Friends of Ee-mee-tah & Poos (the Blackfeet Indian words for dog and cat) was created in 1996 as a result of the great need for dog and cat rescue on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. For several years, Harvey Fine, a Canadian citizen, made numerous business trips through the Town of Browning, the seat of Blackfeet Tribal Government on the reservation. Harvey would often see starving dogs at the local convenience store – where the dogs hoped to get a “handout” from customers. Harvey would pick up the dogs and take them to Veterinarian Ethel Connelly (18 miles west of Browning). He would pay for vaccines and food. If Ethel couldn’t adopt the dogs out, Harvey would take the dogs up to Calgary Alberta to adopt out. Harvey was an active member of the Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF – see their website for additional info). He was interested in helping to create an organization in Browning that would sustain rescue of dogs on an on-going basis. So, Harvey was referred by Veterinarian Ethel Connelly to Charles Berger (at that time a Program Manager for start-up of the Blackfeet Animal Control later that year). Harvey met with Charles on several occasions and agreed to fund what was to be Friends of Ee-mee-tah in the amount of $1,000, the funding of which was directly accountable to the benefactor. Charles became Founder and Treasurer. And so, Friends of Ee-mee-tah was created. Friends of Ee-mee-tah & Poos is a non-profit 501 ( c )3 organization dedicated to assisting families of Glacier County with medical care and spay-neuter of their pets.

All donations to Friends is paid out in direct health care and rescue of dogs and cats. There are no salaries or wages. The President and active Rescuer for Friends is Debbie Nickou, a nurse at the Indian Health Service in Browning. Although Charles does not directly help in rescue (he moved away from Browning) he continues to support Friends and carry out the duties of Treasurer. In 2003, Friends’ sixth year of operation, the organization spent over $1,000 for rescue and $2300 in discount spay neuters for residents of Glacier County. Friends uses local veterinarians Dr. Cassel and Veterinarian Ethel Connelly for the medical needs of dogs and cats. Since it’s inception, Friends has committed nearly $20,000 directly to medical needs of dogs and cats on the Blackfeet Reservation, the Town of Browning, and the town of Cut Bank – all in Glacier County, Montana. Friends has worked directly with the Blackfeet Tribe and the Town of Browning in the sponsoring of free spay neuter clinics (carried out by the Montana Spay Neuter Task Force). Friends has paid for the discount spay neuter of over 1,000 dogs and cats thanks to a grant from the Sands Memorial Foundation.. The Montana Spay Neuter Task Force has additionally spay and neutered more than 800 Blackfeet dogs and cats at no charge to their recipients.

Friends of Ee-mee-tah and Poos has rescued and adopted out hundreds of dogs by networking with Veterinarian Ethel Connelly (she does a fair amount of rescue work herself), the Flathead Spay Neuter Task Force, Animal Rescue Foundation (Calgary Alberta), Missoula Humane Society, and animal rescue foundations in Great Falls, Missoula, Kremlin, Columbia Falls, Kalispell, Whitefish, Bozeman, Bigfork, and Idaho. Friends of Ee-mee-tah & Poos is always in need of donations, dog food, collars and leashes, and people willing to adopt dogs and cats. Persons willing to help can reach us at: Friends of Ee-mee-tah & Poos, P.O. Box 1754, Browning, Montana. 59417