NorCal Collie Rescue

In August, 2022 the Collie Rescue Foundation alerted NorCal Collie Rescue

to a seizure of nearly 200 Collies from a property in Sherrard, Illinois. Two

local Collie rescue organizations were on the ground immediately doing the

bulk of the work: Collie Rescue of Greater Illinois and Minnesota Wisconsin

Collie Rescue, along with Mercer County Animal Control and other local

volunteers. They did an incredible job of ensuring the dogs were properly

contained, transported, and cared for. Since that time, many other Collie

organizations across the country, including NCR, joined in to help.

Upon learning the details of this rescue, NCR’s Board of Directors

immediately voted to send donations to the two Collie rescue groups initially

involved and sought to raise funds for Mercer County Animal Control on our

website. We also notified Animal Control that we would be willing to foster

some of the dogs when they felt it appropriate to release them to us. We

remained in close touch with Animal Control on a general (and nail-biting)

stand-by while the court hearings and related legal matters concerning the

case progressed.

Although the court case was ongoing, the defendant had legally relinquished

possession of the dogs to Mercer County Animal Control and they in turn were

able to release the Collies to various Collie rescues throughout the country. We

sent a volunteer to the site and arranged to take five of these Collies. Our

volunteer relayed to us later that local law enforcement had never seen

anything like the way the Collie community had mobilized so quickly! And that

they were overcome with appreciation for the help.

Thanks again to the AMAZING transport service of Mutt Mutt Engine for

bringing our dogs across the country safely. Mutt Mutt Engine is a 501c3

charity that exists for the very purpose of transporting rescues! We feel VERY

lucky to have found them. https://www.muttmuttengine.org

Our heartfelt thanks to the local Collie rescues on the ground in Illinois and to

the Collie Rescue Foundation (https://collierescuefoundation.org) for

helping to coordinate the effort, showcase the enormous rescue, and

reimburse NCR for some of the major medical expenses we incurred. NCR is

proud to be an affiliate of this organization which was originally borne out of a

need to assist in large rescues such as this one. We would also like to thank

NCR’s donors who continue to support our rescue efforts at home and in

these dire situations. Finally, we have so much gratitude for our foster homes,

without which we couldn’t fulfill our mission to rescue and rehome

Collies!

Up until this point, we haven't been able to talk about “the Mercer Collies”

because of the pending legal action. However, we finally have great news! On

March 6, 2024, Karen Plambeck was found guilty of eleven felony counts of

intentional animal cruelty and will be sentenced in June 2024. Here is one

local news article:

https://www.wqad.com/article/news/local/mercer-county-judge-karen-

plambeck-guilty-cruelty-animals/526-83ca9d42-a5cf-4b8f-b181-

289abc61a364

Sarah Rebernick of Minnesota Wisconsin Collie Rescue, who testified at the

4-day trial of the owner of the Collies, did a wonderful job in a video relaying

the entire story from start to finish. Warning: It is graphic and eye opening.

Here is the link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1U8E3tfH0g

This is truly a happy tail for all the rescued dogs and the volunteers who

worked tirelessly on their behalf. “Our” five Mercer Collies have been

adopted and are living their best lives now in loving homes.

For more on these dogs, please see our previous posts on our Facebook

page: https://www.facebook.com/norcalcollierescue

An update on the Mercer 5 Collies are among the dogs featured in our

December 2023 newsletter: https://calcollierescue.org/news.html

There are also some entries in the Happy Tails section of our website on these

dogs.

https://calcollierescue.org/HappyTails/happytails-2021-23.html

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