A Thief Among Us...

By LuLu Skinner

There is "a thief" among us in this world. 

It's one who is bold & brazen enough to, without permission, steal a photo of a dog available for adoption on a group website and then post it to THEIR page without proper recognition or permission from the owner of the photograph. Just identifying the group the dog is under the care of is not enough. You MUST obtain written permission from the OWNER OF THE PHOTO.

"The thief" is anti racing and is NOT a legitimate adoption group. 

The group, Greythounds of Eastern Michigan (GEM), from which the photo was stolen, is neutral and it IS a legitimate adoption group. Regardless of their stance on the racing issue, theft is theft and it's WRONG. The photo is not "the thief's" property. It IS the photographer's property, who gave permission to the group to use the photo in order to find a loving home for the dog photographed.

Now, I know some are going to say "what's the big deal over this?" Well, the big deal is simple - it's theft - prosecutable under the law of our land. It wouldn't matter if they stole a paperclip from someone else.

It's like someone coming into YOUR home & stealing a photo that belonged to you without ASKING if they could have it, and then plastering it all over the place with their name on it. How would you feel if that happened to you?

What happens when a store gets hit with a rash of shoplifting and they can't recover what they lost? Who pays for it? We do as customers, taxpayers, etc. in higher prices for the store's merchandise. If "the thief" will steal a copyrighted photo, what makes you think they will stop at just that? You can guarantee they won't and their next hit just might be your pocket unless THEY ARE CAUGHT & PUNISHED FOR THE CRIME THEY'VE COMMITTED.

Asking permission to use the picture is the polite thing AND the RIGHT thing to do. The photo wasn't posted by the adoption group to Facebook to "share". Besides,

the "thief" is a POLITICAL LOBBYING GROUP and NOT, I repeat, NOT AN ADOPTION GROUP.

The photo is most likely be used to gain donations from it for THEIR POLITICAL USE; not the ADOPTION group's use. Those donations SHOULD go to the adoption group who has the dog in their care but I'm sure the organization won't turn over any donations to the group. That's stealing once again plus deceiving the public at the same time!

The organization has been asked MANY times by multiple people within the adoption group to remove it. The organization has ignored the multiple requests and even went as far as blocking them and deleting their comments asking for them to remove it. That's a blatant act of "we're not going to remove it" if I ever saw one.

If you condone stealing, as in copyright infringement by NOT obtaining written permission from the owner to use their photo, then you are no friend of mine. I do not want to be friends with anyone who feels copy right infringement is OK. I, as an artist, will NOT tolerate stealing period - especially copyrighted information, photos, and the like. I'm off my soapbox now. Enuf said.