Have you been following April, the giraffe? If so, she is in Harpursville, NY, the same place where Marjorie's Kennel is. I thought with the birth of April's calf, it was a good time to give you some more background on our effort and the new lives of the 33 that were freed in February This if from the woman who has been the leader, heart and soul of the Free the Kees effort. Many have followed the ongoing mission to rescue every dog held in the squalor of the kennels of Marjorie Ingraham in Harpursville, New York. For more than 40 years, Mrs. Ingraham has indiscriminately bred Chow Chows, Siberian Huskies, American Eskimo dogs and other breeds. For the past twenty-five years, Mrs. Ingraham has focused her "breeding factory" especially on Keeshonden. Since 2013, the worldwide Keeshond community has helped to rescue 68 Keeshonden from this filthy, deteriorating prison. We have continued to seek every avenue to close Mrs. Ingraham's kennel and to stop the egregious neglect in which the dogs exist. Since 2014, the releases from the kennel have been minimal. In October 2016, four "non-producing" bitches were received into rescue, but one bitch, Pandora, promptly delivered seven puppies, three of whom survived. Those puppies were raised by Pandora and Ruthann Seibert, a respected Keeshond breeder and rescue volunteer. The puppies have been placed in loving adoptive homes and Pandora is now in foster care (with my Kees Rémy and me!). The three other bitches, Karla, Kasey and Kira are also in foster care with experienced caregivers. Their rehabilitation is progressing well. When ready, each one of these four will be placed with appropriate, loving families. In December 2016, I once again contacted multiple authorities in New York to ask for their assistance. Among those contacted was Sheriff Harder, Broome County Sheriff, and Karen Matson of Broome County Humane Society, both officials in Broome County, New York, location of the kennels. At that time, neither they, nor any of the 16 other county and state officials responded to my inquiry. I sent the same request for assistance in early February 2017, with a question regarding why no one even took the time to acknowledge receipt of the new information I had sent in December. Then, I ended my request with "Shame on you." Amazingly, after 3 years of complaints, for reasons unknown except God's grace, Sheriff Harder decided to assign the complaint to Detective Leon Brown of the Broome County Sheriff's Office. Sheriff Harder was the only addressee who responded to either of my most recent complaints. Detective Brown is a former K9 Officer. He immediately contacted me for information. I responded with an overview, and when asked for more information, I provided my usual voluminous amounts of documentation, depositions, veterinary reports, pictures, videos and eyewitness accounts. I also referred him to a very recent visitor to the kennel, as well as two other visitors from the past few months. Detective Brown sprang to action. He reviewed the information. He interviewed the most recent witness. He contacted Karen Matson in order to follow Broome County legal protocol. Broome County Humane Society is privately contracted to assist with animal cruelty and control in Broome County, New York. So, when Detective Brown determined an investigation was warranted, he asked Ms. Matson to accompany him to the kennel. At that time, more than 50 dogs were observed living in their own filth. They did not have adequate kennel protection and bedding as required by New York law. Detective Brown determined that dogs could be seized from Mrs. Ingraham. However, he also determined that it would be in the dogs' best interest if Mrs. Ingraham would voluntarily release them. That would afford her no opportunity to recover them. If seized, she would be able to petition to recover them. On that day, Mrs. Ingraham agreed to release twenty dogs to Broome County Humane Society (BCHS). She released thirteen, and plans were made for the BCHS cruelty officer to return for more. After more visits to the kennel, and at the strong urging of Detective Brown, Mrs. Ingraham eventually released forty-one dogs. Thirty-three were Keeshonden; eight were American Eskimo dogs. It was determined that Mrs. Ingraham could keep 7 adults and 2 puppies as "pets." However, those dogs, all Keeshonden, are not spayed or neutered. Subsequently, Mrs. Ingraham has claimed that she actually has 9 adults and 3 puppies (approximately 8 weeks of age at this writing), and that the puppies are for sale. None of the dogs are altered, and Mrs. Ingraham's history of continuing to breed even after stating she is retiring, is of grave concern. We will continue to press for every dog to be removed from Mrs. Ingraham's kennel. After the dogs were released to Broome County Humane Society, it was decided that most would be placed with rescue groups. Suncoast Keeshond Rescue and Keeshond Affiliated Rescuers of the Mid-Atlantic were awarded custody of twenty-two of the Keeshonden. Eskies Online rescue received all eight of the American Eskimo dogs. Tri-State Keeshond Rescue received seven of the Keeshonden. BCHS placed four Keeshonden through their in-house adoption process. Twenty-two of the Kees were immediately transported to Olney-Sandy Spring Veterinary Hospital (OSSVH) in Sandy Spring, Maryland, to be assessed, vetted and cared for by Denise Sharp and the top-knotch veterinarians and staff at OSSVH. After their initial veterinary care, each will be transported into approved foster homes for rehabilitation. When ready, they will be placed in loving homes who can care for their special needs. As of this writing, thirteen of those Keeshonden have arrived in foster care. One, a lovely little bitch dubbed "Hope" was found to be in later term pregnancy. After consultation with the staff at OSSVH, it is decided to give Hope every opportunity to have a safe, healthy delivery of her puppies. She has been placed with Ruthann Seibert. Ruthann will assist Hope through whelping and raising her puppies. The puppies will be directly adopted, then Hope will advance into additional foster care where she will receive proper after care, including spay, and rehabilitation. Blackjack, Mac, Rebel, Bear, Brock, Silver, Smokey, Tessa, Lucky Lady, Cinders, Patty and Amy have also begun their foster care and path to rehabilitation, as have the seven Keeshonden under the care of TKR. We have high hope that all of them will do well. Currently, Shady, Thunder Hawk, Brady, Casey, Dusty, Houdini, Thor, Gretchen and Miss Muffett are completing their veterinary care at OSSVH. They will shortly be placed in their foster homes, as well. In summary, the past few months have brought a flurry of activity regarding the rescue of the Keeshonden held at Marjorie's Kennel. We are working to diligently assist every one. The contributions of dozens of volunteers and donors is making a difference, all the difference, in the lives of these wonderful Keeshonden. Yes, they have issues, and they need to recover. Yet, every day brings them closer to becoming the companions they were born to be. Our battle will continue until every Kees is safe from the hazards and squalor of Marjorie's Kennel. Thank you for being an integral part of that with your unwavering support. The attached video is from one of our supporters. I think you will find it inspirational