By the Associated Press   missoulian.com |  Posted: Thursday, September 2, 2010

BILLINGS - Officials from Wibaux County and the Humane Society of the United States removed more than 90 dogs from an east-central Montana home after neighbors complained the dogs were being poorly cared for.

The United Animal Nations says the dogs, mostly shepherd mixes, were living in filthy, crowded outdoor pens near Wibaux and that many of them had skin infections and parasites.

Humane Society spokeswoman Jordan Crump says the owner relinquished the dogs. Officials did not release his name and Humane Society officials say they did not expect charges to be filed.

Humane Society director of animal cruelty Adam Parascandola says the owner of the dogs became overwhelmed.

The dogs were being taken to a temporary shelter at the Fallon County fairgrounds in Baker.

Photo by Edward J. Lesky  Darby area resident Edward J. Lesky has written a book about his family's 13-year relationship with their chocolate Labrador retriever, Kodiak.

By WILL MOSS - Staff Reporter RavalliRepublic.com | Posted: Wednesday, August 25, 2010

There were the Akitas, and the German shepherd, the Beagle and others ... and all of them were special in their own way.

But Kodiak was different.

"I've had a number of animals throughout my life, but this guy was, without a doubt, the most intelligent dog I've ever met," said Lesky, who lives near Darby.

Kodiak, a chocolate Labrador retriever, passed away in the spring of 2009 at the age of 13. He lived with Lesky and his wife Shirley his entire life which began in a breeding facility in Fort Worth, Texas, and ended in the wild, open landscapes of western Montana.

"He was with me cradle to grave, basically," Lesky said.

Now, in an effort that is equal parts celebration, remembrance and healing, Lesky has self-published a memoir recounting the life of his "best friend" and offering insight into a relationship that the author hopes will give readers a new perspective on the role of animals in our lives.

In the introduction to "Kodiak ... A Chocolate Labrador Retriever And My Best Friend," Lesky tries to summarize just what it was about Kodiak that made him such a memorable companion.

"He was so special due to his unique combination of intelligence, loyalty, loving affection, preferences and head-strongness," he writes. "Pushy he was indeed ... but he asserted his will upon us through a gentle persistence that was quite difficult to resist. And those of us who knew him swear he could understand our words ... and sometimes even our minds."

In 1996, Lesky and his family were living in Arlington, Texas, where, urged on by their son, Willie, they decided that it was time to get another dog.

After some research, they settled on the idea of seeking out a Labrador retriever which, due to the family-friendly nature of the breed, seemed like a good fit.

The family tracked down a breeder of Labs in Fort Worth that had a litter of 4-week-old pups and visited the facility to select a dog.

What they found was a rowdy menagerie of puppies, each nearly impossible to distinguish from the next, none of which seemed too terribly interested in them.

But then, there was Kodiak.

"A lone chocolate colored male suddenly stopped playing, looked directly at us, and came sauntering over to check out the situation," Lesky writes. "Deliberately and slowly he walked closer to us, proceeded to sit on Shirley's shoe and didn't budge from it."

Soon, the breeder entered the room with some bad news: all of the puppies were already spoken for ... except one.

Kodiak.

"It was obvious to us destiny and some other factors were at work here," Lesky writes.