FEAR FIRE FOE FLOOD!

Just got a thousand-times forwarded garbled message in my inbox about the Montana English shepherds. It reads:

WISCONSIN

Any rescues out there that can help please contact Erin at [redacted] or email [redacted]

I got this information off of the ASPCA Group. It was a cry for help from Erin. She is located in Montana and she is part of the National English Shepard Rescue. Please - Just because this is not your breed - do not delete this message. My contacts are very, very limited in Montana and I am in need of much crossposting in that area.

300 English Shepards were seized and are being held in a barn. The local shelter want all of them turned over to them but as in the past they will put them down. Erin NEEDS some help.

Please, please help with crossposting. To anyone you think might be able to help in this area. Spread the word or these 300 souls will be put to death. The woman has been arrested but you know as well as I that it is not these 300 souls fault. And as you are probably aware, puppies are probably coming. Help save these prescious souls. Do anything you can. Thank you. Kathi Rich

PS. Please do not respond to me as I have no info on this other than what I have typed above. Please call Erin.

I do not know who Kathi Rich is, but none of the above is true.

What was correct was the phone number and email address for NESR's current representative in Montana, who most certainly did not ask for her private information to be published and forwarded to what looks like hundreds of Yahoo lists. I have removed it.

This hit the inboxes of a lot of ES people at about 11:30 this morning, all from different sources.

It makes me suspicious that someone is trying to sabotage the rescue and rehabilitation efforts.

Please, if you have received this email, especially if it came via a Yahoo or Google list or a listserv, post a correction referring recipients to the NESR page on the Montana rescue and this blog.

And please -- check facts before you forward. This one may not make the Snopes parade, but there are ways to use the Googles when someone sends you something that is both alarmist and vague.