Let me start out by saying that it's been a long couple of weeks...not complaining, just reporting the facts! A few weekends ago, we pulled a 2yo blue heartworm positive male from the high kill shelter, and he had a rabies tag on, which we researched. His owner was contacted by us and the shelter...no return call. I don't understand! This boy is the sweetest, most even tempered, well behaved boy, so why in this world would nobody want to reclaim him?! Oh well, their loss!
Last Saturday, we pulled yet another heartworm positive 2yo black male, an owner surrender, from the same kill shelter. This boy is a talker and has the craziest, long tongue that sticks out of his mouth with his jaws shut. He's quite the character! Welcome Boston!
The next day we received a sweet white, partially sight impaired boy named Duncan. Duncan has had quite a bad hand dealt him so far and has had humans who gave him zero support and have obviously physically punished him. The first walk he went on, he flattened himself to the ground in less than a second when his foster turned around to see something behind her. This boy too is just super sweet, but he's so terrified and snappy with people who he thinks might be a threat.
As I drove Duncan from his pickup spot to his foster, a mere 15mins away, I received a call about an awful backyard breeder who was "closing out his stock" and wanted to give us a bred-nearly-to-death female (oh this poor girl!) and a partial litter of deaf puppies. I believe I lost consciousness for a second! As I looked in my backseat at this sweet boy Duncan, and listened to this call of a possible 6 dogs to be surrendered, I took a deep breath and asked for the contact info.
Would you believe that some states don't consider an establishment a "puppymill" unless it has at least 75 breeding dogs?! SEVENTY-FIVE!!!! That's not 75 dogs, but 75 dogs actively BREEDING! How many puppies do 75 breeding dogs generate?! And some states don't have any laws regarding breeding!! And I'm saddened to say that our state of Mississippi is one of those. Whew, sorry about that, back to the story!!!
So last Wednesday night, one of our wonderful fosters/volunteers met me with 5 Danes from an out of state backyard breeder, who in our opinion would qualify as a small puppy mill, but not according to their state. Thank you Jason and Nina for all of your help and for getting down in the trenches! When they arrived at the man's property (nope, they're not even housed on his home property), they were appalled. This man was so proud of his dogs and didn't understand why these two people were so saddened. They all stuck their heads out of their runs and watched these strangers with wonder. These wonderful people met me in the middle of the night, in an out of town city, with 5 terrified babies, unsure of their surroundings and very unfamiliar with people in general. As we unloaded from one vehicle and loaded into the other, in a desolate parking lot: 3 white, deaf 8mo sibling puppies, terrified and scrambling; a 5yo white male breeder, supposedly seeing/hearing; and an almost 6yo brindle female who's been bred almost literally to death, it was all we could do not to become emotional. Much of what we do would make others cry or become angry, but we have to hold our tongues or be strong in situations where we normally would let go with words or actions. Thank goodness these dogs all seemed to be at a healthy weight, so they weren't emaciated or beaten, however, their demeanor was a cross between terror and Stockholm syndrome. The puppies didn't know whether to flea or go into a shell for protection, and it was obvious that they'd never seen people. They've only known each other and are cuddled up as close as they can get in a pile, trying to protect themselves from the unknown. The male was the most outgoing of the 5, but that wasn't saying much. The poor momma dog just went like a lamb being led to slaughter...it was almost as if she just hoped it was over. She broke our hearts the most.
After several hours of driving, we unloaded these dogs into crates (thank goodness for my sunroom!) with cushy blankets, which seemed to confused them. As I fell into the bed, knowing I had only 1.5hrs until I had to be back up, I couldn't fall asleep. I just lie there, mentally and emotionally confused. None of these dogs even have names! My dogs lay in their rooms and the living room (ok, let's be honest, wherever they want!) on cushy beds and are spoiled rotten and never want for anything, and these dogs don't even have names or emotional security. I do not understand! Ok, enough of that!
Fast forward to Thursday: The vet's office called later Thursday, saying that I'd lost my mind! As they inspected the puppies and treated their awful pressure sores from living on concrete their entire short little lives, they discovered that these 2 males and 1 female, were actually 3 females! Surprise!! Unfortunately both the 5yo white male (now named Jake) and the 6yo brindle female (now named Shay), both of which have been used all their lives for producing money making puppies, are beyond heartworm positive. The puppies tested negative, but we're sure it's just a matter of time. Everyone was spayed/neutered, and Shay had one set of mammary sacks removed, as they were full of tumors and were completely deformed from usage, hanging 4inches long.
We're stretched beyond our means and are busting at the seams, both space wise and financially. However, we will NOT turn away cases like this, not if we can possibly find the means to save them. These babies needed saving, because they were being sold with breeding rights! Even, yes the girl bred to death, and the deaf babies and the white male (which as we all know obviously would produce deaf puppies). We just couldn't let that happen, not if we could help it. These babies have a long way to go before they are whole, but we'll stand by them, thick and thin. After all, they have now been dubbed the holy trinity of cuteness - Faith, Hope and Grace!
