Spring 2015
www.collie.org
Southland Collie Rescue has saved more than 2500
collies throughout Southern California (and beyond)
since 1993.
Southland
Collie
TM
News
SCR Assists With The
Rescue Of 139 Abused
Houston Collies
make the trek. So Shauna made
the rounds in Camp Collie
looking into the faces of dozens
of collie to see who would be the
last SCR dog. It was not an easy
decision. She wanted to take them
all! But there was just one car and
only 4 crates...she chose a young
rough male.
By Shauna Hoffman and Mitch
Telson
For the third time since 2005,
rescuers have become involved in
a terribly abusive, dog hoarding
incident concerning the same
female health-care professional in
Houston. Nine years ago, this
woman was accused of
mistreating more than 30 collies.
Then, in 2007, she was cited for
hoarding and abusing another 56
dogs…again all collies! And then,
last summer, this same person,
was charged with what was first
thought to be 33 dogs, but
ultimately turned into a
staggering 139 neglected and
abused collies!
Thankfully, for every abuser of
animals there are hundreds who
work tirelessly to save them. In
this case, Houston Collie Rescue
and their committed volunteers
were granted custody of all the
collies. Once HCR assessed the
medical and emotional condition
of the dogs, calls for help were
made to rescue groups around the
country. The mission was
daunting, but rescuers responded
quickly.
Southland Collie Rescue board
member and area coordinator,
Mitch Telson heard the call.
Having the experience from the
2007 hoarding case, Telson began
coordinating SCR’s rescue
efforts. Calls went out to anyone
who wanted to help transport a
carload of collies from Houston
to Southern California. When
volunteer and former SCR collie
rescuer, Shauna Hoffman got the
(continued on page 2)
SCR Area Coordinators
Mitch Telson, Shauna Hoffman, Alice
Rostkowski, (HCR adoption coordinator,)
Vickey Willard, (HCR President,) and
Barbara Lewis, (former HCR President,)
Cupid and Venus
message, she jumped at the
chance to aid collies in need.
Shauna and Mitch flew to
Houston, rented a vehicle, and the
caravan began!
Mitch and Shauna headed to
“Camp Collie,” to meet Vickey
Willard, the tireless leader of
Houston Collie Rescue and collie
angel, Sandy Scherer, who had
donated her ranch to house the
dogs. When the California couple
arrived at the dogs’ temporary
home, they saw row upon row of
thin, heartworm-infested collies
being treated with the care and
kindness they so much needed.
HCR had chosen four collies
for the pair to take back to
California, but Shauna and Mitch
felt responsible to fully evaluate
the quartet to be certain they were
strong enough to make the 4 day/
3 night trip across the Southwest
desert. It was decided that one of
the dogs was so frightened, it
would not be in its best interest to
Riverside County:
Rhonda Anderson
(909) 795-3450
Orange County:
Sue Baldwin
(949) 858-0298
Ventura County:
Stacey Kozak
(724) 309-7147
Santa Barbara County:
Mitch Telson
(805) 563-3514
LA-San Gabriel Valley:
Dolores Ellis
(562) 697-5815
San Bernardino County:
Chris Harmon
(909) 987-8617
San Diego County:
Linda Kratz
(760) 943-8483
LA-San Fernando Valley:
Karen Laramay
(818) 887-9703
LA-South Bay Area:
Theresa Sanford
(310) 366-5573
Kern County - Lancaster/
Palmdale:
Stephen Colley
(626) 791-3967
Page 1
Spring 2015
So the valuable contents of the
caravan were set…three
smoothes, one rough…two
females and two males. None of
the dogs were spayed or neutered
AND one of the females was in
heat! The adventure began!
The collies were traveling
angels. Maybe it was because the
dogs had never lived in quiet;
maybe it was because they liked
the gentle movement of the car;
or maybe it was because they
knew how much they were loved.
Whatever the reason…the dogs
were perfect road companions
who went to sleep as soon as they
got in the car. But nights in the
motel rooms were a different
story! Evening antics were
hysterical….dogs barking at
animals on television, happy
collies jumping from bed to
bed…all while Shauna wrangled
with the boys and Mitch doted on
the girls.
The dogs were given the names
of Greek gods for their trip west.
Knowing their previous life,
these dogs deserved to be
idolized. The biggest male was
named Zeus…the young sable
female, Venus. The shy, gentler
female was called Cupid and the
rough boy Apollo. Although
future adopters would change
these majestic names, these
“gods” will go down in
Southland Collie Rescue history
as collies saved! Their journey
home had begun!
SPECIAL HOMES NEEDED
By Chris Harmon
Beautiful Leia, and her
handsome brother Luke, have
been waiting a very long time to
find that special adopter.They
came in together as strays, to a
shelter, so very fearful and shy.
They would hardly look at you,
but would cower in a corner
together. They were truly special
case dogs, and really needed our
help.
They have completed a training
program now, and have learned
to respond to some hand
commands, crate training , etc.
Their training and socialization
will need to be continued, and
they may always be sensitive and
shy. We have never observed any
aggression.
Leia does like to be top dog,
but seems to enjoy the company
of stable, mild mannered, male
dogs.Luke , on the other hand,
does well with every Collie we
have paired him with at Collie
Haven.They both have learned to
play with a Kong Ball, and when
they run and chase, they forget to
be shy, and are like normal dogs,
just having fun.
Their progress has been shown
in very small steps, but to see
how they started out, and where
they are now, is very rewarding
to those who have been involved
with them in our rescue.
Now to find that right adopter,
who can give them a stable
home, and bring them to their full
potential. An adopter with
training experience would really
benefit them. If you would like
to know more about them , and
what we are looking for in an
adopter, you can see Luke and
Leia on our website at ……….
www. Collie. org
Leia
Luke
Donations Address:
Southland Collie Rescue
P.O. Box #1596
Brea, California 92822-1596
Collie Haven Wish List
The following items are in need at O’Neil’s Collie Haven to help with the
care and comfort of the Collies residing there:
Avery mailing labels 1” by 2 5/8”
Frontline Plus Large Breed
Roundup
Thunder Shirts size L and XL
We’re also asking for foster homes for our sweet seniors for the coming
year. We love our seniors and will continue to be there for them.
Zeus, Mitch Telson and Apollo.
All donations are greatly appreciated.
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Spring 2015
Happy Adoptions
"Saving one dog will not change the world,
but surely for that one dog, the world will
change forever." - Unknown
Reece was adopted by Aubrey
and her family in Dana Point
Apollo #1990, now Sailor
Adopted by Bert and Shauna
in Santa Clarita
Patrick #1931 Adopted by
Doris and Phil Barnhart in
Thousand Oaks
Thanks go out to Robert
Marcus, and Bruce
Furbush and Roseanne
Meyerhoff for their
donations to Cars4Causes.
Also thanks to Dee
Lonnon for her donation
of Avery mailing labels.
Autumn #1994 was adopted by
Colleen Maxwell in Costa Mesa
Zeus #1993 (now Sheldin)
Adopted by Kathlene Myron
of Rancho Santa Fe
Buttons was
adopted by Sandi
Lietz of Goleta
Simba was adopted by
Fred and Petrene in
Temecula
Venus #1992, now Dakota
Adopted by Dee Lonnon
in Lompoc
AmazonSmile is a simple and
automatic way for you to support your
favorite charitable organization every
time you shop, at no cost to you.
When you shop at smile.amazon.com,
you’ll find the exact same low prices,
vast selection and convenient
SEND US YOUR COLLIE’S shopping experience as Amazon.com,
with the added bonus that Amazon
STORY!
We all know our collies are the will donate a portion of the purchase
price to your favorite charitable
cleverest, coolest, cutest
canines in creation. So email a organization. On your first visit to
AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com),
story or idea, or a picture of
you need to select SCR as the
your collie, to
charitable organization to receive
[email protected].
donations from eligible purchases
Please keep stories to a
before you begin shopping. We will
maximum 500 words.
The Southland Collie Newsletter was first
published in 2001. It is published in the Spring,
Summer and Winter of each year.
remember your selection, and then
every eligible purchase you make at
smile.amazon.com will result in a
donation. Simply go to
smile.amazon.com from the web
browser on your computer or mobile
device. You may also want to add a
bookmark to smile.amazon.com to
make it even easier to return and start
your shopping at AmazonSmile.
Newsletter design and editing
by Mark Allen
([email protected])
Page 3
Southland Collie Rescue, Inc.
P.O. Box #1596
Brea, CA 92822-1596
Nonprofit Org.
US Postage
PAID
San Bernardino, CA
Permit #2914
"Address Service Requested"
Spring 2015
Cars 4 Causes
Extra Vehicles at Your House?
Please Donate Your Car, Truck,
RV or Boat to SCR!
Attention RALPHS Shoppers: Help Southland
Collie Rescue for FREE! Did you know that every time you use your Ralph's Club
card, you could help SCR save the lives of many more
They handle all the paper-work, title change, free pick up, and
collies? Ralph’s Markets will donate to Southland Collie
sale of the car. SCR receives
Rescue a percentage of your total grocery bill without
a donation, and you receive a tax deduction*!
costing you a penny! To sign up, visit the Ralph’s
*Tax deduction under federal law operative 1/1/05
Community Contribution website at http://www.ralphs.com
is actual selling price of vehicle.
to enroll (or re-enroll) for the new term; it’s that simple! For
questions or enrollment assistance please email
[email protected]
1-800-766-2273
The Southland Collie News is made possible thanks to a
team of SCR volunteers, who do the computer graphic
design, writing, editing, photography, envelope stuffing,
transportation, label printing, envelope labeling, bulk
mailing; and Dennis and Bryan Hauge, of Stacey Hauge
Printing, 28486 Westinghouse Place, Bldg. 10, Valencia,
CA 91355-0929, (661) 294- 6545. For each issue, Stacey
Hauge Printing generously donates printing of 1500
copies, and charges SCR only for the paper’s price.
Food 4 Less shoppers can also use their Ralph’s card to help
SCR.
*Your information is for Ralph’s verification purposes only, and
will not be sold or used in any other way. Ralph's shoppers need
to RE-ENROLL ANNUALLY in order to continue
supporting SCR through the Community Contribution
Program. Thank you for your continued support!
Please note that there has been a change in the
enrollment procedure. Go to the Ralph’s site and login/
register and follow the instructions there.
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