UPDATE 12/8/02 on the Montana Collies
Statement by AWCA President Jean Levitt
From Shelby, Montana
*Permission to crosspost*
For the past 5 days members of the AWCA grooming support team have been working up to 12 hours per day to bathe and groom out the collies. They are addressing the rough-coated dogs first because they are carrying the most contamination. Great care is being taken to de-mat the coats so large areas do not need to be shaved. (The cats observe this process from the comfort of their cat nests and hidey holes!)
Collie huggers – volunteers who support the emotional and basic needs of the dogs – are on hand to assist the professional groomers. When the process is complete on each dog, it is presented with a Nylabone as a reward. The newly groomed dogs spend the night in the grooming building to ensure their coats are completely dry. The Shelby Search and Rescue personnel transport the dogs back and forth from the new, enclosed, 4-H stock building where the adult animals are now housed. There is a cute sign at the entrance that says, CAMP COLLIE.
I have personally talked to and snuggled every single animal from this rescue, including the mother and her 7 babies born in Shelby. They were released from the veterinary hospital yesterday. It was a delight to see the impressively armed, uniformed police officer, who checked on them after they arrived at the Search and Rescue building, freeze in his tracks while a volunteer extricated an errant puppy from up his pantleg. A very special petite Shelby woman, who is in charge of the Shelby volunteers, unzipped her jacket to reveal the reason for a mysterious bulge that had not been there the day before: 5 little puppies in a heap, all sound asleep. The 7th puppy was working its way up my left sleeve.
While here, I am making a great effort to shake hands and thank everyone who has helped these animals. I drove up to the U.S./Canadian border to visit the Port of Sweetgrass in order to personally thank the officers there. The supervisor put up a notice to all off-duty personnel involved in this rescue expressing our gratitude for the help they provided these animals.
An ENORMOUS mound of wood shavings has arrived to be used for bedding, as have new carts and shovels and bucket snaps.
There are wonderful people here, cleaning pens, feeding, watering and walking dogs. The AWCA holiday support team will begin to arrive soon so these good people of Shelby can spend some respite time with their families over the holidays.
Thank you all for your generosity. We would at some point like to acknowledge everyone publicly. For now, you have our deepest appreciation for this need which is so great.
Calmly,
Jean Levitt, President AWCA
Lisa King, AWCA Director AWCA Rescue
Officers and Members of AWCA