Main girl stands up to lawmakers to help protect dogs

BATH, Maine -- Kelly Davis spent a year raising more than $12,000 to buy bulletproof vests to protect police dogs in Maine. Then the state told the 12-year-old that she was breaking the law.

What started as a lesson in charity and fund raising has turned into a civics lesson as the dog lover goes before the Maine Legislature this week to try to overturn a state law that prohibits soliciting funds to benefit law enforcement officers, agencies or associations.

"What could be wrong with giving police dogs a vest? It's like Girl Scout cookies and American apple pie. There can be exceptions made," said Portland Police Chief Michael Chitwood.

Kelly, a straight-A student and saxophone and flute player, said it never occurred to her that her bake sales, car washes and craft fairs for Maine Vest-a-Dog were illegal until Maine Attorney General Steven Rowe sat down at her dining room table last fall to explain the law.

Didn't want a loophole

She immediately stopped raising money for the $650 vests, sent back donations and amended the Maine Vest-a-Dog Web page.

Then the seventh-grader switched gears. She has transformed her energy into lobbying the Legislature to continue her efforts.

"I didn't want to find a loophole to go around the law to raise money. I want to change the law," she said, smiling through her braces inside a classroom at the Bath Middle School.

Kelly got together with Sen. Mary Small, who introduced a bill to let third party nonprofits raise money as long as they have no financial interest in the law enforcement organization.

Kelly, who will testify today before the Criminal Justice Committee, is optimistic that the amendment will be approved.

"People are going to have a hard time saying 'no' to kids and dogs," she said confidently.

Maine's current law is unusually strict, said Bennett Weiner, chief operating officer of the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance, the largest national charity watchdog group in Arlington, Va.

Some states do not allow officers to solicit funds wearing uniforms but few, if any other than Maine, ban all fund raising to benefit law enforcement organizations, Weiner said.

Protected from pressure

The Maine Legislature passed the rigid Law Enforcement Officers Act in 1991 in an effort to protect citizens from feeling pressure to donate, Rowe said.

Some people donate to police groups because they feel obliged or because they hope to receive leniency in traffic stops, said Daniel Borochoff, president of the American Institute of Philanthropy in Washington.

That may be true. But Kelly said there's nothing wrong with kids helping dogs. And few disagree.

Rowe applauded her efforts even as he shut her down because of complaints from people who wanted the law to be enforced equally. His office even helped to draft the current amendment.

"She is to be commended. You have a young person who saw something she thought was wrong and took steps to change it," said Charles Dow, spokesman for the attorney general.