest and was
hospitalized more than once with diabetes-related complications.

Town said Thursday she had no idea where Lethcoe-Harman was living at
the time of her death, but Howard said he understood she was living in
Mexico. She was not required to report her whereabouts, he said.

"Apparently Jon has told people in Alaska she had intentions to breed
again," Howard said. "I do not know what will happen to the dogs she has
now."

Jon Harman was unavailable for comment Thursday. Lethcoe-Harman's
parents, Jim and Nancy Lethcoe, could not be reached.

The case of the collies prompted state legislators to toughen
Montana's animal cruelty law. Egregious first-time offenders may now be
charged with felonies.

Howard described the collies' conditions as "horrific and
unconscionable." He gave the breeders 10-year suspended sentences but
required them to relinquish all but a half dozen of their animals.

In the wake of their convictions the American Kennel Club took the
rare step of suspending the Harmans for life, effectively ending their
breeding career in the United States.

Town said she'd spoken with Lethcoe-Harman only twice since her
conviction, most recently a couple of months ago. Lethcoe-Harman sounded
happy, she said.

At the time of her arrest, "she had too many animals" Town said, "but
she loved her dogs. They were her kids. That's why they didn't have any
kids."

Bradley can be reached by e-mail at , or
by phone at (406) 791-1466 or (800) 438-6600.



 




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Athena Lethcoe-Harman - alaskan collie abuser, dies in mexico. Child Dog behavior 0 June 25th 04 08:08 PM
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