My name is Alissa, and I live in Worden, Montana. My fiancé and I are on somewhat of a crusade to protect future pets and their owners from a disaster that has struck our family. My fiancé’s brother had a dog, he was an Akita, and his name was Jakira. Jakira came into contact with a skunk last week and contracted Rabies; he died at the veterinaries office. Two days later, county authorities came out to our families’ property. The animal control officer said that they either had to pay upwards of $3000 per dog per month for up to six months to have the animals quarantined, or they had to “voluntarily” give up the dogs to have them destroyed. These dogs did not come into contact with Jakira, but we were willing to have them quarantined and tested. My fiancé and I both spoke to the animal control officer only an hour after he removed the dogs. We asked him where the animals were, we told him that we would somehow come up with the money to have them quarantined. The officer told me that it was too late, that they were being euthanized at that moment, and that there was no room in Yellowstone County to quarantine them.

Today, my fiancé’s father called the veterinary’s office to get copies of the records for one of the dogs. Her name was Girl. Jakira was her father. She had been given a rabies vaccination only 8 months ago. My future father in law then called the animal control officer who picked up the dogs. He was told that the animals were sedated, then taken to a private facility where they were euthanized and burned. No testing can be done now. Nothing can bring back our dogs, we know that. Jakira was 10 years old. Bear and Girl were his pups, and Timber, the family mascot, was 19 years old. They are all gone, they were part of our family, they were our protectors, and words cannot describe how truly they will be missed. The yard is now empty, chains and bowls lay about, we can’t seem to bring ourselves to get rid of them.

From animal lover to animal lover, I am asking everyone I can reach to sign this petition. Boundaries have been severely overstepped, beloved animals have been needlessly killed, and we have lost four members of our family. The pain and loss we feel will linger for a long time. But in the mean time, we can come together and save other families from going through what we have just begun to endure. Nothing can bring our dogs back to us, but laws can be changed to protect us and our pets, and animals will no longer be put to death, out of sheer “possibility”. Imagine if we human beings also lived by those guide lines. It’s unacceptable, and we can stand together to make sure this tragedy doesn’t strike another family. Your signature below will let our lawmakers know that Bear, Girl, and Timber did not die in vain. We appreciate your signatures, and any help you might give. When this list is full, please mail it back to the address below. Thank you.

Alissa De Lucia
P.O. Box 155
Worden, MT 59088
(406) 281-0408