31/08/2023
Here is the story re-posted again to answer your questions. More questions answered in posts on this page. Please SAVE CHIP!
🐾🐾🐾 ❤️❤️❤️ This is a story about a beautiful Anatolian Shepherd named Chip who was born on a ranch where the dogs roamed freely. Their breed is intelligent, independent and protective of their flocks. All the dogs on the ranch were trapped and distributed to shelters across the country. Chip ended up at the SPCA Serving Allegany County in Belmont, NY. He wasn’t used to human handling, had never been away from home or his dog family and he was afraid.
In May of 2021, Chip escaped from the SPCA. Though the director made a few calls to local dog trappers, she did not let the community know that he had escaped. She made it clear to the trappers that he should not be advertised or posted on social media, thus tying our hands. As the community did not know Chip was lost, sightings of him went unreported.
Six months later, a gentleman named Andy noticed Chip on his trail cam eating apples off the ground in Portville, NY. Chip was thin and skittish. Andy posted him on a local page, and we trappers immediately responded. Traps were set, but Chip, who had been trapped before, was wary and trap-wise. Even though we were experienced dog trappers, we realized it would be a long, slow process to get Chip to safety. The SPCA director told me later that she knew he had been sighted at this location, but said and did nothing.
I made multiple trips every week to Andys home and other places in Portville setting up feeding stations and traps for Chip. My Live camera’s watched Chip eating the food, but he continued to be wary of the humane traps. After a while, it appeared Chip was enjoying his freedom. He had good food, flowing creeks for water, and an endless supply of fresh road killed deer on Route 417. He developed a large circle that he roamed, as Livestock Guardian Dog’s will do. He was living free, as he had done all his life before he was captured and brought to NY. In fact, as camera video and pics progressed for the next two years, his coat started to gleam and he appeared to have gained about 20 pounds. When I couldn’t travel to Portville, I supplied Andy with money to buy Chips dog food.
Here is where the story turns tragic. On July 11th of 2023, Andy notified me that Chip had somehow gotten a large empty plastic pretzel jug caught over his head. It would make breathing and cooling difficult, and eating and drinking water in the nearly 90-degree heat impossible. I immediately sought helpers that were closer to Portville to help rescue Chip. Because of my experience with wildlife in similar situations, I knew that a deadly maggot infestation was inevitable. I reached out to the SPCA Serving Allegany, hoping Lynda might rally help. I was told there were no volunteers to help, only herself. But Lynda was no help, insisting she called a trapper in California who said “the dog will be fine and could be lured into a trap with meat.” Shocked at the misinformation and lack of a sense of urgency, I reached out to the Director of Rescue Pups, Lisa Hitchcock, known for her passion for rescuing dogs. Lisa immediately posted it on her rescue page and went out to the area searching for Chip. I posted on other local pages - we needed all hands-on deck. Chip was running out of time!
Then something very strange happened. Lynda, the director of the SPCA demanded Lisa take down the post requesting local people keep watch for Chip because he had the jug on his head. At the same time, my post alerting the community of Portville to Chips predicament was removed and I was blocked from the page. What was going on? Why did Lynda not want people to help us find Chip? Lisa and I were incredulous. We had to change our tactics, and go around Lynda.
Lisa quickly printed flyers and distributed them by hand all over the area. The next day, thanks to alert neighbors, Lisa was closing in on Chips location. Friday morning, July 14th, thanks to Lisa’s flyers, Chip was sighted and people gathered to follow and corral him. My daughter and I raced from Springville toward Portville. 10 minutes from Portville, Lisa frantically called to say she had caught Chip, but he was dying! Chip was hot, unconscious and covered with maggots. I knew we needed to cool chips body temperature down and Lisa had no air conditioning in her car, so I cranked up the air conditioning in my truck as we raced to meet her. We lifted the unconscious dog into the backseat of my ice-cold truck and raced, following Lisa, to Cuba Vet Hospital, who had agreed to take the emergency. My daughter cooled Chips paw pads, ears, gums and tongue while I drove. At one point, he became conscious, sat up and shook, showering us and the truck cab with maggots. Lisa had called Lynda from the SPCA and told her we had Chip and where we were racing him to Cuba Vet Hospital. This would prove to be a mistake.
At the vet, Chips temperature was 106 degrees (heat exhaustion). Blood work was normal, no Lymes disease. When lost by the SPCA, Chip had only weighed 88 pounds. Now his weight was 107 pounds, testament to my good food, his vigorous health and happiness while free for two years. We were asked to leave so the veterinarian could work on Chip. Outside, I made a point to let Lynda know I considered Chip my dog and would be adopting him, but I had to get my daughter to work back in Springville. Lisa promised me she would take care of Chip and turn him over into my capable hands when he was “out of the woods”. I had no idea that both Lisa and I would never see him again. Once I was gone, Lynda somehow took control of Chip. We learned he had a relapse with the maggot infestation while in her possession and had to be rushed to Cornell.
Lynda has refused to communicate with myself, Lisa, Andy, everyone else who helped rescue Chip that day. At the time of this writing, I have filed numerous adoption applications, offered to reimburse the SPCA for all of his vet bills, plus pay his adoption fee, sent photos of my property, emails and texts, left phone messages, and attempted to contact board members- all with no response. As of August 29th, 2023, Chip has been in a kennel at the SPCA for almost 7 weeks. Many people have tried, but no one is allowed to see him. She told people she won’t allow him to be adopted. How can a dog be unadoptable when a Rescuer who has a secure facility, is experienced, capable, and has a deep love for him is begging for him?
The National Anatolian Shepherd Rescue, who had been following Chips story for 2 years also reached out to Lynda and were told they could not rescue him.
So, here we are. This dog who loved his freedom deserves to be with the rescuer who cared for and loves him. We would completely accept Chip being rescued by another qualified person, we love the dog and just want him freed from the SPCA environment. Giant Breed dogs have relatively short life-spans, Chip is already at least four years old. The public and supporters of the SPCA Serving Allegany deserve to know this story. We need to SAVE CHIP!
