Puppy mill rescue: One happy ending and some thoughts

When third grade teacher Kathleen McCabe-Martin's class got a visit from veterinarian Helen Hamilton and vet tech Stephanie Glock, they also met Spot, a poodle resuced from an Arkansas puppy mill.



Her students had raised money to help the puppy mill dogs, and Dr. Hamilton and Stephanie were there to accept the check and introduce the kids to Spot.



McCabe-Martin recognized Stephanie as the vet tech from Veterinary Orthopedic and Surgical Service in Fremont, CA, where her own chocolate Lab, Porter, had his hip surgery done. So it was a small step for her family to decide they wanted to give a home to a rescued puppy mill dog:

My family and I are now the the proud owners of Astro, a golden labrador puppy, rescued from Missouri two and a half weeks ago. Astro is a terrific addition to my already full house of dogs, but is totally loved. One of the puppies from his litter ended up testing positive with Parvo and was hospitalized (totally paid for by donations). Astro was given medicine free of charge, and continues to receive health care and vaccines.



To be honest, I am very humbled by these remarkable and giving professionals. They put dogs first and then help to make sure that the dogs live a good and happy life.



Astro is part of our family and is very loved.

And very cute, if the photo McCabe-Martin sent is anything to go by.



Dr. Hamilton also had an update for us, and wanted to respond to some of the comments left in our first report. She especially wanted to address the issue raised by some readers about the ethics of giving money to the puppy mill industry. Even if it helps those individual dogs, some asked, doesn't it ultimately just perpetuate the very industry you're trying to expose?

The person who talks about not buying dogs at auction because it supports the industy has a valid point, although we try to avoid giving money to millers who are continuing in the industry, and in the case of the auction on Friday of Memorial Day weekend, the miller had died, and it was a court-ordered sale.



The first auction we attended in April, the miller was retiring, and all dogs and all equipment were sold (building, feeding pans, meds, microscope, etc.).



The auction we attended on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, the one right after the auction where the owner had died, was the only consignment auction we attended. We bought 22 dogs at an average price of $45 per dog. I don't think that is really giving the millers much of a profit - some of the dogs were $5 a piece. We paid a little more than we meant to for the AKC Ch line of pugs. We bought 5 at an average cost of $107 per pug. I wanted to get the papers to see who was selling to mills, then see if I can find a pug contact to report back to the Pug parent club. If you subtract 5 dogs and $500+ dollars from our total figure you can see how cheap all the rest of the dogs really were. So, yes, we gave money to active millers, but very little and for the publicity the dogs have gotten, well worth it.



In life things are not always black and white. My feeling is education is the way to shut down the mills. People are more willing to listen about individual dogs and the horrors they endured than to just read facts. Your article was excellent because it starts with the individual dogs' stories. Both Savannah and, I think, Sunshine have homes beause of the article. People kept calling in yesterday to adopt Savannah, her picture was so heartbreaking. It just proves my point that visual aids are what capture people's attention. So for the money that I give the millers, it is being used against them. To me that is a fair trade.

Other readers raised the issue of AKC and USDA oversight and involvement. Dr. Hamilton had a few things to say about that, too:

The auctions we attended over Memorial day weekend had an AKC rep on the first day, Friday. The AKC has NO jurisdiction over removing animals, but they do have the ability to investigate/pull registrations on dogs that are questionable in their heritage. I took great offense at the AKC rep telling the millers "the AKC will facilitate the registration of all the dogs." (The owner was deceased so there was no one to sign the transfer papers. It was a court ordered sale. The executor of the estate could have eventually signed the papers, I think, but that would take paperwork and time. This would make the dogs less profitable for a period of time and thus lessen their value.).



In addition, many of the adult dogs had only litter registration papers, not individual papers. These dogs can be registered with the AKC, with the payment of a hefty penalty. Again the AKC rep said "and of course the AKC will waive any late registration penalty fees."



The AKC rep also should been active in making sure the dogs sold with AKC papers were actually the correct dog. Since the dogs are microchipped, a scan of the AKC dogs should have matched their papers. It was not done, and in fact, the next day we bought a young pug whose pedigree showed that some ancestors were AKC champions. The microchip of the dog we bought did not match the catalog microchip number. We do not know who the dog really is, but he now has AKC papers with multiple breed champions in their background. A big selling point of the millers. And totally false, as the dog and the pedigree don't match.



A USDA rep was present at the sales but did nothing about the dogs. All I saw them do was visit with the people. Both auctions had a variance from the general USDA rule of not moving young pups and mothers. I think the rule about "no transport" means very little since it was circumvented so easily.



It's true as some commentors said that the AKC does not recommend buying dogs at auction. That is what they write. So if they think this is a bad thing, why do they support the overt abuse of companion animals? Should we let the dogs suffer in silence? Or do something about it, since the AKC won't?

I also spoke to Loree at Boulevard Pet Hospital in San Jose, CA, where most of the 49 dogs are being cared for. She said the article resulted in an avalanche of calls from people wanting to help, but they still need homes for many of the dogs -- Pugs, Beagles, Shih Tzus, and a brave little one-eyed Chihuahua named Blue. If you can help, contact Boulevard at 408-379-5554, or Dr. Hamilton at 510-657-9151.

Comments

[straybaby]

Christie,



were there any Dalmatians? I know their popularity is way down (YIPPEEE!!!!!), but if there are any needing help, let me know and I'll get the word out :)



Thanks for posting follow up an Dr. Hamilton's responses.

[Deb]

At the April auction where the person ( who had been in the business of dogs for 50 years) sold eveerything, including the land and buildings, there were 500 purebred dogs to be auctioned and 30 breeds. In my breed, which had the some of largest numbers, private individuals and an organization devoted to the rehabing of mill breeding dogs banded together to attend the auction and rescue as many of my breed as possible. Not all the dogs made it out to freedom, as some got snagged by other millers, but everyone did their best to free as many as possible.

Now, they are working hard at teaching these dogs what it means to share life and love with a human being. What it means to walk on grass, to walk up stairs, to respond to hearing a particular human sound that means "You", to walk on a leash, go out a door, to be petted and loved on. It's a long road, turning these dogs into companions. Some are amazing adaptable, some are not and will always struggle, but they are as resilient as the people who pour their hearts and souls into saving them.

Many of the dogs had severe dental problems involving bone rot of their lower jaws. Some were riddled with tumors.

Bringing home and raising a mill puppy is easy compared to trying to turn it's parents into "normal" dogs. People do that all the time when they succumb to pretty pictures on the Internet or that warm, squirmy bundle of cuteness in the neighborhood petstore.

Puppy mills are anathema.

[VJ]

Just watched a email video from the HSUS. Tell me.

Did I just have my eyes opened that many of the puppy mills and auctions are run by the Amish.

Yes, I did know "some" millers were Amish as well as people from the southern states and just scumbags in general. But am I now just realizing that the Amish are a very large part of this?

[Gindy]

It's about time someone ratted out those Amish for the evil they really are. I don't care what your religion says, you are evil if you reduce a healthy animal to a pile of skin and bones for profit. If you think they are bad to their dogs, you just see what they do to their horses.

[Deb]

Yes. For the Amish and their 18th century religious views of the world, dogs are another form of livestock over which Man has Dominion.

[thomas]

People who live in New York State Senator Winners sent out letters that he still thinks his bill to put dogs under the right to farm act is a grear idea. Please email him at [email protected] and oppose this bill. Cal him at 518-455-2091, 607-732-2765,607-776-3201.

Write him at romm814, legislative office building, Albany, NY 12247

[thomas]

Senator Winners Bill is S923 . It was introduced for the puppy mill operators after farm bureau approached Senator Winner, Senator winner admits he has never been in a puppy mill