UPDATE 12/24/02 on the Montana Collies

Statement by AWCA President Jean Levitt

*Permission to crosspost*

I sent these two women to Montana because as I said to Pati when I asked her to go, “You need to see this.”  They have rotated home now, as members of the AWCA holiday support team.  Pati will now share with you aspects of their experience.

Shelby, Montana, previously only famous for the Dempsey – Gibbons fight in 1923.

83 miles from Great Falls, a million miles from just being average.

They don’t have taxi’s or ______(ask me what else…).

Been there and can only say how thankful we, the collie family, should be that they “found” our dogs and took them home.

I can’t even start to tell you about the people, they thanked me for coming (you have to know I was a small small small fleck in the scheme and was so humbled by being told thank you).

In the cold, Saturday morning, it was minus 1degree – yes I never had the occasion to use the word degree but one is not plural.  And they tell me that minus one is not the lowest it will be.

The morning starts with pulling water buckets – about 130 of them, washing them and refilling – I forgot to tell you:  first you put out 150+ bowls of food & 14 puppy bowls.  Then each kennel is cleaned – a back-breaking job.  The empty bowls are pulled and washed and stacked for the evening meal.  One night – 6 people were there for the feeding – the bowls were clean and we had already scooped the food into bowls and from that point to the time we gave the last dog a bowl, it took 40 minutes.  6 PEOPLE – TO FEED, IT TOOK 40 MINUTES.  This was not washing bowls or picking up bowls or filling water buckets or cleaning kennels – or walking.(and twice a week they clean out all the shavings).  (Don’t worry, the rest of the collies and cats are in another building – they get the same love.)

That is all I will tell you at this time about the collies, I want to tell you so much more – but it will have to wait till later.

Every morning the faithful show up – one woman told me she had not been there every day – she had missed 4 days…..since November 1^st!  Most come 3 to 5 times a week, and they shame me as they work 6 to 8 hours and never stop.  Some have to work mornings and then will show up in the afternoon to help walk or water or wash.  They go into kennels – by the way these kennels have tops – so you have to duck to get in, they get dogs and tell them to come on – lets go for a walk – and by dern they get the timid ones out – purely by just wanting to do it, they are getting it done.  They talk to the dogs and baby talk to the dogs and sing to the dogs and get pulled around by the dogs and they still keep going.

Many make trips from Helena, Great Falls and even Canada – and they apologize because they can only come on the weekend or can only stay a day or two.  The neighboring Humane agencies send in people on a rotating schedule.  The Search and Rescue groups from all over Montana come in whenever they are able.  The local folks have worked hard and they don’t profess to own the best ideas, they allow all thoughts and incorporate the ones that will help the collies.  Their goal is to make this overwhelming situation work and work well.  There was not one dispute, lots of ideas and each person did whatever needed to be done.  I have never seen so may people be so unselfish, and do so much to help this chore be manageable.  The Sheriff, and the Under Sheriff are wonderful and the deputies, too – after all they do have other matters that take lots of time and yet they never decline a question and are so helpful.  The Search and Rescue of Toole County is perfection, they are the can do’s – always fixing this or that – nothing is too hard.  (Try to imagine, Nancy McDonald, Marianne Sullivan and Pati Merrill trying to sort of make a fence – well, finally Scott told us to go on and eat lunch – so he could get the dang thing done the right way!)

Back to the volunteers, most are from Shelby or the surrounding area and yes, some stay with friends, but many stay at their own expense at the hotel – this hotel is wonderful – they welcome us daily, they give us a great rate, we stay 2 or more to a room and we track in mud, straw, wood shavings and ___.  Every evening they tell us how good we are…and they have the latest newspaper article – many times they tell us not to read it.  Every employee encouraged us and most went out of their way to come and thank us for coming.  They take messages, packages and mail for us and stop us as we enter in the evening.

Think it was the second day, I opened a kennel, leaned in and placed the food bowl and then realized I had left the water bucket about a long reach away, being the ever brilliant Pati, I stuck my foot against the gate and stretched to reach the bucket…and sensed a shadow over me as an experienced volunteer leaned into the gate and said “we don’t ever leave the gate unlatched” – she was right.

I wish I knew their secret – about the closest we got was – Centrum Silver and always wear panty hose under your long underwear.  Maybe it’s the water, whatever it is, I hope I got some while I was there.

The hardest part was leaving them…………..

If you want to go to Montana to help the collies (and 3 spaniels, 2 shelties, 1 fox terrier, 10 cats), and relieve the burden of care for the people in Shelby, and the surrounding towns, contact our Secretary, Judy Cummings, at jccollie@worldnet.att.net.

AWCA has a letter of agreement with the Toole County Sheriff’s Office, and definite guidelines for volunteers to follow.  Our goal is to provide financial support, supplies, and volunteers to care for the animals while showing respect for Shelby by making as little impact on their community as possible.

Calmly,

Jean Levitt, President AWCA

Lisa King, AWCA Director AWCA Rescue

Officers and Members of AWCA