Dear  SSDCA Member and Shiloh Shepherd Fancier,

Your immediate attention and cooperation is needed regarding a terrible tragedy which has occurred regarding the Founder of the Shiloh Shepherds, Tina Barber, and her family!

We ask that you take the time to read all of the enclosed information regarding the following issues:

• The establishment of "The Barber Fund"

• Adoption of Shiloh Shepherds desperately in need of homes from Zion Kennels

• Helping to replace Tina’s personal files on dogs she has sold to people, breeders she has agreements with or upcoming litters which people have put deposits on.

Thank you for your support.

The SSDCA Advisory Board

Pam Dymond-Weed
Pam McCloskey
Billy Pellicane
Lyn Segee
Karen Ursel
Pat Urso

On Tuesday, January 25, 2000 a very tragic fire occurred at the Barber residence. This fire started in the vent pipe of the pellet stove between the walls and engulfed the entire house. Tina and her grandson Josh, were at home at the time of the fire, and fortunately were able to escape. After calling 911, Tina managed to rescue the puppies in the house. Tina and Josh were both taken to the hospital and treated for smoke inhalation. Tragedy struck when one adult dog that had been brought out downstairs, went back upstairs to guard Josh’s room and perished in the fire. All contents of the house were destroyed by burning or by water damage. Everything the Barbers owned will need to be replaced. Things that we take for granted such as the glasses we drink from, the shampoo for our hair, the towels we dry ourselves with, the socks for our feet—all are gone.

The Red Cross assisted with temporary living quarters, but they too only have limited funds to help house victims of disasters. At this time the family has found temporary housing approximately four miles from the kennel. The dogs in the kennels are being cared for and are still on the property of Zion Kennels, but there is no one there at this time on a twenty-four hour basis. There cannot be anyone there until housing can once again rise from the ashes of the old house.

As you know, Tina has poured her heart and soul into the development of the Shiloh Shepherd for over 30 years. All extra monies for many years were poured back into helping this breed become the dogs that we love and adore today. Because of this there is no money for rebuilding her home.

While we sit comfortable in our heated or air-conditioned homes, looking at our Shiloh Shepherds or pictures of them, please think about the Barbers. Their kennels now sit next to a burned wreck of a house whose smoldering embers have been slowly extinguished by the snow that has fallen. There is no longer a place to stay on the property. The dogs in Zion Kennels are all relatives of our dogs, from the past, for the present and into the future. For the Shiloh Shepherd future to continue we are asking for your personal help. Help to rebuild a bridge. Help to rebuild a home. Both of these are important to the future of the Shiloh Shepherd. It will be through your help that the bridge to continue to the future is accomplished. Let’s keep her "Dream" alive and help her in her  time of need.

Read the enclosed account written by Tina herself. This was written and posted to the ShilohShepherd Onelist on the Internet just two days after the fire. Also read the newspaper clippings that are enclosed. These are heart wrenching! To stand by helplessly and have to watch while your home is destroyed is beyond a lot of our imaginations. Those who have experienced this kind of loss know it is not easy to recover quickly. It takes time and most of all it takes money.

Please consider donating whatever money you possibly can to the Barber Fund. Whether it is a $5, $50, or $500 donation, every bit helps. There are over 250 SSDCA members and over 2000 Shiloh Shepherd owners. Just think of what we can do if we all contribute something. First, this fund will be used to provide housing for Tina, Lisa, Josh and David as soon as is humanly possible. Second, any extra money will cover the cost of setting up housekeeping again and purchasing supplies for the kennel. Contributions made by check or money order should be made out to the SSDCA, Inc. with a notation at the bottom that it is to be used for "The Barber Fund". Your contribution should not be sent to the SSDCA Post Office Box, but rather sent directly to the SSDCA, Inc. Secretary at the following address:

Karen Ursel
6271 Footes Corners Rd.
Conesus, NY 14435

A listing of all donors will be printed in the next Newsletter.

If your SSDCA, Inc. membership has expired, or you have lapsed for some time and would like to rejoin in order to stay informed regarding further developments, please feel free to download an application off our website   or send a SASE to our secretary, and we will be happy to mail one to you.

Important Updates from Tina

Please note: All of our records were kept on computer and also in hardcopy format. Unfortunately, the filing cabinet was not fire proof and the hard drive is not salvageable. Therefore, if you purchased a puppy from us within the past 6 months or had one reserved, we would appreciate it if you would send us copies of your records so that we may rebuild our files. If your puppy papers have been processed and you now have a pink bordered certificate, your records are being duplicated for us through the TCCP.

The ISSR records, which are stored in triplicate with the TCCP, are safe. TCCP will be providing duplicates of all originals and printing new stud books for the ISSR, Inc. The RC program has been re-ordered and will be back up and running by the end of this month.

Please Note: All memberships were upgraded prior to the last Newsletter mailing. Several new members joined shortly after that and an envelope was prepared for their NL mailing, unfortunately those were also destroyed in the fire. We are extending all memberships for everyone who has joined after October '99 by an additional 6 months. Our new secretary has been very busy "revamping" these records, but since she did not have a complete update of the new members (and our only record comes from the Treasurer's books that only give name, date and amount paid), please be kind enough to fill out another membership application and mail it to Karen Ursel. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated. We would like to apologize for this inconvenience and assure you that extreme precautions will be upheld in the future.

Please follow Tina's progress by continuing to the next chapter.