Hi Line Rescue Operations

I started rescuing dogs about 20 years ago but used to bring stray dogs home when I was a youngster living in Chinook Mt. I moved to Cut Bank in 1987 and started doing work on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. I started to see a lot of dogs that were abandoned and abused and puppies that were starving and being killed by other, older dogs. I started taking these dogs and pups back to my shop and set up an area in the back of the bldg. and built a seperate area for containing new pups and dogs that had mange or that were unhealthy do to their past living conditions. The local vet from Grasswinds vet clinic located between Cut Bank and Browning would help with getting the dogs back to health. Although the dogs were completely isolated from bothering anyone, the local dog catcher would give us a hard time and told my wife who is the city clerk that the dogs should just be put down as noone would want them, especially the older dogs. He was wrong as we were able to find good homes to every dog or pup we advertised in the Great Falls tribune.We rescued close to 50 dogs and puppies, unfortunately not all of the dogs or pups we rescued were able to recover from the abuse and neglect caused by their owners. Especially the pups, that would die after they were wormed. Most would bleed to death from all the worms that detached after the medication was given. Some of these little puppies had so many worms in them, it would be the size of a baseball if put together. After much opposition from the local dog catcher and the mayor of cut Bank , we moved the business and the rescue operation out of the city limits and are still getting the rescue area fixed and ready so as to take in new animals that need the care and love that they aren't being given by their owners. Of the 50 dogs and puppies we rescued, we found homes for 36 of them in the last 2 and a half years. I wish the laws would be more severe on those that would choose to treat these innocent dogs and puppies with no thought as to there care or the suffering they place on them. The look on their faces and the longing to be loved in their eyes was sometimes more than I could handle and it is sometimes difficult not to get angry and let some of these people know what I thought of them. I had, as an example a service call at a residence in Browning and was finishing up and was heading to my service rig and noticed about 5 dogs next to it. As I got closer I noticed one of them to be an older bloodhound. The dog, whose name was Charlie, as I found out from my friend from the vet clinic mentioned, had its head stomped in by its owner or kicked severly as his eye was all but hanging out of its socket and the other eye had an infection and growth of skin covering much of the other eye. I took Charlie with me and took him to the vet on the way back. The owners were contacted and I asked the vet to keep me posted on Charlie and that I would pay for any bordering fees. A week later the owners had still not come to get charlie and I asked the vet to call them and give them a couple days more but to not let Charlie leave with them if they were not going to fix his eyes. I called two days later and asked Ethel to do the necessary surgeries on both eyes and I would pay for it but not to let Charlie go with the owners as it was obvious they were not going to take care of him. I picked up Charlie and although she was able to repair and save the one eye, the eye that had been stomped out of his head was probabley never going to regain its sight. I took Charlie home and my youngest daughter and my wife Tina, both fell in love with him and so he became a member of our family as did several other dogs that we just couldnt' part with. Charlie's eye did eventually get better and I believe he did regain some sight back in it. It took awaile for Charlie to trust us but once he did we would take him on walks, or I should say Charlie took us for walks as he could walk forever. He passed away one night and we buried him in our back yard next to our other pets we had lost over the years. All together we have seven dogs, five of which are rescue dogs and we have a little cat mix my wife named Chevy as she was found under my chevy truck one night when I was leaving work. I wish I had the resources and the time as I would make this a full time opccupation doing my best to help these dogs and cats that have been thrown away and abandoned. Much credit needs to be given to Ethel who is the owner of the Grass Winds Vet clinic as she was so helpful in helping with the different illnesses these animals had that without her compassion and the fact she didn't always charge me alot for their care, it would have been much more difficult because of the financial cost of the different medicines and surgeries they needed. I just can't speak highly enough of her, especailly since none of the other vet clinics locally would help and if I had a dog or pup that I picked up while on a call over the weekend that needed emergency care, they were either put out because it was a weekend or would refuse until monday came around. Ethel has never refused care to any of them and if she couldn't get to them right away it was because she was either on another call or vaccinating livestock and couldn't leave as she was quite a distance away. She is with out a doubt, an Angel...

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