UPDATE 1/13/08 on the 19 Seeley Collies Rescued in Upstate NY
Statement by AWCA President Jean Levitt
The Rescue
AWCA has been assisting with the care of the Seeley Collies and Dachshunds, which were rescued in October from the home of the Seeleys in Fort Ann, NY by the NY State police and executive director of the SPCA of Upstate NY, located in Queensbury. The dogs had been confined long-term to crates and were covered with several pounds of their own feces. They were thin, very weak in the rear from continual crate confinement, and some had mouths full of hair and feces. Open sores were untreated and coated in urine and feces.
One Collie and one Dachshund had to be euthanized. Two dead Collies were found in the Seeley’s freezer. The Seeleys were charged with 23 counts of misdemeanor animal neglect. Jane Seeley pled guilty, thereby saving a trial, and the animals were eligible for adoption. The dogs were taken to the SPCA of Upstate NY in Queensbury, and placed in the care of the executive director. A few of the animals were adopted right away by persons associated with the rescue.
AWCA Offers Help
I contacted the SPCA and spoke with the executive director right away offering the assistance of AWCA. We sent $1000 immediately for spays and neutering and medical bills, committing to further funds for medical expenses if and when it was needed. I took to the SPCA 21 Premier martingale collars and leashes – 19 in cranberry red for the Collies and 2 in royal blue for the Dachshunds; fleece toys, and I wrote a personal check made out to their veterinarian for flea and heartworm prevention for everyone, recommended by the veterinarian. I saw the photos of the confiscation and the fecal filth in the Seeleys' home, the pounds of fecal matter coating the dogs and their crates.
The executive director gave me a tour of the shelter and introduced me to each of the 16 remaining Collies. Most were confined to crates; a few were confined in cages with cement floors. The Collies had been bathed and most of the roughs were shaved. The Collies had difficulty walking because of the prolonged crate confinement. All of them were sweet and friendly.
I offered personally to provide immediately premium quality dog food and anything else the executive director and the veterinarian needed for the dogs. I told her AWCA volunteers would clean crates and cages and exercise Collies every weekend until they were fostered or adopted. I also offered clerical assistance with the 40 adoption applications she said she had received following the newspaper and TV publicity generated by the rescue. I told her experienced AWCA volunteers offered to do the home checks for adopters, to follow up on veterinary references, and to place the researched applications on her desk for her to choose the adopters.
I gave her a written commitment that she could tell all adopters AWCA would assist them with medical bills beyond their ability to pay, to the best of our ability; provide mentoring; training assistance, end-of-life peer grief support, and free memorials to their Collies in our newsletter, Collie Connection. I gave assurance that membership in AWCA was not required. I explained our goal was to help the Collies and support the SPCA to minimize the burden the influx of Collies had placed on their facility and their resources.
When AWCA volunteers went into the SPCA the following weekend to clean crates and exercise Collies, I sent in two fire extinguishers to provide additional safety for animals and workers because the crated Collies were located on the top floor in a very crowded room filled with storage. She declined the dog food, saying they had plenty, declined the offer of assistance with adoptions, explaining they don’t do home checks, and that she was going to hire someone to review the applications. She added she wanted “things to settle” before any Collies were adopted and that when they were adopted they had to go to Washington and Saratoga Counties only, because that was where she had jurisdiction. She told me if anything went wrong with the adoptions, she was a peace officer and carried a badge and a gun, and she could reconfiscate them.
The AWCA Volunteers
Our various volunteers went on weekends in groups of two and three, led by our team leader. They cleaned crates and cages and exercised the Collies. I treated the volunteers and the SPCA staff to lunch, delivered by a pizza restaurant, one week, Christmas cookies another, fruit trays and veggie trays and cheese trays another, to show appreciation for their efforts on behalf of the Collies. The team leader took in donuts. She and all the volunteers reported regularly on the condition of the Collies.
The volunteers were not permitted to use the collars and leashes I took in. The executive director said they were “dirty dogs” and weren’t going to wear those collars and leashes until they had their final baths and were leaving for their adoptive homes. She provided only leashes which the volunteers had to loop around the dogs’ necks and then poke the straight end through the loop end to make a noose. Ultimately it didn’t really matter because it became evident the Collies rarely were exercised except when volunteers were there.
The staff was hard working and very nice; however, there were a great many animals to look after because it is a no-kill shelter. Animals have been there for many years, they told us, and there was very little time to exercise the Collies. Further, truckloads of puppies from kill shelters in the South were brought to the SPCA in Queensbury for adoption on a regular basis. The executive director takes them to PetsMart each Saturday to adopt them out. Not all puppies in each truckload get adopted, so the rest grow up in cages in the shelter. Three truckloads of puppies that I know of have arrived at the SPCA since the Collies have been there.
The volunteers reported that when they arrived each morning, some Collies would be standing or lying in their feces and/or urine. An old gentleman Collie, #2, who was at the vet when I visited in last fall, was extremely weak in the rear and could hardly stand, let alone walk. He was lying in his own filth, the open sores on his body caked in the stuff. A few Collies who were strong enough stood in their filth and only their feet had to be cleaned. When they were let out of their crates and allowed to meander about the space around the crates during the cleaning process, they would produce one or two more stools, indicating to us they were attempting to “hold it” as long as possible. If only they had the opportunity to eliminate in a designated area on a regular schedule they could count on, we felt certain housetraining could be achieved in a short time, making them more adoptable.
Solution for #2, The Old Gentleman
In an effort to rehabilitate the old gentleman, the team leader contacted Debbie Saunders of Wizard of Paws, a highly respected human and animal physical therapist some of our AWCA members use for their performance dogs. She had heard of the rescue and was interested in helping rehabilitate the old gentleman. When I called her, she discussed at length her treatment plan for him, which included close cooperation with the SPCA veterinarian, spending 2-3 months living in her home with her husband and children for his emotional and mental health, daily range of motion, massage, when appropriate introduction to hydrotherapy after his open sores healed, including short sessions in a float vest on a temperature-controlled underwater treadmill.
Several people in the Collie community offered to help pay for his rehabilitation when I told them about him; however, Debbie said there would be no charge. She said it would be her contribution to the rescue. She even offered assistance with finding him an adoptive home with someone who would continue with his rehabilitation regimen. I told her we too had people who would adopt him. I drove to CT to her in-home facility before Thanksgiving to see for myself where he would be rehabilitated. I was totally impressed. Her husband gave me a tour and couldn’t have been more considerate. I told the Saunders I would call the SPCA to obtain permission from the executive director, confident that she would welcome this marvelous opportunity to help this dog. One of the AWCA volunteers agreed to drive him from Queensbury to CT.
I told the executive director what had been offered for this dog, explaining that AWCA tries to rehabilitate the most unadoptable dogs to ensure they get homes and that we already had people who wanted to adopt him when he completed his physical therapy. She said, “No.” He couldn’t go out of her jurisdiction because she wanted to reconfiscate him, if necessary. She told me she had made arrangements with an animal rehabilitation specialist near the SPCA recommended by her veterinarian for the old dog.
Then she surprised me by saying I should adopt him even though I was out of her jurisdiction! She explained I could do what I wanted with his rehabilitation, if he was my dog. I explained that during the Montana rescue the Sheriff and I refrained from adopting because the Montana authorities considered it a conflict of interest and that leaders of rescue organizations must not be seen as benefiting from the rescue, although volunteers from AWCA could adopt him and we already had an offer.
I felt very conflicted but determined to avoid conflict of interest issues, and I decided to help facilitate his adoption as soon as his rehabilitation with the SPCA therapist was under way. I offered to pay for his rehabilitation, if necessary. I called the Saunders and explained the situation, warmly thanking them for their consideration.
Disturbing Reports
The holidays were approaching. I was getting disturbing reports from all of the volunteers. The dogs were urine-soaked and soiled with fecal material, and stained with newspaper print each weekend morning when they arrived at the SPCA. A thin, though magnificent, red sable smooth male was an enthusiastic, promising agility dog, anxious to get out of his crate and play when I first met him, but now was becoming extremely neurotic from crate stress, and he began spinning constantly in his crate. His eyes stared blankly now, he was still thin, and no longer enthusiastic.
The volunteers were upset about the declining condition of the Collies. I contacted Susan Sternberg, a shelter animal specialist who lectures extensively on rehabilitating shelter animals so they are adoptable. I met Sue when she was lecturing at an American Pet Dog Trainers conference in Chicago in 1995, and I have followed her successful career as a trainer and rehabilitator for many years. She has a shelter, Rondout Valley Animals for Adoption, in Accord, NY. I asked Sue to advise me on how AWCA can help the Collies, and I asked her to bill me for her consultation. She said there would be no charge. She went to Queensbury and visited the SPCA before Christmas.
When Sue called me to report, the news was not good. She said the situation with the Collies was “a behavioral emergency.” That it was “cruel to remove them from a stressful confinement and place them in another stressful confinement.” She said the spinning red sable smooth had “lost his mind” and spinning was a result of extreme crate stress. She said if he didn’t get out of there soon, he would never be adoptable. She told me the only way I could help those Collies was to get them out of the SPCA into foster or adoptive homes. Otherwise, she said, in a few more weeks they will never be adoptable.
I asked Sue if she would take them to Rondout if I could get permission. She said, “Yes, absolutely.” I asked what she would charge to board the Collies until they could be rehabilitated and adopted. She said there would be no charge, but that she would appreciate the help of the volunteers to care for the Collies. She agreed the old gentleman could go to Wizard of Paws for physical therapy, and she said she would cooperate with AWCA completely to rehabilitate the Collies. She told me she was going to alert her shelter manager to the details of our discussion and have her prepare for the Collies. I told her I would discuss this plan with the executive director of the SPCA and ask for her permission.
Clearly the Collies were burdening the SPCA. The excellent staff there just could not meet the needs of the Collies and take care of all the other animals in their charge as well in the limited space and time available. The volunteers reported the old gentleman did not appear to have received physical therapy. I was hopeful the executive director would welcome the opportunity to place the Collies in a facility that had room for them and which would help them to a new life that she, the executive director, had made possible by rescuing them from the Seeleys, but which after 3 months, remained unattainable because of space and time constraints at the SPCA.
Determined to ask for the release of the Collies once more, I made the 160 mile trip across the mountains on the first dry day, which was Saturday, January 5th.
Back to Queensbury
I met the AWCA team leader and two of the volunteers at the SPCA at about 10:30 am. I visited with twelve Collies while the volunteers went about their work. The Collies were still thin, urine- and fecal-stained, and suffering extreme crate stress. Some cried when they were returned to their crates following play time in the fenced exercise yard outdoors. I spent a long time carefully helping the old gentleman stand and walk a bit in the cat room.
The SPCA President of the Board of Directors came in to say hello. I asked her about the progress of the old gentleman’s physical therapy. She said she was not aware he was having physical therapy. He leaned on me to walk and after a few steps, painfully lowered himself into a sit, extending his left hind leg to protect a painful knee. He rubbed his face on my hand and gave me a little lick when I returned him to his cage.
The red sable smooth, who play-bowed and had been such a happy dog to be rescued from the Seeleys when I saw him last fall, spun on leash, but walked in a straighter line the longer he was out of his crate. Sadly, I had not even recognized him this visit. He had deteriorated so much since my previous visit. When the volunteer put him back into his crate, his eyes suddenly glazed over and he stared into space past me for a moment, then he began spinning and spinning and spinning and spinning.
The Request
When their work was finished, I asked a couple of the volunteers to drive me to PetsMart where the SPCA executive director was adopting out puppies, because I didn’t know where it was. At PetsMart I drew the executive director aside to a nearby, unoccupied aisle, quietly saying I wanted to speak to her about an adoption. We had an excellent adopter for the old gentleman and I decided to ask her for the courtesy of a variance on her requirement that the Collies not go out of her jurisdiction, since she had tried to give the old dog to me in Vermont. The adopter also lived in Vermont. The AWCA volunteers stood nearby within hearing distance.
I began politely by telling her “We have an adopter for the old gentleman, who is experienced in rehabilitating senior dogs. She has a handicap ramp so he won’t have to do stairs. I’ve been to her place, she lives near me in Vermont, and I promise you I will check on him frequently.” Immediately she said, “No. It has to be New York.” She continued, “That dog is old as DIRT!” She repeated, “He’s old as DIRT!” She continued, “The vet said he’s about 11-1/2.” And then she said, “Why would anyone want him anyway.”
I let that reply pass without comment, because now I was going to ask her to release the Collies into the care of Sue Sternberg at Rondout Valley Animals for Adoption so they could be rehabilitated and adopted. I began very quietly by telling her, “I went to the shelter this morning because I am writing my yearend report on this rescue for the AWCA website,” and I expressed my concern that the Collies were still being held in crates… That’s all I got said. She threw both arms up in the air and said, “We’re not going there! We’re not going there!" And she stalked away, waving her arms in the air.
The volunteers had heard every word. We left PetsMart, and in the parking lot, the AWCA team leader told me SHE wanted to adopt the old gentleman and the spinning dog. The SPCA executive director had told the team leader when she first volunteered the same thing she had told me – that she could adopt even though she lived out of the executive director’s jurisdiction.
I had a talk with the volunteers and I told them I felt AWCA was enabling the SPCA to hold on to the Collies, and that if they wanted to continue volunteering as individuals, that was their business; however I was going to report to the AWCA Board of Directors that we were enabling the SPCA to hold onto the Collies and that AWCA should stop immediately providing money, supplies, and volunteers. I encouraged the team leader to fill out an SPCA adoption form and definitely adopt both dogs. No matter what the response from the executive director, I was going to report fully to the public on this rescue on our website.
Report
I reported in detail to the AWCA Board of Directors, Sunday January 6th and waited until after Tuesday, open adoption day at the SPCA, to write this report. I wanted to give the team leader the time to get the two neediest dogs adopted and out of the SPCA.
Tuesday night the team leader called me to say the executive director allowed her to adopt the spinning dog, but not the old gentleman. She told me she had to endure an approximately 30 minute “haranguing” about why hadn’t she defended the SPCA when [expletive deleted] Jean Levitt criticized the way the Collies were kept at the SPCA. She told me the executive director repeated the [expletive deleted] before my name when she referred to me again. She said the executive director told her she didn’t trust her to not give the old gentleman to the adopter in Vermont who wanted him.
Giving him away to someone else was not the intent and it was flagrantly unkind to accuse her of dishonest intent and to harangue her for 30 minutes about MY two-minute discussion with the executive director.
The Collies held in the SPCA in Queensbury are still adoptable to experienced homes if they can get out of their crates and cages immediately.
I hold one last hope for the Seeley Collies – that the executive director of the SPCA of Upstate NY located in Queensbury continue the greatness that she began when she confiscated those dogs from the deplorable degradation in the Seeley home and allow the remaining Collies to be signed over to Sue Sternberg of Rondout Valley Animals for Adoption in Accord, NY, where they have the time and space to rehabilitate the Collies, and then send them on for what is left of their lives where they will be a credit to the NY State police and SPCA of Upstate NY executive director Cathy Cloutier, who freed them.
Calmly,
Jean Levitt
Future Updates
Updates on the Seeley Collies will be posted every Sunday as long as Collies remain at the SPCA. Next Sunday I'll introduce you to the little "pneumonia collie", and share with you some of the volunteer stories beginning with "The urine, the ceiling cracks, and the bawling out".
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