The endangered New Zealand singing dogs are being neutered starting today 11/08/2010 in Fannett Township Chambersburg, PA.These dogs are owned by Randy Hammond, 58, where about 85 of the dogs were recently found living in dozens of outdoor pens and cages.
Since news of the discovery emerged, two organizations specializing in the breed have come forward to assist in the rescue. They have begun receiving donations and inquiries about the unusual animals.
“I just want to comment that I am in awe of the tremendous amount of effort and support being provided by everyone. I am starting to see a light at the end of this long tunnel,” Tom Wendt of New Guinea Singing Dog International wrote in an e-mail.
So far, about $4,000 has been donated to offset the expense of caring for and relocating the dogs, Wendt said. A number of volunteers and donated supplies will help to further defray the cost, he added.
Four veterinarians have agreed to assist with the spaying and neutering, according to Diane Buhl, a Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture employee from another region of the state who volunteered to help coordinate the project.
“There are also probably between eight and 10 vet technicians and assistants who are volunteering their time, along with the four vets,” Buhl said.
Use of the mobile veterinary clinic was donated by the Adams County SPCA in Gettysburg. The self-contained unit will provide an acceptable place to operate on the animals safely without having to leave Hammond’s property.
“This way, the owner will be the one to get each animal and carry it to the mobile hospital,” Buhl said. “It’ll be less stress on the animals.”
She said roughly 40 adult dogs, about evenly split between males and females, will be desexed on Hammond’s property today and Wednesday.
“We’re only neutering the adults. We haven’t touched any of the pups, and we’re not sure we’re going to,” Wendt said.
On Wednesday evening, two Singing Dog International members left Franklin County in a U-Haul truck bound for Phoenix, Ariz. On board were seven female singers with their 17 puppies, one pregnant female, and two severely handicapped dogs.
Now, 56 dogs remain on Hammond’s property, according to Wendt. About 16 will not be neutered this week, because they are scheduled to be picked up Thursday by Best Friends Animal Society and taken to a Micanopy, Fla., who have the facilities to house the dogs safely.
Once they are neutered, finding appropriate homes for the dogs will be the next challenge, Wendt said. Because they lack socialization, the adults will require new owners with experience in dealing with primitive dogs, as well as special facilities to house them. They need lots of space. they have lots of energy and are not domesticated dogs.
The dogs’ owner is cooperating with the rescue effort, and will keep 10 of the dogs, after being spayed or neutered.
Prior to the discovery of his dogs, there were about 150 members of the breed known to exist in captivity worldwide, many of them in zoos. Sightings of the animals in their habitat have been rare, and some believe them to be extinct in the wild.
Since all of Hammond’s animals are descended from only two breeding pairs, and suffer from genetic inbreeding problems. Thus the dogs won’t be used in captive breeding programs designed to increase the population.
Look and Listen to these beautiful endangered singing dogs.
To help
Anyone interested in making a donation or providing a home for some of the Hammond dogs may contact Tom Wendt of New Guinea Singing Dog International at (815) 814-4968 or tomcue2@hotmail.com.
Resources
Excerpts courtesy of http://bit.ly/bGuGWM
Excerpts courtesy of http://bit.ly/cniERe
Information: New Guinea Singing Dog International http://www.freewebs.com/singingdogs.
Nature's Crusaders 
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