This post has nothing to do with what I usually write about on my blog but I have to get this out because I'm very passionate about animals and I think everyone needs to hear this story. A couple of weeks ago my sister-in-law Shelley found a bichon/poodle cross hiding in her horse barn. (Yes, that's her in the above picture - how cute is she???) Shelley and my brother live on a ranch outside the city, near a river and she thinks this dog was abandoned there and eventually found its way to the barn. When Shelley discovered her she was covered in mud, wet and cold. Her fur was long and matted; it obviously hadn't been combed or cut in a long time, if ever. She was absolutely terrified and literally shaken to the core. The pup couldn't look my sister-in-law in the eye, kept her head down and wouldn't come near her. Shelley eventually got a hold of her, even with the dog snapping and shaking and took her to the house. She thinks this pup came from a puppy mill. I asked her how she would know in an email and below is her response that I'd thought I share with you:
I don't know for sure if she came from a puppy mill, but there is a good chance she did. She had no identification on her - no tags, no tattoos, no micro chip. If anyone would have cared for her they would of had some kind of ID on her. Her nails had not been trimmed in a long time and she can't bark so I'm thinking she was debarked. The vet I took her to said she's around two years old and has had multiple litters of pups. And after a certain amount of years giving birth to pups the puppy mills get rid of them cause they are no good to them anymore if they cant have healthy pups or have difficulties delivering. Another reason why I think she came from a puppy mill is that she will poop in her kennel and 99% of dogs will not poop in their beds. But if they are always in a kennel they have no choice but to poop where they sleep. She also eats cat poop so I'm thinking when she was out in the wild she ate whatever she could to survive. After I rescued her she puked every day cause she was so scared and terrified of car rides, probably because the only time she was in a car was when she was dropped off in the bush. Now she can go for a car ride without shaking or puking in the car. I want to mention here that Shelley took her to work with her every day and this is why she'd been traveling in cars. Also she is finally eating and drinking; it took her three days before she would eat or drink anything.
I was absolutely heart-broken after reading this. How can people do this? Who could just abandon a helpless dog by a river to fend for itself with coyotes waiting to eat it for dinner? The people that run puppy mills should be put in cages themselves.
I'm glad to tell you there is a happy ending to this story. Because she was rescued by such a caring, big-hearted animal-lover that has decided to keep her I have no doubt in my mind she will live a healthy and happy life from now on. Her name is Dixie and she is in the best hands possible. She lives on a ranch with two other dogs, six horses and a very energetic toddler with lots of room to run and play. There's plenty of food for her to eat, plenty of water for her to drink and plenty of love to go around. Dixie sleeps inside with my brother and his wife (under the covers even!) and now shows excitement when they come home instead of fear. This makes me happy. I met the pooch the other day and she is very shy, winces at any loud sound or voice and doesn't move at all when you hold her but I'm hopeful she'll come around and get more comfortable around people as time goes on. She's such a sweet dog and I'm happy she's a part of the family now.
I hope that in sharing this personal story with you it will bring to your attention how horrible puppy mills are and how we should NOT support them in any way. To learn how to do this you can click here.
Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to read this, I appreciate it!
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