Wednesday, August 25, 2010

This Makes My Blood Boil


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.


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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!

17 comments:

Ms. Emmy N said...

Oh my goodness, she is just adorable! I hate hearing about puppy mills and can not believe that they still exist after how much negative pub they have gotten. The whole idea makes me absolutely sick! Thanks for sharing this story and spreading more awareness!

Jessica said...

I actually did a speech for a college class on how terrible puppy mills are. This just breaks my heart to hear about this poor sweet puppy. I am a huge animal lover and cannot imagine how people can be so selfish and careless that they could treat animals this way. So glad you posted this for people to see. I always want to take every stray animal we find in and love it and give it a home! My boyfriend says we'll be running an animal shelter one day. I told him I would love to!!

noone said...

that is so sad. it breaks my heart to hear these type of stories. This is why I'm looking to buy a dog but would like to get one from the rescue instead, cuz it's giving a pup out there a second chance.

Closet Fashionista said...

That is sooo sad....but I am so glad your sister found her and she will have a good home now! Such a cutie! She'll get used to people soon, my cousins adopted a dog that was abused and she is perfectly fine now :D
http://aclosetfashionista.blogspot.com/

J. said...

Thank you for sharing this story Marie. It is heartbreaking to hear that people can treat animals in such a horrible way-they are such defenseless creatures. You are right-those that own the mills should be put in cages themselves.
Thank you for bringing up this important issue.
J.

Lena Antonacci said...

It makes me so sad when I hear stories like this about animal abuse. Dogs (animals in general) give you unconditional love and it breaks my heart that people think they have no heart. Your sis-in-law deserves a medal for rescuing this adorable creature. Good for her! She makes all us animal lovers extremely proud :)

Lena xoxo
qualityrivets.blogspot.com

Snappy-Q said...

Ok, this is getting a bit crazy. I have found two dogs in the last week (while walking my dog), and now this post! How can people be so heartless and careless about such amazing animals! It drives me bonkers. Your sister is awesome for rescuing this pup, and I hope she eventually opens up to all the love she is getting. I love the name too, our rescued dog is also named Dixie.
I say keep on preaching Marie! We have to keep spreading the message about how terrible puppy-mills are!

Ashleigh said...

Heartbreaking but thankfully a happy ending! I will never understand how anyone could mistreat an animal. I'm going home and giving my kitties some love <3

Anonymous said...

thats so sad! but its good to know she is in a good home now! my parents neighbors actually breed dogs. its pathetic. but no one could prove anything to get the pups taken away from them. eventually the guy and his wife divorced he started seeing a younger girl who stole his money and left him and his daughter moved out and has never been back since. (a few years have passed) I suppose he got wat he diserves. anyway keep up the great posts! i'll be reading ur blog from now on!!

xx
anya

http://theveiledbump.blogspot.com/

MY REPUBLIC OF FASHION said...

Such a cute dogs and such a sad story (in the beginning). Why are some dogs treated this way? I just do not understand it? Makes me sick also! But at least there is a happy ending. Great post! SarahD:)

Sarah Whitney said...

People can be so cruel sometimes. Luckily there are like your brother and his wife!

bananas. said...

oh lady this breaks my heart. i have heard about puppy mills and know just how serious they are. it's a very sad thing when humans treat animals like garbage. i wish they would all be caught and burned. seriously makes me so mad!

love the happy ending to this story. wish it were that way for all animals.

Anonymous said...

Thank goodness for a happy ending for a change!! Please support anti-puppy mill legislation coming up in Missouri which is the puppy mill capital of the US.

paddle to shore said...

so so sad, this really breaks my heart:( How could anyone be cruel to ANY animal. I will never understand.

Closet Fashionista said...

Just letting you know you won the giveaway on my blog! I'm going to give your email to the woman at Destination Diva so she can email you about where to ship the bracelet! :D
http://aclosetfashionista.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

Stories like this make me cry. I am so so happy that Dixie now has a wonderful home. Thank you! And those horrible people should be tortured for a long time before being put to death.

Mrs. Julius said...

Awww so happy to hear there's a happy ending to this story...poor thing. I hate puppy mills and can't believe there are people in this world treating animals like that just to make money. Makes me sick. This world can be such an evil place...makes me sad. :(

 
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