AR-News: (AK) Collie breeder who was convicted of 180 counts of animal cruelty dies

[Glickman37 at aol.com]

Alaska collie breeder, 42, dies
By Carol Bradley
Tribune Staff Writer 

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 cbradley at greatfal.gannett.com, or by 
phone at (406) 791-1466 or (800) 438-6600. 

Originally published Friday, June 25, 2004
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20040625/localnews/715888.html 







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