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Over 150 Malamutes seized in Montana, 10/13/11 - Breeder charged with cruelty and neglect
Local Humane Society is asking for Donations for "Project Malamute"

Photo courtesy of the Lewis and Clark Humane Society.

One of the Aluk Malamutes in its new temporary home, Malamute Village, at the Lewis and Clark Humane Society in Helena, MT. The Mals have now been moved to a more secure and spacious area.
Photo by HSUS

Malamute Village, at the Lewis and Clark Humane Society in Helena, MT. The Mals have now been moved to a more secure and spacious area.
Photo by The Independent Record

One of the Aluk Mals gets checked over by shelter staff at the Lewis and Clark Humane Society in Helena, MT
Photo by HSUS

Two of the Aluk Mals in Helena, MT.
Photo by HSUS

One of the Malamute puppies from the pack of over 150 Mals that the Lewis and Clark Humane Society in Helena, MT is caring for.
Photo by HSUS

There are "It Takes a Village to Rescue a Pack" fundraising t-shirts for AMAL that are left over from the National Specialty and this new "Winning is Everything" design. See below for more info on the fundraising t-shirts.

Mike Chilinski, of Jefferson City, MT. has been arrested and charged with cruelty to animals in what is being termed a "puppy mill" seizure and also with production of dangerous drugs. Chilinski operated Aluk Kennels. All the dogs have been transported to the Lewis and Clark Humane Society (LCHS) in Helena, MT. and they have established "Malamute Village".

Update as of 4/18/12 - The May 2 court date for Mike Chilnski has been delayed due to Chilinski asking for the disqualification of the judge in the case. When we find out a new date for the trial we will post it here. See the More Links below.

Update as of 3/7/12 - Bob Sutherland, President of AMAL released the following update: "Moonsong Malamute Rescue and AMAL visited Project Malamute at the Lewis and Clark Humane Society. We signed confidentiality agreements so we can't discuss the details of the malamutes in their care.

We showed up, toured the kennels, then spoke with the kennel staff about malamutes. After lunch we started to interact with the malamutes, which continued to the next day. We were able to spend time with approximately 34 of the dogs while one of us spent the first day pouring through all of the individual intake sheets recorded during the initial rescue from the property so if the time comes we have an idea of what we need to transport and rehome the malamutes.

We spoke with 3 LCHS trainers and offered suggestions for further enrichment. It was a very productive couple of days for both us and the LCHS staff. The malamutes have an incredible, caring and loving staff."

Update as of 1/26/12 - The judge has ruled that the malamutes will remain in the care of the LCHS shelter until the May trial of Mike Chilinski. See More Links below.

Update as of 1/21/12 - The trial on the criminal charges is not scheduled until May. The lawyers are still debating the intent of the judge's ruling of 12/1/11. See More Links below.

Update as of 12/21 - The Lewis and Clark Humane Society has made available the affidavit of the State of Montana v. Mike Chilinski which was filed Oct. 18, 2011. See More Links below.

Update as of 12/16 - The County Attorney has filed a Motion for Reconsideration, asking the Judge to reconsider his ruling that Chilinski be allowed to place at least 70 of the Malamutes to other homes. HSUS has agreed to cover all costs of caring for the dogs at the Lewis and Clark Humane Society. See More Links below.

Update as of 12/1 - The judge has ruled that Mike can re-home up to 70 of his dogs himself. See More Links below.

Update as of 11/30 - Mike Chilinski testified at the hearing today. There is a short news article and also a short video of Mike testifying. See More Links below. More news should be published tomorrow.

Update as of 11/24 - The hearing was postponed again until 11/30. In the meantime an online petition has been developed "to prevent Mike Chilinski from getting his Malamutes back". Note: The petition was taken down after Mike Chilinski threatened to sue the author.

Update as of 11/17 - The shelter is still in need of financial donations to offset the costs of caring for the Mals. You can visit the the Lewis and Clark Humane Society's Project Malamute page for links to donate.

Update as of 11/9 - A hearing was held November 9th to discuss the dog's welfare. The hearing and testimony will continue on 11/23 in Boulder, MT. Please see the various updates made on the Lewis and Clark Humane Society's Project Malamute page and on their Facebook page. Also, check the More Links area below for the latest news stories.

Update as of 10/31 - All the dogs have been moved off the shelter grounds to an undisclosed, safe and more spacious location. They continue to do well according to the shelter staff. Please see the various updates made on the shelter's Project Malamute page and on their Facebook page. Also, check the More Links area below for the latest news stories.

Update as of 10/18 - The County Attorney has told the shelter that only shelter staff and HSUS personnel are allowed to work with the dogs, so they can't accept any outside volunteer help at this time.

The shelter primarily needs donations of money and people can make donations from the shelter's web site here: http://www.mtlchs.org/pages/donate.htm Please specify the donation is for Project Malamute. They estimate it is costing $2400 per day to care for all the Malamutes. Donations can also be mailed to:

Project Malamute
c/o Lewis & Clark Humane Society
PO Box 4455
Helena, MT 59604

The shelter is also looking for donations of 6 ft. plastic folding tables, plastic garden carts, Science Diet Adult and Puppy dog food, Kong Toys, and gift certificates for Murdoch's or Petco in Helena, MT.

People can also call into Murdoch's Ranch and Home Supply in Helena and pay for a bag(s) of dog food and they will deliver to the shelter. Murdoch's number is: 406-457-1700. Science Diet Large Breed is $37.99 a bag and the Puppy food is $31.99 a bag. They are discounting each bag $5 for the shelter. Make sure to say your purchase is for the LCHS and you need them to deliver to the shelter. Hint: If you mention Bob Sutherland's name, they will place your order on his loyalty program card and for every 10th bag ordered they will provide another 1 free!

Monetary donations can also be made to AMAL by clicking HERE. Please specify the donation is for "Montana Malamutes". You can also mail donations to AMAL at this address:

Alaskan Malamute Assistance League
c/o Diane Prator
PO Box 54
Concord, NC 28026

AMAL has already purchased nearly a 1/2 ton of dog food for the shelter from donations they have been receiving. Fundraising t-shirts are available to help with this effort. See below about how to order!

You can also email AMAL if you are interested in helping with transport, fostering or adopting any of the dogs once they are released. The email address is: montanamalamuteseizure@gmail.com

There is no way of knowing just when the dogs will be released or how many will be released to rescue. The dogs released to rescue will be fostered under the auspices of the various AMAL rescue affiliates throughout the country. Please contact the nearest AMAL rescue affiliate near you to get approved for fostering and/or adopting. The rescue affiliate list is here. Check out the Google Map below to see where the closest AMAL affiliate is to you.

There are 161 total dogs - 140 adults and the rest puppies. There were pregnant females, so they estimate the total number will be close to 200 after the puppies are all born.

Many of the dogs had very low body condition scores, and all are getting medical attention and care. The dogs won't be available for adoption or release to rescue until the criminal investigation is complete.

Please visit the Project Malamute web page on the shelter's web site. This will be updated and there is information on how to volunteer, donate and links to more news stories and video. You can also visit the shelter's Facebook page.

Thank you for your help. A little bit will go a long way for the malamutes and those helping them at the shelter.

More links:

We will be posting more information, images and links when they become available. Check back for updates!

See where the AMAL affiliates are located and where they assist!

If you are interested in assisting with transport, fostering or adopting any of the Aluk Malamutes in Montana, please contact the rescue affiliate that is closest to you. If no rescue affiliate exists in your state, you can email: montanamalamuteseizure@gmail.com and your inquiry will be forwarded to the closest affiliate. Thank you for your help!

View AMAL Affiliates in a larger map

Fundraising T-Shirts for AMAL and the Aluk Malamutes in Montana

AMAL has had tremendous support to help the Aluk Malamutes in Montana. One fundraising project was the printing of t-shirts to be sold at the National Specialty this year. (see below) A big thank you goes out to Tim Muldoon, Kevin Kelly, and Lynn Faggo for getting "It takes a village to rescue a pack" t-shirt printed in time to sell at the AMAL Fundraising Booth. The design borrows the Howling Puppy t-shirt image (see below) with information about Project Malamute and AMAL's contact information on the back. There are some t-shirts left over for sale for those who couldn't attend the National this year. If you are interested in ordering a "Village" t-shirt, please email: amalshirts@gmail.com to place your order. There are only size L and XL left. The shirts will be $15.00 and $5.00 shipping in the continental US.

Another wonderful design, "Winning is Everything - so be a Winner - Support Rescue" was created by Susan Richardson and she has agreed to let AMAL use this design on another t-shirt to fundraise for the Aluk Malamutes. The final design is below and is printed on white t-shirts. Thank you Susan! We are now taking orders for the "Winning" t-shirt. Please email: amalshirts@gmail.com to place your order. These shirts will be available in a multitude of sizes - kids sizes included!

Winning t-shirt design

To order either shirts, please email: amalshirts@gmail.com

Two More Fundraising T-Shirts for AMAL!

An all american working breed t-shirt design,

Jenny Schneider, Colleen Benton and Katerina Mutlova together with photographer Kirsten Poulsen came up with a fundraising idea for AMAL. It is two t-shirts with beautiful photoshop-art, designed by Kirsten Poulsen, printed on the front.

T-shirt and print are of excellent quality and all profits will go to AMAL. (Note that this is not an AMAL sponsored fundraisier - Jenny is kindly doing this on her own to help the homeless Mals - THANK YOU JENNY!)

The shirts are white cotton and come in sizes adult small thru X-Large. The price is $15 for one and $25 for two plus shipping. Shipping will be worked out based on how many are ordered.

The two t-shirt designs are D1: "An all american working breed" and D2: "Howling puppy"

To place an order for either of these 2 t-shirts, please email mykhidog@cfl.rr.com. If you have any questions, please email Jenny at mykhidog@cfl.rr.com.

2011 Christenson Award(s) presented at
AMCA NATIONAL SPECIALTY AWARDS BANQUET

Colleen Belanger, 2011 Christenson Award recipient, with her furry friend, Cheeko. Photo by Dave Belanger

Brian Brunner with his furry friend, Rosemary, and his "MalMobile". Photo by Barb Brunner

The 2011 Christenson Award was given to two recipients - Colleen Belanger, who volunteers with Golden Years Alaskan Malamute Rescue in Michigan and Brian Brunner, who volunteers with the Washington Alaskan Malamute Adoption League (WAMAL).

Colleen has been working with Golden Years for about 9 years and has helped with breed ID, transport, fostering and training. Golden Years has been able to help more dogs thanks to her help even though she lives on the other side of Michigan from them. Colleen also assists Closer to Home Animal Advocates (CTHAA) and Illinois Alaskan Malamute Rescue (IAMRA).

Brian Brunner has been volunteering with WAMAL for about 9 years and has been a Mal owner nearly all his life. Brian coordinates and leads most of the cross-state transport efforts for WAMAL, which has earned him the nickname, MalMobile Man. He seems to always be able to magically pull a transport together in an emergency, saving many dogs that would have been euthanized otherwise. He has clocked around 5000 miles on his MalMobile in 2011 alone, transporting dogs to their new homes.

Click here to read all about these Christenson Award recipients in this terrific article Karina Burger wrote for the AMCA Newsletter.

Congratulations to both recipients!

See more from the 2011 National Specialty here.

Bob Sutherland mans the AMAL booth at the 2011 National Specialty.
Photo by Mindy Storen

2012 AMCA National Specialty to be held in Chattanooga, TN

The next AMCA National Specialty will be held in Cattanooga, TN, October 21-27, 2012. More info on the Speciality can be found on AMCA's web site here.

You can send your donations for the AMAL booth to;
Maria and Bruce Wells
147 Lucille St.
Sparta, TN 38583

Clearly mark the box AMAL NS.

Thank you and we hope to see you there!

WANDERING MALS WEBSITE: New Dog Gallery!

Juno is an adoptable dog in Mississippi.

The Wandering Mals Website is our offsite resource for Malamutes. The site features several photo galleries of dogs who are in areas without an AMAL affiliate rescue &/or are in special need of assistance. All the dogs presented need a rescue sponsor or foster home, and some are available for adoption through local shelters. A big AMAL thanks goes to Tony for volunteering his time and providing this important resource!

Visit the Wandering Mals Website!

Black Ribbon Marina Geisecke
by Lynne Anderson

AMAL and Malamutes in need lost a good friend and advocate when Marina Giesecke lost her battle with cancer on July 31. Read more...

dog breeds

AMAL is a Reader's Digest
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Alaskan Malamute Registry & Pedigree Program

Alaskan Malamute Registry and Pedigree Progam

Malamute Bookstore

Alaskan Malamutes - Click for book details and pricing

Where Your Purchase Helps Support Rescue!

Shopping Partners and Associates

Visit AMAL's Ebay page to see items up for auction with all or a % of the proceeds supporting AMAL.

Visit the AMAL Rescue Organizations for local contact information, to rehome or adopt an Alaskan Malamute, or to become involved with rescue efforts.

Contact the AMAL Webmaster with any website administration related comments, questions, or problems.

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Over 150 Malamutes seized in Montana, 10/13/11 - Breeder charged with cruelty and neglect Local Humane Society is asking for Donations for "Project Malamute"