UPDATE 4/21/03 on the Montana Collies

*Permission to crosspost*

The Season of Transition

By Thea Sperline

It is the season of transition, not just for the weather, but for Camp Collie as well.  This is the time of year when the weather will vary drastically, temperature variations of 40 degrees or more between highs and lows; rain, sleet and snow; severe winds, blowing for days at a time, it can put your nerves on edge.  When you drive through the country in Montana, you will notice that most of the garage doors, porches and decks and windows will be on the south or east side of the buildings.  The trees have a distinctive lean toward the east.  The wind ALWAYS blows from the northwest, and you get wonderful solar heating through the windows on the south.  March did come in like a lion and it did leave like a lamb with warm temperatures and sunny days.  Then came April showers, but did it need to be SNOW showers?

This is also a transition season for our labors.  This is a very busy time of year in Montana.  Actually, I am sure that it is very busy in all of rural America that has a large economic base in agriculture.  There are fields to plant, fencing to put up or repair, calving, lambing, and kidding, to say nothing of vegetable and flower gardens to plant.  I am not alone in these projects; most of the volunteers are making the time to visit Camp Collie.  Those of us in the dog show world are deciding to forgo the shows to visit the Camp.

The Collie Trolley has been up to Shelby a couple of times since the last report.  The Trolley has been packed full of grooming equipment and overnight bags and of course volunteers.  On this last trip we sipped on coffee, ate donuts, and marveled at the lovely sunrise as it crept over the mountain tops with the crimson and gold light reflecting off the great Missouri River.  We also wondered about the War, hoped for a speedy conclusion and prayed for the safety of everyone.  We saw a golden eagle feasting and some cranes taking a respite from their long northerly flight, basking in the morning sun as they enjoyed the grasses in a freshly created pond from the snow melt.  The fields were still brown, but the snow was gone, we all think maybe Spring is here.

We were fortunate on our visits to Camp Collie these past few trips.  The weather has been so nice that the big barn doors have been wide open; we had fresh air and natural light.  There were fencing panels across the door openings to keep loose dogs from escaping.  The day started with temperatures below freezing and as the sun rose in the sky and warmed the ground and the building, the temperatures climbed up to comfortable mid 50’s.  We all started peeling layers of clothing off, some of us were brushing in shirtsleeves by mid-day and wishing we had lighter weight shirts to change into.  The wind did not blow so those who were walking dogs were able to simply enjoy the time outside with them.  The dogs would romp and play, they are getting so strong, the volunteers who used to walk 2 or 3 dogs at a time can now only handle one at a time, sometimes 2 girls at a time can go walking.  There are now 5 nice sized runs, and the dogs that get along in a group are put into the runs for exercise.  The competition between the dogs is becoming more intense.  The girls are starting to come into season again, so the studly competition is only going to become more intense.

The dogs would stand on the grooming table facing the sunny open barn door, sniffing the fresh air.  You could almost read their minds; “Mmm, how can I get over there to that sun.”  We introduced volunteers to the art of brushing a Collie.  I am hopeful that some of these newbies will tackle a dog or two between now and the time I can get back.  The dogs are shedding, perhaps a better description is molting, their coats.  There is some serious blowing going on.  We filled 4 HUGE trash bags with dog hair; I am guessing about 8 pounds of the stuff.  Since around the first of March we have been able to brush out about 120.

The dog that purred in the arms of her collie hugger still purrs.  The timid dog who wouldn’t tolerate a leash is like a different dog, he walked out on the leash all the way to the grooming table and only dropped to his haunches once, and with a little encouragement was up and walking, you wouldn't know it was the same dog.

BC still stands for beautiful collie, he is still a very scared boy, but getting better all the time.  At first when we put him on the table he was quite panicked, which we expected, there were three of us there to comfort him, then he settled down and was fine.

Blue boy, (pictured in the paper and was such a mess) is such a gentleman, he enjoyed his brushing, he would stand there with his tongue flicking out the tip of his mouth as if to say, “OOHHH that feels SO GOOD, I’ll give you a lifetime to stop.”  He looked so elegant and handsome when we were done.  The blue girl I talked about having such heavy ropes of matting on her neck is very much a gentle lady; you don't even notice her prick ears.

All of Panache’s puppies are out at the camp these days, looking wonderfully healthy.  Yes, the terrier, Kryptonite, is very healthy, and very vocal and very much a terrier.  The cats and kittens are all doing well, so are the shelties and the stabby hounds.

When you stop working and just watch the activities at the camp, you see near constant activity, dogs running with a walker in tow, dogs playing with each other and their walkers, tails wagging and a whole lot of lickin’ going on out there in the exercise field.  Some of us have a pedometer on our waist and have been amazed at the miles we put on just walking dogs.  One walker put on 12 miles, another 13, in just the 4 or 5 hours available for that activity.  You also see all the people working diligently making alteration to the facility to improve pens, grooming space, vet tent and office space.  Yes, we are all still finding a better way to do our chores.  The scene at Camp Collie is an ever-evolving environment.

Many of the volunteers gathered for a feast and to visit on Saturday for an evening of just plain old fashioned visiting and relaxing.  A wonderful lady from the Bozeman area donated the money to cover the cost of all the food and beverages as a gift to Shelby from Hamilton, MT.  We had pizza that lived up to its reputation, delicious and fattening, as it should be.  One of the volunteers now has a reputation as an outstanding baker, her chocolate cake was scrumptious with chocolate mooooosse filling, we had plenty of soda pop.  Someone brought chocolate brownies that were to die for.  Another brought salad and dressing.  All in all, a very well balanced and delightfully fun feast.  We talked and visited until around 10 pm then decided that we all need to get some sleep before the next days activities.  Conversations ranged from the dogs at Camp Collie, various events from the past several months, the work to be done on our ranches to our jobs and family.  We all learned a great deal about each other and friendship grew deeper.  There were some volunteers that could not join us and they were dearly missed.

Our drive home on this last Sunday evening presented some very special surprises.  As always, we were sad to have to leave the critters behind, but we all have such wonderful experiences working with the dogs.  We are strengthened in knowing that they also had a good time.  Our conversations start out remembering all those trips we made driving in the dark, now we have daylight savings and the sun is setting close to 8:30 in the evening, it is hard to believe that by our next trip it will be daylight until almost 9:30.

The barren trees and bushes give us an opportunity to see some of the wildlife along the way.  First we saw a large herd of 20 to 30 white tail deer grazing in a little valley that is starting to show some sweet grass.  Deer tend to be in smaller groups, maybe 3 to 5 head, so this is an unusual treat.  Next we saw a herd of about 20 antelope grazing out in a open cattle pasture.  We thought we were pretty blessed at this point, and then we saw the creme de la creme, a heard of elk, off in the distance near the tree line.  They were grazing in the shadow of the rolling hill from the early evening sun.

Yes, this is a season of transition, for the weather, for our labors, and for the legal activities surrounding this case.

We have all been waiting for the Montana Supreme Court to make their ruling on the latest defense tactic.  Now that the decision is made, the case can move forward.  The announcement was in the Great Falls Tribune recently.  You might also be interested in knowing that there are two bills that greatly improve the animal cruelty laws, both have been passed by the legislature and sent to the Governor for signature.  So there are many legal actions in the works.

It is hard to realize that on the next trip we will probably see the dogs in new surroundings.  We are anticipating the challenges of adapting to these new environs and all the new volunteers.

Forever in Collies,

Thea Sperline

If you would like to assist AWCA with this rescue effort, you may send a check to:

                                                Bethany Burke

                                                AWCA Treasurer

                                                2807 Lee Trevino Court

                                                Shalimar, FL 32579

Make the check out to AWCA and in the memo area note:  collie rescue-medical, collie rescue-stainless steel, or collie rescue-general.