Camp Collie
Most people have read about animal abuse cases but have never seen or worked on one. They are incredibly difficult and require, in cases involving criminal charges, 24-hour care and confinement of animals.
On October 31, 2002, an Alaskan couple was stopped at the Canadian border in Sweetgrass, Montana by an alert border patrolman. When he opened the small truck, he discovered almost 200 animals—most of them collies. One dog was dead. All were sick with intestinal problems including worms.
The animals were confiscated and the couple was charged with 180 counts of animal cruelty. After two trials, they were convicted.
The animals were cared for by volunteers in Shelby, Montana for 6 months. They were originally kept in horse barns at the fairgrounds and later moved to another building and housed in sheep pens.
The animals were transported to Great Falls by numerous vehicles and cared for by volunteers for another three months. Following the criminal convictions, the animals were spayed & neutered, micro-chipped, and adopted. If you see a “Lassie look-a-like” in Great Falls, someone probably rescued it from Camp Collie!
The Humane Society of the United States who spearheaded and oversaw the rescue, named Camp Collie as one of the best animal stories in 2003.
Many volunteers and adopters from Camp Collie have been working on the Margaret J. Maclean project. To learn more about Camp Collie see the following:
http://www.hsus.org/search.jsp?query=collies+montana
http://www.hsus.org/video_clips/page.jsp?itemID=27260813To view pictures of Camp Collie, click here.