Rescue Shiloh 20

The entire Shiloh Community was dealt a severe shock this month (February 2018). The discovery of 20 Shilohs living in conditions that are unfathomable. The Shilohs in question are all in the hands of several local rescue groups and are on the way to being saved.

In an effort to help out in this tragedy, the ISSDC is collecting donations that can be sent to these organizations with the dogs in hand. Your money will go to the following efforts to help these Shilohs begin their new lives:

veterinary exams and care
assistance in providing safe spaces
supporting rescues and shelters currently caring for Shilohs

updates:

2/22/2018 at least one Shiloh has been returned to her original breeder; all others are receiving much needed care
2/24/2018 “I’m beyond amazed and pleased to announce that as of about 1 PM today, we have received $7000 in donations. We will be donating half of that amount directly to the vet clinic providing care for the pups as well as to rescue organizations working on the ground. We will be keeping the other half in reserve. As we all know, future medical expenses are a likely reality in this situation. We must also consider the rehoming effort that we hope follows a successful rescue. Thank you for your generosity and your patience, as we work to ensure that your money goes directly to the care of the dogs.” –Marianne Janes, ISSDC Treasurer
2/25/2018 On the afternoon of Feb 22nd, the ISSDC’s Board of Directors learned that approximately 20 dogs had been seized from or surrendered by a breeder in Pennsylvania due to abuse and neglect. Because an investigation and charges are still pending, the breeder’s name has not been released by authorities.At this time, we are currently tracking between 20 and 33 dogs that were removed from the property, remained onsite, or that we believe the breeder owned within the last year. These dogs are mostly Shiloh Shepherds, but also include two German Shepherds (or GSD mixes) and one Australian Shepherd. The confusion is due to a lack of sufficient identifying information such as microchip numbers, names, parentage, coat color, etc., so we are likely looking for duplicates without realizing it yet. We know that twenty dogs were removed, plus two that have been returned to their breeders with two more scheduled to be returned in the next day or two.If charges are filed, the dogs may all become evidence and may not be rehomed until the breeder is sentenced. We understand that many of you are willing to open your home to these dogs, and we are grateful for your desire to help, but this situation may take a long time to resolve. The ISSDC’s Rescue/Rehome team does not have responsibility for these dogs, though we are working as closely as possible with each of the organizations currently caring for and sheltering the animals. As they provide new information to us about foster or rehome efforts, we will share those details with you.Unfortunately, the ISSDC cannot guarantee that these dogs will remain in the Shiloh community once they are rehomed, but we will do all we can to ensure that our members have a voice and the opportunity to apply as the dogs become available.
The breeder is not a current member of the ISSDC. She has been removed from the Members Only group on Facebook as well as from the Forums on our website.

Our members and other animal lovers have made a PHENOMENAL impact and have donated well over $8,000 during the past three days. You are amazing, and we are eternally grateful for your immediate and overwhelming support for this cause. Many members have provided information that has helped us clarify and confirm information that we otherwise might still be mired in. Thank you so much to all of you for your assistance. The ISSDC is comprised of generous, dedicated, supportive people, and we would not be the club we are without each and every one of you.

I (Jessica) would also like to call out each of your board members. Despite full-time jobs, families, dogs and other pets of their own, and countless other responsibilities, they have dedicated hours and hours each day to this situation, asking and answering questions, digging for information, posting and responding on Facebook, communicating via email and phone, and contacting the organizations involved for updates on dogs and locations and bills to be paid. I am immensely proud of the work they’ve accomplished and the obstacles they’ve overcome in such a short amount of time.

Please take a moment to thank, hug, or high-five these women:
Marti Nottingham, Vice President
Marianne Janes, Treasurer
Stacey Andres, Secretary
Myra York, Director
Monica Popaduke, Director,
Jan Santini, Director
Nancy Schmidt, Director
Jacki Wilde, Office Manager and the cog in this wheel without whom we could not function

Obviously, abuse and neglect like this are absolutely unacceptable. The ISSDC understands that sometimes the time, money, space and effort required to keep our large dogs healthy and happy can become overwhelming. If you ever feel you need help with your dogs, please do not hesitate to contact us. We have a Rescue and Rehome committee and budget to help ensure that dogs who must be moved to a new home can do so as quickly, safely and easily as possible. We are always receiving applications for people who are willing to foster or adopt a Shiloh Shepherd.

As new information or updates are available, we will share them with you.

Thank you, members, again for your immediate response to this situation.
4/16/2018 Quick update on the continuing work with the rescued Shilohs. We’ve quietly continued to pay out veterinary bills, and for the care of dogs not out of rescue yet. The total raised to date has been $10,748.75, after accounting for PayPal fees. We have paid out a total of $8488.81. This leaves us with $2327.94.In addition to ongoing medical care, we are hoping to pay for the spay/neuter of these pups as well. For those of you following Rio, he was neutered recently, and we covered that.We’ve just learned that one of the pups may be in need of more intensive care, and will keep all of you posted, as we may need to rally another fundraising drive.

“If we don’t take care of our own, we shouldn’t be doing this at all.”