July 2025
Honoring a Collie Lover’s Legacy
CRLNE&NY is pleased to announce that we have been the recipient of a generous bequest from the estate of Cindy Miller who was a huge lover of all dogs, but her favorite breed was the collie. We asked her sister Jamey Altman to tell us about Cindy, and the following was relayed to us:
Cindy Miller, beloved daughter, sister, aunt and friend passed away at the age of 59 on November 13, 2023 after fighting inflammatory breast cancer for 22 years. She never missed a beat and she never complained. She just kept going. Cindy is my hero.
Cindy loved her career as a banking regulator, traveling, the beach, Penn State, movies and chocolate sundaes (actually anything chocolate!). But, what brought her the most joy were her nieces, nephews and dogs, especially collies. Cindy and our siblings grew up with collies and our parents’ last collie passed away only a few months before Cindy. I think he knew he needed to be waiting for Cindy on the other side. Cindy and I talked about that and it gave her great comfort.
Unfortunately, for many reasons, Cindy was never able to have a dog of her own, but always lived close enough to our parents, so their collies always became Cindy’s collies as well. She loved and cherished them like her own.
Cindy has left an amazing legacy behind for dog rescue organizations, including the Collie Rescue League of New England, which was her favorite. In doing this, she can continue to contribute to the love of these best friends, that we call dogs, from where she is. And I know that she’s with her collies that she adored: Rollie, Shannon, Ben, Max, Garth and Gus.
Left: Cindy Miller
Right: Cindy and cherished family collie Shannon.
We express our profound gratitude for Cindy's life and generosity and extend our sincere sympathy to her family and loved ones. Our Board is exploring various ways to use this gift to ensure our organization's existence far into the future as well as ways to honor Cindy's lifelong love of collies.
In speaking with her sister Jamey Altman, we learned Cindy held a deep place in her heart for collies with special needs, so we will be mindful of this sentiment.
We will keep updating this space as more plans emerge.