February 17, 2008
The situation has not improved. Jean Levitt, President of AWCA, posts an update each Monday. Check the AWCA site weekly for her message. http://www.awca.net
January 31, 2008
Please visit the AWCA website, http://www.awca.net for an update/commentary on the Seeley collie situation.
January 14, 2008
There are still Seeley collies at the Queensbury SPCA. Some of them have been adopted but many still remain. For an update, please go to www.awca.net and click on the Seeley Collie update.
Diane Mancini-CRLNE President
December 6, 2007
Here is a new link for news about the case http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/12515/NY/US/
November 6, 2007
Nancy J. Harding, Esq., President of the Collie Club of Northeastern New York has advised the following:
"All the dogs were owned solely by Jane Seeley. She pled guilty to one count of animal cruelty pursuant to Agricultural and Markets Law Section 353. She has been placed on three years probation. One of the conditions of her probation is that she cannot own any animals for three years. She signed an asset forfeiture form giving all the dogs to the Queensbury SPCA.This allows the SPCA to care for and adopt out the dogs. Most of the dogs will need medical care before they can be adopted."
November 1, 2007
Yesterday, October 31, 2007, one of our members visited the collies and dachshunds confiscated from the Seeleys in Fort Ann, NY and delivered cleaning supplies.
Both Seeleys have relinquished their legal interests in the dogs.
"The people at the shelter were clear that the most helpful way to assist these dogs is with money sent directly to:
Queensbury SPCA, 588 Queensbury Ave., Queensbury, NY 12804-7612. They emphasized the need for money because these dogs need expensive veterinary care. Their teeth are terrible and we all know that dental work is pricey.
The mouths are bad because the dogs tried to survive by eating feces and hair as well as whatever cheap dog food they were given. There are numerous eye and ear infections, some tumors, a hernia that took 1 1/2 hrs. to repair and weakened back and leg muscles from prolonged confinement.
The two women who talked to me were "first responders." They told me that the stench was overwhelming, their eyes burned from the fumes and they "sloshed" through waste. The excrement was piled 6 - 10" deep and had solidified to the consistency of cement. There were three bitches in a little pen in the dining room and one of the women had to use bolt cutters to take the pen apart to remove the collies.
One of the dogs is still very thin. Some of the others are thin, but no longer have a pinched, dehydrated look. A few roughs were able to keep their coats. They have been bathed several times and are now clean, but their white fur is strongly stained yellow (not "offwhite" - true yellow). Other roughs had to be shaved right down to the skin. The tri bitch who had 14 pounds of encrusted filth shaved away had to have even some of her face coat clipped away. She had also had numerous pustules around her vagina which have disappeared with medication. A sable smooth had a collapsed ear from a neglected infection. A sable rough still has difficulty standing because he was left in a Vari-Kennel for so long that he totters - he can't yet straighten his back legs.
All of the dogs I saw were either calm or openly friendly. The collies were typically sweet and the dachshunds were very vocal in their gruff, tough way. Some of the collies wag their tails and I think they enjoy attention. The dachshunds were all at normal weight - maybe even too heavy".
"Where these is life, there is hope."
October 27, 2007
This is an update on the Collie seizure in upstate New York:
BEWARE-some of the images are heartbreaking.
Article and Video from Capital News 9:
The road to recovery will be a long one for the nearly two dozen dogs rescued from a Fort Ann home a few days ago. Police said they were caged and forced to live in disgusting conditions by John and Jane Seeley. The couple has been charged with Animal Cruelty and the dogs are being treated at the SPCA in Queensbury. Ken Jubie has more on the healing process underway.
http://www.capitalnews9.com/content/headlines/Default.asp?ArID=223372&SecID=33&addvid=111039
I've been in contact with the shelter, and they are not asking for our help just yet. The dogs don't officially belong to them. Still in legal limbo.
October 25, 2007
NEW YORK STATE COLLIE SEIZURE
On October 17th New York state police together with Washington County officials executed a warrant and seized 20 Collies and 3 Dachschunds from a Queensbury couple's home. There are 19 Collies in the custody of the Queensbury SPCA. The link to the news item follows: http://www.poststar.com/articles/2007/10/24/news/local/13027293.txt
"We are in contact with the Queensbury SPCA shelter and have offered our help. At the very least, CRLNE will send a donation to help defray the costs involved with caring for the 19 collies! If you would like to help by making a donation you can go to their website: www.geocities.com/spcauny and click on the donation button. Or you may go to our website under 'donations'. Please be sure to indicate that the donation is for the SEELEY COLLIES. AS of yesterday, October 24, one of the main parties involved pleaded guilty. They are waiting for the other person to do the same and the collies will be legally turned over to the shelter. We will keep you up to date on this situation" -Diane Mancini, President CRLNE
