Author Topic: Story of a puppy mill dog  (Read 8561 times)

Offline KatysTank

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Story of a puppy mill dog
« on: June 28, 2008, 11:29:54 pm »
My name is Katy and I am 17 years old. I wrote this story about the life of a puppy mill dog. It was a very sad, emotional story to write. It is a long story but, I thought I would share it with everyone.

It is in 3-4 different sections, as it was too long to post in one post.


                                                                 
Jacks

 Puppy mills are horrible places where dogs live in wire cages, live in their own feces and urine and are forced to pump out puppies, so that the owner of that puppy mill can pay their water bill. These dogs are neglected and abused. They are not loved on and are treated like puppy machines, instead of loving pets. They deserve much more than what they get. This story is an example of how puppy mill dogs are treated and what conditions they are forced to live in.

I felt the warm touch of my mother’s tongue. She licked my little cozy bed off of me and nuzzled me up to her teat, so that I could stay warm. I felt the cold breeze of the frosty air, brush against my wet fur. It was so cold. I nuzzled up to Mother to try and stay warm. I felt something next to me, another wet body. I sniffed it and discovered I had a sister. Mother gave birth to six puppies. Only my sister, my brother, and I lived though that night, the others were hard and cold to the touch. Mother was not able to keep them warm. I am a boy and the largest of my siblings. My brother was the smallest. We laid on this stuff that tasted really bad and was extremely itchy. I found out that stuff was called hay. My siblings and I nursed and nursed. Mother kept us warm by pushing us up against her milk-filled teats, and wrapping herself around us. It was very cozy. Under Mother’s teats, her stomach was a hollow dent, later in life, I found out why she was like that. One week of our life went by. Now, my siblings and I are dry and twice the size we were. Our tummy’s hurt with pain and when Mother licked our bottoms to make us go poop, I felt this wiggle feeling and cried with fright. Those things are not very fun and make your bottom itch. They came and went through out my life.

A couple of days went by and all of a sudden I heard a faint noise and saw blurry white. My eyes and ears were opening and slowly did over the next day. It kept getting louder and louder. I was the second one to open my eyes and ears completely. The noises were so loud, it hurt my ears. I looked at the world around me. Mother was dirty white with black spots and light tan on her muzzle. Her hair was smooth with little hairs coming out all over her body. Mother was thin and dirty. My sister and brother looked just like her. I was the oddball. I was white with light tan spots. The humans called Mother and us, Jack Russell Terriers. As, I looked around some more, I noticed other dogs that looked liked us and others that did not. Between Us and the other Mothers and puppies there was this stuff, Mother called wire. We were in what was called a wire cage. There were so many of these wire cages with Mothers and puppies in them stacked all around. We were in what the humans called the puppy shed. The smell was very strong and our wire cage was covered in Mother’s poop. The stuff called hay was pee soaked and made us itchy. Also, there was this thing that Mother called water stuck to the side of our wire cage. It looked like a big teat. We also had this bowl that had this stuff Mother called mush that looked like brown milk. The bottom of the wire cage hurt my little feet and tummy, when I scooted around on it.

On each wire cage there were numbers. These numbers were also on these yellow things that were stuck to Mother and the other Mother dogs’ ears. The humans called Mother, Number 216 and we were Number 216’s puppies. The Mother that was on the mush bowl side, in the other wire cage, was who the humans called Number 215. The humans also called her a Toy Poodle. The poodle mother was very shy and anxious. Mother did not trust her and when she came near our cage, Mother growled at her and held us close. She was solid black and her hair was matted and covered in poop and pee. It was so long you could hardly see her eyes and her puppy could hardly find her teats. She sat in the corner of her wire cage and shook with anxiety. She only had one puppy, he was solid black, like her, and she held him close to her and hugged him to keep him warm. She would growl and bite at the humans when they would open her wire cage. In return, they would hit her with this stick and make her yelp in pain. On the other side, in the other wire cage, was who the humans called Number 217. The humans also called her a Dachshund. She was chocolate and tan with white on her muzzle. She also was tiny and frail. She had five puppies, three were colored like her and the other two, were a silver color called isabella. She would stick her muzzle in our wire cage and clean Mother’s face and Mother would do the same. Mother called the dachshund, friend. Friend would cower in fear when she would see the humans, obviously, the stick had met her to many times. Mother feared the humans, but she would still let out a low growl when they would open our cage. The humans just ignored her. I learned from Mother to not trust the humans and that to always fear them, but to never bite or you will get the stick. Mother’s names she called us were much better than what the humans called us. Mother named me Jacks, my sister, Penny and my brother, Runt. 

At four weeks of my life, I was learning slowly, but surely how to walk. I stumbled all around our wire cage. Mother watched us with delight. Walking was lots of fun to Penny and I. We stumbled towards each other and I wrestled her to the ground. It was different for Runt, the wire on the bottom of our cage, hurt his feet when he walked and he would rather curl up by Mother and go to sleep. He cried a lot and was very attached to Mother. Personally, I think he was Mother’s favorite. We began to taste Mother’s mush and were starting to learn how the giant teat works. I learned that you lick the bottom of it and this clear stuff comes out. I personally thought milk was better, but I learned to like the stuff. Penny loved the mush and the giant teat, she hardly nursed from Mother anymore. Mother said Runt and I should be more like Penny and learn to like new things. I loved Mother.


We woke up the next morning to Mother whining. Friend and her puppies were gone. Mother said that they took Friend’s puppies away from her and shot Friend right in front of her. Mother had to explain what shot meant to us, and I would rather not describe it. Mother also explained that when you get older, like Friend, you are not of use to the humans, so that is what happens to you. I was glad I was asleep. The toy poodle’s puppy was the same age as us then. We tried to play with him through the wire of the cage, but his Mother was very anxious about everything and growled at us when we got near.

Two weeks later, the humans came up to our wire cage, which was uncommon because they usually only came once a week to give Mother mush and water. Mother knew what they were coming for. They were coming for us. First they grabbed Runt by the back of his neck. He screamed, growled and bit at the humans but, they just ignored him. Mother wanted to protect Runt, but she knew better. After a while, they came and got Penny. Of course, Penny being Penny, went up to the humans wagging her tail and trying to play. They ignored her kindness and grabbed her by the back of her neck and walked away. Before they came back, I nuzzled into Mother’s fur and she groomed me from head to toe. Oh, how I would miss Mother. Her warm kisses, gentle touch and yummy milk. Why did they have to take us away from her? Also I wonder why did the humans have to be so mean and cruel? Why were they not like Mother? And were there any good humans out there? Then, the humans grabbed me by the back of my neck and took me away from Mother. I would never see her again.


As they carried me away, I wondered where I was going. All of a sudden, this yellow bright thing called the sun looked me straight in the face. Where did it come from? It hurt my eyes for a few minutes but I got use to it. It also was cold outside and I shivered while they carried me. I looked on the side of what the humans call the puppy shed and this white long thing, with clear and red stuff inside of it said: 36 degrees. I guess that meant cold! The humans took me over to this thing outside, called a table. I was unsure what they were going to do next. They took this thing called a syringe with stuff in it. They squirted that stuff in my mouth. It was really gross, but I was forced to drink it. I found out that the medicine they gave me got rid of those things that itched my bottom. That is the only time the humans gave me that stuff. Even though these humans were pretty mean, they were not as hateful and selfish as the ones I would meet later in my life.


After the humans were done with giving me that nasty stuff, they took me over to this big thing. It was a giant wire cage with legs on it. It was off the ground and it had two giant teats stuck to it and two mush bowls in the bottom of it. The bottom was covered in hay and poop. Inside the wire cage were Penny, Runt and about twenty other puppies. It looked pretty cramped in there and I wished I was back with Mother. The puppies were all barking and whining. They were making the humans very mad. The humans yelled at them and would pound the stick on the side of the wire cage. It was scary. The humans lifted up the wire door on top of the giant wire cage and threw me in. All of a sudden I was bombarded with puppy noses and tongues! They sniffed me from head to toe. I thought they would never stop! After they were done, all twenty of them, except Penny, Runt and I, curled up in a big ball to keep warm. I greeted Penny and Runt with a tail wag and a bark. Penny did the same thing back and Runt licked my face. Runt was so scared he sat in the corner and whined. He missed Mother and her warmth. So did I. Penny and I curled up with Runt to keep warm and tried to fall asleep.


The next morning, I woke up and decided to explore around my new home. There was not much to look at on the inside. Just, poop, pee, mush, hay and whole bunch of puppies. There were puppies like us, puppies like Friend’s, puppies like the poodle’s, and others I have never seen before! On the outside of the giant wire cage, there were others just like it. The cages had tons and tons of puppies in them. On the other side of our cage though, there were never-ending lines of giant wire cages full of adult dogs. Some were running around in circles, while others, cowered in the corner of their cage, shaking with fear and shyness. Most were very skinny, and the Fathers fought for food and room until blood was running off there bodies and faces. Some, I could tell were very sick and others were dead. The humans took the dead ones out of their wire cages and threw them in the back of the woods, where no one could see them. I wondered, what kind of place was this?


The next few days went by and I started to notice that new humans started to come to see us. There were short ones, fats ones, tall ones and skinny ones. Where did they all come from and why were they here? I found out they were what were called “puppy buyers”. I guess the “puppy buyers” did not know or care that those humans did not take care of us and all about the horrible things they did. Could they not see that back behind those woods were dead dogs and puppies that died because they were sick, diseased, killed by other dogs, shot or froze to death? I realized that us dogs, were much smarter than the humans. The “puppy buyers” that came to see us, just thought about how cute we were. They did not care to look around and see the horrible place we lived at. How could they be so naïve? The puppy shed with the skinny and abused Mothers inside, covered in poop and pee, trying to keep their puppies alive. The giant wire cages on legs, the bottom covered in our own pee and poop, that us puppies were force to live in. The other giant, wire cages on legs with skinny and dirty adult dogs in them. The Fathers covered in scars and wounds from fighting with each other to try and stay alive. Why didn’t the “puppy buyers” come rescue us? Why were they paying those humans to abuse and neglect us? I guess they did not care.




« Last Edit: June 28, 2008, 11:32:53 pm by KatysTank »

Offline KatysTank

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Re: Story of a puppy mill dog
« Reply #1 on: June 28, 2008, 11:30:31 pm »
The next morning, a “puppy buyer” came up to our wire cage and greeted Runt and I with kind words and a gentle touch. I was pretty used to this and thought nothing of it. That “puppy buyer” bought one of Friend’s puppies. She paid $1,000 for Friend’s puppy. Thanks for paying the humans for our misery. I hated and liked the “puppy buyers” all at the same time. They saved the puppy they paid for, but at the same time, paid the humans to keep neglecting the rest of us and making our lives miserable. Runt loved playing with the “puppy buyers” through the wire and was always very disappointed when no one picked him up. Penny and I just licked and batted at their hands. Some “puppy buyers” were not so friendly. I disliked the short “puppy buyers”. They were really rough and scared me. One of those short “puppy buyers” came up to Runt and stared at him with joy but sadness at the same time. This short “puppy buyer” is what the humans called a little girl. She was much different than the other short ones though. She was very gentle and kind to Runt. She talked to him and told Runt that she was going to get him out of this horrible place. Runt licked her all over the face and wagged his tail with happiness. I thought, Wow, She is wonderful. Is she an angel? She ran over to two tall “puppy buyers” who she called Mom and Dad. She told them all about Runt and how much she wanted him. Her Dad went over to “the humans” and asked them how much? My heart sank. Why did they want to pay the humans for our misery? Her Mom and Dad paid $800 for Runt. The humans came over to our wire cage, lifted up the door on top of the cage and took Runt out. Penny and I gave Runt a bark good-bye and Runt barked back. The short “puppy buyer” held Runt close and told Runt how he was safe now and she would always protect him. I was so happy for Runt. He now got to live with an angel and experience happiness. Penny and I missed him deeply though.


Penny and I were not so lucky. A big white thing called a van rolled into the dirt driveway and a fat, dirty, human jumped out of it. The humans called out to him. They called him Spud. He did not look very pleasant. Spud talked to humans about how he was coming to buy some more money makers, since he was getting behind on his bills. The humans told him how they would give him a discount and to pick out anything he liked. They talked as if we were used cars, because to them, we were just money makers, nothing else. Spud came over to our cage and opened the door on the top. He picked Penny up and looked at her with cold, hateful eyes. Did this human have any heart? Then he picked me up also. He said the words I was most dreading, How much for these Jack Russell pups? The humans told him what great breeders we would make and how our Father was one of the top studs around here. That we would make him lots of money. He paid $100 each for Penny and I. Penny and I trembled with fear as Spud carried us to his nasty, old, white van. He put us in the back, in a little wire cage. I wondered what we did wrong to earn such a dreadful fate and how I wished we were with Runt. He picked out seven other puppies. Two were Friend’s puppies, and the others, were ones we had never met. We all trembled in fear when we saw or heard Spud. He had a harsh, mean voice and was so filthy. He put Friend’s puppies in the cage with us and the other in another wire cage. The cages were small and very uncomfortable. He closed the back doors, hopped in the front seat and drove away from our old home. For some reason, I wished we were staying there. No matter how bad it was, I knew Spud’s place would be a lot worse.


The back doors of the van flew open and Spud grabbed both of the wire cages, with us in them, out of the back of the van. At first glance, all I saw was a little white building, I later found out it was where he lived. It was very run down and his front yard was very messy, with weeds growing everywhere. A fat, dirty human with bad teeth was sitting on the front porch. I found out later, that was his wife, Dorothy. She felt the same way Spud did about us. Back behind his house were miles upon miles of trees. There was a little dirty path in the middle of the trees. Back there, is where we lived. Spud walked down the dirt path with the wire cages in tow. I saw two buildings. One was called a puppy shed and the other the adult barn. Outside there were little pens made out of stuff called chicken wire, with puppies our age in them. Inside the pens, there was nothing for us to get into when it rained. The water in the giant teats was dirty and green. He took me, Penny and the others out of the wire cages and put us into the little pen, with thirty other puppies. There was wire on the bottom of the pen and under the wire there was a thick, smelly layer of poop and pee. We did not get fed that day. I drank some water out of one of the giant teats, it was terrible.


At four months of my life, I had already had a tough time. Living at Spud‘s place was no bones and milk. It was h*ll. The wire hurt our paws and made deep cuts in them. We licked the wounds to keep them clean. Many puppies had died of infection and starvation since I and the others, had gotten there. Some of the others were so hungry and weak that they ate the dead ones to survive. We got fed once every two days, mush and the three giant teats were filled with water, once a week. There was never enough, so we were forced to fight for the mush. We had bleeding wounds and scars from fighting for food and room. The poop and pee did not help. We were miserable. Spud and Dorothy never loved on us or petted us. They were typical humans and I hated them. Soon, the weather started to turn warmer and the suns rays felt nice on my fur. The only bad thing is the nice weather, intensified the smell. The smell mixture of dead dogs, poop, pee and mush was unbearable. The warmer weather also brought rain. Which was not pleasant. The rain would make our poop and pee a watery mush and would get all over our paws and legs. The rain soaked us with water, which felt good at first because it was cold and washed our wounds, but after it stopped I hated it. Our poop and pee would dry on our fur and make us itchy. Could it get any worse? I wondered.


We never saw any “puppy buyers” come back to where we lived. Dorothy would bring the puppies that they wanted to sell up to their house. She would put them in a pen in their front yard and wait for the buyers to come. Hardly any of the “puppy buyers“ asked about where the parents were or anything like that. The “puppy buyers” were too naïve to notice that. They were to wrapped up in the cuteness of the puppies. If they did ask though, Dorothy or Spud would answer with, “they are not here right now. They are staying with my Aunt because we have not gotten the new kennel set up yet”. As expected, the “puppy buyers” believed every word. As if, Spud and Dorothy would ever spend thousands of dollars on us! They were sly, crooked humans with cold hearts. They sold puppies like us and puppies called Beagles, Pugs, Dachshunds, Puggles and Jackabees. I found out that Jackabees are a mix of us and beagles and that Puggles are a mix of pugs and beagles. Spud called them the “new designer dogs” that everybody wanted and would make him big money. The “puppy buyers” paid $800 for Dachshunds, $900 for Puggles,$500 for Pugs, $650 for Jackabees, $600 for beagles and $750 for Jack Russells, like Penny and I. More stupid “puppy buyers” paying for our misery.



Offline KatysTank

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Re: Story of a puppy mill dog
« Reply #2 on: June 28, 2008, 11:31:14 pm »
Two months later, was one of the worse days in my entire life. I wish I could erase it from my memory forever. Penny and I laid on the wire wondering what Runt was doing. How he was clean and full. How he was loved and cared for. We were so hungry and thirsty and wished we were with him. Why didn’t an angel come rescue us?, We wondered. Right in the middle of thought, Spud grabbed me by the back of my neck and carried me off. I figured he would probably just give me that nasty stuff to get rid of the things that itched my bottom, but he didn’t. He took me into what is called the “Adult Barn”. It was hot and stuffy. Dorothy was there waiting for him. I had an inner feeling in my gut of fear. The emotion and energy in the barn was cold and dark. Sadness and abuse filled the room. Their was happiness in none of the dogs eyes. I could tell that this would not be good.


Spud took me over to a wooden table stuck to the inside of the barn. He held me by the fur on the back of my neck while Dorothy took this metal thing and put it near my ear. I felt a painful sting in my ear. She had punched a hole straight though it with a yellow thing called a tag. The pain was unbearable. I cried with fear and agony. I saw red. Blood ran down on to the table. I was Number 373. Then Dorothy took a metal steel rod and shoved it down my throat. I struggled to get away, biting and thrashing, but she shoved it harder and harder. The fear and pain took over my entire body and the taste of blood filled my mouth. I could hardly breathe and it felt as if I was numb. I coughed up blood and my throat was throbbing with pain. Spud then threw me into the concrete floored pen in the barn full of other young and adult male dogs. They surrounded me with growls and dominant gestures. My pain took over me and I lashed out at them. I growled and attacked them. They fought back and after many matches, I finally just submitted. I laid in the corner with blood coming out from my mouth and from the wounds on my body. I gasped for air and felt lifeless in the corner of the pen. Pee and poop covered my body, but I did not care. I felt like dying and wished I would. The pain was even worse than when I was a puppy and the humans put a rubber band around the middle part of my tail. The rubber band cut off the blood flow in my tail, which eventually fell off and left a nub. It was painful. Mother was so hungry she ate the fallen off part of our tails.


The next morning, I woke up hoarse and weak. When I tried to bark, it hurt and sounded like a hoarse cough. I realized all the other dogs barks were like that to. No wonder the “puppy buyers” didn’t know we were here, they could not hear us. I lifted my head up off the dirty floor and looked around. The pen had wire walls and a concrete floor. The floor was stained with blood and covered in the usually poop and pee. The air in the barn was hot and stuffy and it was hard to even breathe. There were many of these pens in the barn. On my side of the barn, there were several pens filled with male dogs. They were skinny and scarred and constantly fought for dominance and room. In my pen, there were probably about seventy dogs. On the other side, were the females, their pens were the same as ours. Some of the females were skinny and some were very, very fat. The fat ones were pregnant. I learned very quickly who the Alpha male of our pack was. He pranced around with his chest out and tail straight up in the air. Everyone knew to submit to him and if you didn’t, he would make sure you knew who was boss. He was a big black and tan dachshund. Old age had covered his muzzle and face with a white mask. He was missing an eye and walked with a limp. I respected him very much. Because of his old age, a tri-colored beagle fought with him constantly, as the beagle wanted to be dominant leader. The dachshund never let him win and the end resulted in the beagle’s death. As I laid in the corner, weak and in pain, the dachshund came up to me. He looked down on me with a dominant pose. In return I rolled over on my back in submission. Then he walked away. I called him Alpha.


Two months had past and life had not gotten any better. Here we did not get fed mush, we were fed this stuff called kibble. It was hard, crunchy, round pieces of food. Spud would pour it onto the concrete floor every three days and watch us fight for it. I tended to just eat the kibble that would roll out of the big blur of dogs fighting and eating, but sometimes I would gain up enough courage to go into the blur. It almost always ended in a fight and me and the other dog covered in blood. Feeding time was like a blood bath. There were a lot of little animals that lived in the barn so, to try and fill our hungry bellies, we would catch and devour them. We also did not have giant teats here. We had a round thing called a bucket with water in it. The water was green and brown and was never cleaned out. It was hard to get water though, as a cross-eyed black pug would always lay in front of the bucket and guard it. We had to wait until he fell asleep to even attempt to get a drink of water.

The next day, I was trying to take a nap. It was very difficult to because of the hot, sticky air of the barn and the movement of the other dogs. While taking my nap, Spud picked me up out of the pen, I bit and growled at him, because I hated him and did not trust him. In return, He hit me hard on my back end and made me yelp and yelled words at me to foul to repeat. I cowered in his arms and unwillingly let him pick me up. He carried me away to the unknown. I was scared of the unknown, wondering what horrible thing they were going to do to me. He opened the door to the barn and the sun blinded my face. All I saw was bright yellow. The sun felt good on my fur but, hurt my eyes because only a little light shined into the barn though the cracks of the doors, when I was in the pen. He carried me behind the “adult barn” where I saw chicken wire pens with dirt floors, with two dogs in each pen. What was this?, I wondered. He walked over to a pen with one dog in it. This dog was white with tan spots and was one of me. I could tell she was old and I wondered why I was being put with her.  Spud set me down in the pen and then just walked away. I still wondered what I was doing there. I looked over at the next pen and saw Penny. I had not seen her for two months and wondered where she went. I wagged my tail with excitement and barked my hoarse cough at her. She was cowered down on the dirt floor and was growling at the other dog in the pen with her. He was white with black spots and was also one of us. He growled at Penny and barked his hoarse cough bark at her. He nudged at her to get up, and grew very agitated. Penny could see the meanness in his eyes. I wondered why he was doing this to her and then I realized, He wanted to mate with her. Penny, young and scared, did not want any part of it, but after much persistence and biting, she surrendered to his request. I growled at him, and dug at the wire, wanting to help Penny, but I had no way to get to her. Then, I smelled this smell I had never smelled before. It smelled wonderful and made me very happy. I looked over and the female Jack Russell that was in the pen with me, was flirting with me. She pranced around me, flagging her tail and flaunting her butt in my face. At first I wondered what was going on and I was very confused. Then my instincts took over and I started to understand. I stayed in the pen with her until the next morning. After tying with her three times, Spud took me out of the pen and carried me away.

The months before I was to turn one, were full of mating, after mating, after mating. The first few female dogs were wonderful, but as the weeks grew into months, my body and mind grew sick and tired of it. The heat of the sun made it worse and sometimes it felt as if I could hardly breathe. I just wanted to stop but my instincts and drive forced me to continue, so I did. It was as if my mind was controlled by something else and not me. I saw Penny once more after our first meeting. Spud was carrying her back to the “Adult Barn” and she was crying and thrashing to get away. Spud just held her tighter and tighter. In Dorothy’s arms, were Penny’s puppies, 6 weeks of age. Her puppies cried and cried for her. Dorothy was taking them to the pen in their front yard for humans I had never heard of before, they were called “puppy brokers“. I found out later, that those humans sold to places called “pet stores”. I felt so sorry for her. All I saw was sadness in her eyes. I had never seen my sister like that. What had they done to her? She was usually a spunky, happy go lucky girl, but now all I saw was a depressed, sad mother. I also knew exactly how her puppies felt. This made me think of Mother and made me wonder how she was. I then realized how much I truly missed Mother, Penny and Runt.


At one year of my life, I laid on the concrete floor of my wire pen and wondered what was going to happen next. It felt as if everyday it got hotter and hotter. The last few months had been filled with hot weather. No air came into the barn so it made it stuffy and humid. The heat was unbearable. A lot of the dog’s bodies could not stand the heat, and they died of dehydration or heat exhaustion. Since, I was forced to mate almost every day, the heat tired me out easily and by the end of some days, I could hardly move or think. I just wondered if this vicious cycle would every stop. As the warm weather came, these little itchy things started appearing on our bodies. They were miserable and were a constant itch. There was no way to get rid of them. There also were these little things that would latch onto our skin and suck our blood. I guess some of the dogs could not stand the itch, because they died because of those itchy and blood sucking things. They made me very tired and scatter-brained. It felt as if, dogs just kept dieing and dieing and new ones kept coming and coming. One would die and a new one would come in. I looked around at the dogs in the pen with me. It had never crossed my mind before to even pay attention to them. Most were skinny and dirty, like me. The ones with white fur, like me, looked like their fur was muddy brown instead of white. The ones with long fur had mats and poop entangled in their hair. You could hardly see their eyes or bodies. Those were the ones who mostly died from the heat. Many dogs had injuries from fights with other dogs. One dog especially, was a tri-colored beagle I called Paw. He was one of the weak ones who was so malnourished that he ate the dogs that had died. His leg and one of his ears were missing, from fights he had had with other dogs and those blood sucking things covered his body. There were a few dogs that had moments when they would thrash around on the floor uncontrollably and most of the time during these moments, the crazy dogs would go and attack them. The females looked even worse than us. Despite the horrible shape most of us were in, Spud and Dorothy still bred every single one of us. All they cared about was money, nothing else.  The next morning, I woke up to the usual noises of fighting and playing. I also woke up to an unusual sound, whining. I looked around the pen and saw Alpha laying on his side, whining and coughing. I could tell he was in pain. Some of the others licked Alpha on his muzzle, thinking that may help. I walked over to him, growling at the others to leave him alone. They listened and backed off. Alpha looked at me with his glazed over eyes and licked me on my face. I licked him back and then he was gone. The others and I gathered around Alpha in mourning. We all howled, our hoarse howls, in honor of our leader. He was a fierce but gentle old guy and would be in my heart forever.



Offline KatysTank

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Re: Story of a puppy mill dog
« Reply #3 on: June 28, 2008, 11:31:36 pm »
The next few days were full of the top dominant dogs fighting to be pack leader. Next in line to be pack leader, was a red longhaired dachshund, who I called Ace. His hair was matted and dirty and he was much smaller than Alpha. He also was tough and fierce. He always stood his ground and was only a few years older than me. Two other dogs, a young Puggle and an older Jack Russell, thought other wise. They constantly fought and fought with each other and Ace, but in the end, Ace became alpha dog. I was more of the submissive type, and would rather be a follower than a leader.

Time drug on and the seasons changed and before I knew it, two years had passed. Those two years were full of mating, death and fighting. The only times I saw Penny was when she mated or when Dorothy would take her puppies away to give to the “puppy brokers”. She had birthed 6 litters, since her first mating and at 3 years old, was pregnant with another. Penny’s face was sad and scared. Her teats hung down from nursing so many babies; puppies and mating had caused her to look older than she was. She was skinny and dirty and I hardly recognized her. This place had broken her playful, outgoing spirit and turned her into depressed, timid dog.


The next day, Spud took me out of my pen and carried me outside. I thought that, as usual, it was time for mating again. Instead, he opened the back of his van and loaded me into a wire cage. Inside the back of the van, there were other dogs in wire cages too. I heard Spud and Dorothy talking about where we were going. We were going to a place called an auction because they wanted to trade out some old breeders for new breeders and sell some of their low producing breeders. I had no idea what this place was, but I knew it did not sound very wonderful. Spud put the cross-eyed black pug in the wire cage with me. The pug looked at me with a crazy look and his tongue sticking out. He growled at me and then laid down. He was a weird dog and I did not understand him. I looked beside me, and in the cage next to me was a very pregnant, Penny.I wagged my tail and licked her face with delight. She growled and snapped at me. I whined at her and she looked at me with a hollow look in her eyes and bit me on my muzzle. My sister Penny, so battered and confused, did not even recognize her own brother. It broke my heart that this horrible place had turned her into this. Spud closed the doors on the back of the van and he and Dorothy hopped into the two front seats and drove away to this place they called an auction.


All of a sudden the van stopped, the front doors opened then closed and Spud opened the back doors to the van. Dorothy and Spud carried each wire cage out one by one. While Dorothy carried our wire cage, I saw where we were going. There was a giant white tent and inside was a table and lots of chairs. There were cages stacked behind and beside the chairs. Humans were everywhere and they were all here for the same reason, us. I had a feeling these humans were just like Spud and Dorothy and I was right.


Dorothy stacked our wire cage on top of another, right beside the table. After Spud and Dorothy were done loading the wire cages into the tent; they sat down in a chair and talked to the other humans. Again, they talked as if we were used cars. All of a sudden, the humans stopped talking and looked up at the table. A male human was standing behind the table and welcomed the other humans to the auction and hoped that they will find themselves a nice breeder or two. I could tell I was going to hate this human too, and I did. The male human picked a cage up and put in onto the table. I had never met these dogs before. He picked one up and held it up in the air. Then, he started to talk really fast, where I could hardly understand him. He said, “Number 763. This is a really nice one here. Make you lots of money. Male Maltese, nice stud, don’t let the crooked leg fool ya’ folks, he’s a top quality breeder, will produce you lots of females, very experienced and those designer puppies are really sellin’ right now. Starting Bid: $200.00.” That dog’s fur was matted and had teeth missing. His front leg was crooked and made him walk funny. He did not look nice to me, he looked pitiful. The humans kept bidding and bidding on that dog and he sold for $450. The male human brought cage after cage up to the table. Some dogs were auctioned and some were not. During the auctioning of the other dogs, the heat became unbearable and I became very thirsty. We had no water to drink. The pug drove me crazy. He would growl and then lick me on the face, and he repeated that several times. He was not right in the head.


After many dogs were auctioned, Penny was next. The male human picked her up out of the cage and sat her on the table. Her eyes grew wide and she froze in fear. She was terrified. This is what he said about Penny: “Number 374. We got us a pregnant one her folks, should have her pups in a couple days. Female Jack Russell, white with tri-colored markings, bred by a lemon and white Beagle. She will make you some nice Jackabees. Produces large litters and has a lot of years left on her. Starting Bid: $150.00”. The male human auctioned my sister off for $345. How I was going to miss her, even though she did not recognize me. They made my sister sound as if she was a used car, it made me so mad. I would never see my dear Penny again. I whined, thinking about the place she was probably headed to.


Next were the pug and I. The male human auctioned off the black, crazy, cross-eyed pug for $200. I was happy and sad to see him leave. I was happy because we could now drink out of the water bucket without being growled at, but was sad because he had to go to a new, unfamiliar place. Spud and Dorothy’s place was the only place he had ever known, so in his crazy, lonely mind, He felt comfortable at their place. He whined and scratched at the side of his new wire cage, as his new humans loaded him in the back of their truck with several other dogs in cages. I think it was really hard on the crazy guy. Then, it was my turn. The male human took me out of my cage and I was so mad at him, I bit him really hard on his hand. Blood ran down off his hand onto the table and I was so proud of myself. Another human handed him a towel and he wiped the blood off. He put me back in the cage and started auctioning me off. This is what he said about me: Number 373. We got ourselves a feisty one here folks. Male Jack Russell, white with tan markings. aggressive, proven breeder. Nice, nice stud. Starting bid: $150.00”. None of the humans wanted me, so my wire cage went over where Spud and Dorothy’s new dogs were. I was glad I was not going to be auctioned to a new place, but I still did not want to go back to Spud and Dorothy’s.


Most of the dogs that Spud and Dorothy brought to the auction were auctioned off or traded. Myself and two other dogs (out of 50 dogs) were the only old dogs they came home with. The two others were a beagle and a dachshund. The beagle was a old male. His face and muzzle were white and all his teeth were gone. He was missing one of his paws and was scarred from fighting. The dachshund was a young female, probably about 8 months. She was what they called a black and tan dapple. Her eyes were as blue as a nice summer sky. I had no idea why we were not auctioned or traded. Spud and Dorothy loaded up the van, with us, twenty new dogs and lots of money. The new ones ages ranged from puppies to older dogs. They were Pugs, Dachshunds, Puggles, and two new kinds of dogs. They were called Poodles and Cocker Spaniels. Spud and Dorothy talked about how these two new breeds, would produce them Cock-a-poos, Jack-a-poos, and Pug-a-poos. It was as if, Spud and Dorothy’s eyes had turned into money signs. It just sounded like a bunch of mixed up mess to me! After, all the new dogs were loaded into the back of the van; we headed back to the place I sadly called home.


We arrived back at Spud and Dorothy’s place. Spud drove back into the woods were we lived. They loaded the young and older adults, including me, into the pens in the barn and loaded the puppies into the pens outside. It was different without the black pug there. I started to miss him, growling at the water bucket and the crazy faces he made. I went up towards the water bucket, took a slurp, caught a mouse to eat, and laid down to try and take a nap. I had an exhausting day and knew the next day was going to be full of more mating and fighting, like everyday was.

The morning turned into the afternoon and the new dogs that were put in our pen were getting acquainted with the pack. None of them challenged Ace, they all submitted to him. They did not want to start any trouble. Three new dogs were added to our pack from the auction. We were pretty used to new dogs coming in, as it seemed like new ones came every week. The three new dogs were a black poodle, a cream cocker spaniel and a fawn puggle. The black poodle’s fur was matted and long and looked like a big dust bunny. He had teeth missing and his tongue hung out the side of his mouth. The cream cocker spaniel fur was dirty and was starting to mat and his eyes were very runny. Those itchy things were infested in his fur. The fawn puggle was aggressive and mean. He hid in the corner and growled at the rest of us. He was covered in those blood-sucking things and was very thin. He looked like a skeleton and he was like Paw, and ate the dead dogs. Weeks turned into months, and months turned into years. At five years of my life, it felt as if I had mated a million times.

Many new dogs had come and many old and young ones had past. Spud and Dorothy would load up their old, white van with dogs to go to auction almost every weekend, but they never took me there again. I guess they did not want me to cause a scene. The only two male dogs they never took to auction were Paw and Ace. They were Spud’s top studs, he said and he did not want anyone else to have them. I really could not see Paw as being a top stud though. They would trade and auction off their old dogs and get new ones. It was a never ending cycle. I loved auction days. It meant I did not have to mate because they would be gone all day. We were forced to mate about 4 times a week. Even though I was not exactly in paradise where I lived, I tried to enjoy the non mating days, the best I could.


The weather in the barn was always horrible. In the hot seasons, it would get humid and stuffy. It brought the itchy and blood-sucking things, which I hated. The nasty smells of the barn would intensify and sometimes you could hardly breathe. It felt as if, you were baking in the sun. The pee and poop that covered our bodies would become extremely itchy and uncomfortable. A lot of dogs could not stand the heat and died. I hated the hot seasons. The cold seasons were wonderful at first, because it felt cool and nice in the barn. The cold seasons made the itchy and blood-sucking things go away, which was wonderful. As the cold seasons, drug on, it got colder and colder. The weak ones of the pack, died because they could not hold body heat. We would all huddle together to try and stay warm. It always reminded me of when I was a puppy and Runt, Penny and I would cuddle up to stay warm from the harsh, cold season. I hated both seasons very much. There was a nice time in between, where the weather was just right. I loved the nice season but it did not last long.

Offline KatysTank

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Re: Story of a puppy mill dog
« Reply #4 on: June 28, 2008, 11:36:15 pm »
No matter what the weather, we were forced to mate. Rain, snow, hot seasons, cold seasons, it did not matter. It was very hard to mate during both seasons. During the hot seasons, it felt as if, I was about to die from the heat and the female felt the same way. I would pant so much, it made me dizzy. During the cold seasons, especially when it snowed, it felt like I was a frozen statue. I did not want to move, but my instincts and drive told me other wise. Sometimes, dogs were left outside in the snow so long, they froze to death. I imagined the poor puppies that lived in the chicken wire pens outside and how when I was their age, the cold weather was unbearable. A lot of puppies froze to death when I lived in the chicken wire pens too. While, Spud and Dorothy sat in their nice, warm, cozy house. We sat out here in the cold weather, paying for that warm air. Why did they get to enjoy it and we didn’t?, I wondered.


My life at Spud and Dorothy’s place never seemed to change. It was the same old routine over and over again. The seasons came and went and before I knew it I was in my seventh year. At seven years, my face had changed from my young adult face to old and worn. My spirit had changed and I could give a care less about life. I was tired of the same old cycle and wished it would change. Ace was now old and grey, like Alpha. His teeth had all fallen out and had trouble with his back legs. Paw was old and feeble. He mostly laid in the corner of the pen, because he could not walk. His other front leg, had given out on him. He could still mate, so Spud kept him. I wondered how Penny and Runt were doing all the time. I wished I knew where Penny was and what horrible place she was at. I wanted to know what life was like for dogs like Runt, if it was really all I thought it would be.


As I laid there on the concrete floor of the pen, I wished my world would just stop. I hated that place, the humans and everything about it. I laid there, tired from mating, and in a trance from the humid, hot weather. I wondered why we were treated so cruelly and why we were forced to live this way. Then, the doors to the barn were wide open and a burst of light shined in. I saw figures come towards us. It scared me at first not knowing what was coming for us. As my eyes adjusted, a female human wearing a blue hat and a blue jumpsuit with a gold badge on it, picked me up. She picked me up every so gentle and cradled me in her arms. She petted me and spoke softly and gently. The angels had come to rescue us.


The female human took me out of the barn and headed for her van. There were a whole bunch of angels outside with vans, to rescue us. She sat me down inside a crate and I watched as they rescued the others. A lot of the other dogs did not understand these humans were here to rescue us. A lot of them bit and growled, the angels were patient with them and gently tried to coax them out of their shells. The old ones, like Ace and Paw, just laid in the angels arms, in shock of what was going on. I saw tears and sadness in the angel’s eyes when they looked at us. They saw the true neglect we went though. It took a lot of time for the angels to rescue us all. When they were almost all done, I heard an angel say that Spud and Dorothy had over 600 dogs and puppies. Wow, I thought.


After they had loaded us all up into their big vans, two male humans with blue outfits and badges on, came out with Spud and Dorothy. They were in these things called handcuffs. The female human that rescued me said, they will now hopefully be punished for what they did to these poor dogs. We all howled and barked our hoarse barks in rejoice, that we were getting out of there and that those hateful humans were going to be punished. Old Ace the dachshund had one last thing to do before he was to be rescued. He struggled and jumped out of one the angel’s arms and ran up to Spud and ripped at his ankle. He then, lifted his leg and peed on Dorothy’s shoe. The angels chuckled to themselves and the male humans loaded Spud and Dorothy in the back of their car. They then turned on their big blue lights and drove away. It was the best feeling in the world.


When were arrived at our new home, the angels unloaded our crates into a room and several humans in blue outfits called scrubs took us out of our crates and looked us over. I heard them say that a lot of us had missing teeth, hernias, skin infections, fleas, ticks, and other diseases and ailments. Some of the female dogs had something called mammary cancer. I could see the sadness in the humans’ eyes as they looked us over. They also said how we were dirty, malnourished, dehydrated, and the ones with long hair, were matted. As they looked over me, the human told another human everything that was wrong with me. She wrote it down on paper. I was malnourished, had fleas, had ticks, a little dehydrated, skin infection, missing almost all my teeth and lots of old scars and wounds. They also gave that nasty, stuff in the syringe and a thing called a vaccination. It would protect me from diseases. I did not sound very healthy.



Offline KatysTank

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Re: Story of a puppy mill dog
« Reply #5 on: June 28, 2008, 11:36:29 pm »
Next one of the humans in scrubs took me into another room. It had a huge, wide bucket in it and hoses coming out from the top. The human sat me down inside the huge bucket. I stared at him, wondering what was going to happen. All of sudden, water came out of the end of the hose. It scared me and I tried to climb my way out of the bucket. The human sat me back down into the bucket and talked to me in a calm, gentle voice. I did not like the water at first, but then it grew on me. It felt nice on my itchy, dry skin. He then squirted this cream-colored stuff into his hand. He rubbed it into my fur and skin. It felt so good. When he was done, all the pee, poop, dirt, itchy and blood-sucking things were gone. It was heaven. He dried me off with a towel and handed me off to another human in scrubs.


This human took me into another room where runs lined the walls. The runs had tile floors, metal fenced doors and a hole that took us outside. He opened the metal door, petted me on my head and sat me inside. I looked around. It was so clean and smelled wonderful! I drank the nice, cold water out of my new water bowl. I gobbled down the yummy, soft food they had left for me. Then, I saw this fluffy thing. I went near it and touched it with my paw. It was soft and squishy! I laid down on it and rubbed my face against the soft fabric. The air was cool and nice; not humid and stuffy like the barn. It was simply fantastic! I was in heaven. Then, another human walked up to my cage. He had another dog in his arms. He opened the door to my run and sat the dog and their food inside. I looked at the other dog and at first glance, I did not know who he was. The dog was skinny, covered in scars, and open wounds. He looked like a dachshund having a bad hair day. I then realized that it was Ace! All of his long, matted, red hair was gone. He looked so happy, but his hair cut sure did look funny. I sniffed his butt just to make sure. He hobbled over to the food and scarfed it up. Then, Ace and I curled up with each other and took a long, long nap.


Two months had gone by, and this place just kept getting better and better. Ace, the others and I started to gain weight and were starting to get nice and plump. We got a lot of love and attention by the humans that worked there. They were so kind and nice. After a month of being there, one of the humans in the scrubs, picked me up and took me into another room. It had a metal table in it and a light hanging from the ceiling. There was a lot of stuff sitting around. He sat me down on the table and put a mask on my face. I slowly drifted off to sleep. When, I woke up from my sleep, I was laying in a metal kennel. I felt a little groggy and confused. Another human in scrubs said, “well it looks like he’s awake!”. He came over and petted me on my head and I wagged my tail in excitement. My bottom was sore and in pain. I am not sure what they did, but it hurt afterwards.


After a day of rest, they put me back in my run with Ace. The same thing had happened to him too. I then realized that my tag was gone from my ear and also from Ace’s. It felt good not having it there, but it left a hole in the bottom part of my ear. Also, it was much easier to eat food and my teeth did not hurt as bad. That deep sleep I had also caused my mating drives to go away. That was a big relief. I never thought about mating again, after that day.

In the two months that I had been there, a lot of dogs went over the rainbow bridge. They had to put to sleep, dogs like Paw, that were old and feeble, dogs with cancer and other diseases, and the extremely aggressive ones, like that puggle. Even thought it was sad to see them go, it was the best for them. Now, they got to live a life of luxury, over the rainbow bridge. Most of the dogs that were rescued were not like me. I trusted that these humans were good and I wallowed in their affection. Most of the other dogs, growled and cowered in the corner, not letting the humans pick them up. The humans did not give up on them though, and worked to gain their trust. Also, during the two months, I had what was called a behavioral test. They took me into a room, with tile floors and white walls. I guess it was to see if I bit or not. They hugged me, petted me, kissed me, and tested how I responded to affection. They also gave me food and stuck a hand in it. I backed away and let the hand have my food. They reassured me that the hand was not going hurt me and I ate while it petted me. They ran a whole bunch of other scenarios on me. The female human who did the test said, I would do best in a home with no children and where I can learn to be confident. Other than that, I passed the test! I was so proud of myself. Some of the dogs did not pass the test, so the humans worked with them to learn those skills.
 

A week later a female human came up to our run. She bent down and looked at Ace. Ace stared at her in question. She petted him on his head and talked to him in a soft, gentle voice. Ace decided he could trust her. He wagged his tail and licked her hand. She also petted me on my head, but she was mostly interested in Ace. She obviously fell in love with his old man charm. She went up to the male human that worked in the run room. She told him that her name was Ms. Lang and she was from Coast to Coast Dachshund Rescue and she would like to know about Ace. The male human told her that Ace was very aggressive towards his food, but other than that he was a sweet, outgoing, old man. She told him that could be worked on. A tear rolled down her cheek, and she told him, she would love to foster Ace because she had two other senior dachshunds at home. Ace went home with that wonderful woman. I was so happy for Ace! He had lived the first eleven years of his life, living in h*ll. He deserved to live in luxury and to be spoiled.


The humans there called were we used to live, a puppy mill. They also said that these puppy mills are everywhere. Well, I called it h*ll. I thought about Penny and Mother a lot while enjoyed that place. I wished Penny and Mother were with me, and were able to enjoy that wonderful place too.

A month went by and at eight years old, I was still waiting for my forever home. I did not mind being there, but wished I had a place to call my own. I laid there on my fluffy cloud, enjoying the day, when I saw a female human walk by my cage. She was an older human and her hair was white and frizzy. Wrinkles covered her face and she carried a thing called a cane in here hand. The cane helped her walk. She then opened the door to my pen and came inside. She got down on her old knees and said “come her old man“. I slowly approached her, and she petted me. I looked at her and she looked at me, it was love at first sight! Her name was Martha.

The male human that worked in the runs, took me out of my run and put me on a thing called a leash. I hated it at first, but the male human made me wear it, so I unwillingly got used to it. Martha asked the man about me, because she had heard Jack Russells are hyper dogs. He told her I was an exception to that rule, that I was very mellow, but loved a nice walk once in a while. She paid my adoption fee, took my leash and we headed for her little, tan car. She opened the driver door and I jumped in. She patted on the seat beside her and I walked over to it and laid down. She petted me all the way home and talked about her life and how lucky I was to be with her. Martha was an amazing woman and I knew I was lucky! She then said I needed a name. I thought, well I already have a name and it is Jacks; doesn’t she know that! She ran though lots of names that I did not like. She then said, since you are a Jack Russell, I will make it easy and call you Old Man Jacks and call you Jacks for short! I was so glad Mother had named me something that even humans would guess!!
We pulled in the driveway to a little brick house out in the country. Martha said, “Welcome to you new home Jacks!” I wagged my tail in excitement and wonder! She grabbed her cane out of the back seat, put my leash around my neck, and we headed for her front door. I had never been inside a house before, so it was all exciting and new. I had a lot to learn though! We walked inside her home. It was decorated with dog statues, dog plates, and even a dog blanket. It was also decorated in what she called a country livin’ theme. My new home was beautiful! She showed me around the house. She showed me my new soft, fluffy cloud, new water and food bowl, and this thing called a dog toy, that squeaked! She let me off my leash to explore my new world.


I had a few things to learn about living in a house. These are the new things I was slowly learning: do not chew or pee on the rugs, do not pee or poop in the house, use the “doggy door”, and to not terrorize the parakeet! Martha never hit me or yelled at me. Whenever I did something wrong, she would just say no in a firm voice. I hated disappointing her so, I always listened. Living in a house was so much fun and Martha was retired, so she stayed home with me all day! Everyday, we would wake up at 6:00AM and go out for our morning stroll. I didn’t know a old lady with a cane could walk so fast, but Martha did! Then, we would come inside and she would make me my special morning breakfast. It was wet food mixed with broiled, shredded chicken and baby carrots. It was delicious! She fixed her regular breakfast of jelly toast and scrambled eggs. Sometimes, she would let me have a piece or two of her eggs. Then, we would sit down on her couch and watch TV. I usually would take a nap during this time. Then, in the afternoon, while Martha did her laundry and house chores, I would go outside and play. She had a nice fenced in backyard and it was so much fun to sunbathe and play with my toys! I would hoarse bark at the birds and squirrels and attack the flowers in Martha’s flower bed. I also loved to dig! It was so much fun digging and rolling in Martha’s flowerbed! Luckily, Martha did not care if I did that. She said, “she had to many plants anyway!” Then at night, she would make me my other special meal. It was either rice mixed with tuna and baby carrots, or wet food mixed with tuna. Both were wonderful! We always sat and enjoyed our dinner together. Then Martha would sit down on the couch, with me in her lap, and read novels. Finally, at 9:00PM, we both climbed into her big comfy bed and went to sleep. I loved it!

At 11 years of my life, living with Martha had been wonderful. Our days were filled with playing and lounging. We had been through many hurdles, but had gotten through them all. Our favorite past time was going to the dog park. She talked with her friends and I played with the other dogs. Then after the dog park, she would go to Sonic and get us both a vanilla ice cream cone. Vanilla cones were delicious! On Sundays, she would invite her friends over for poker night and I would be her right hand man. Martha usually always won. She said, “I was her good luck charm. “ I had learned not to chew or pee on the rug, not to pee and poop in the house, and to use the “doggy door”, but I still terrorize the parakeet every now and then.  Martha and I had not been feeling like ourselves. My old joints hurt and I would rather just sleep. My chest hurt and I would cough up this green stuff. Martha’s bones became brittle and she was not able to walk as good, as she used to. She had been really sick and was not getting better. Martha and I were getting old. We started to skip our morning strolls and we would both rather lounge on the couch. We mostly sat on the couch and watched TV. Martha and I took our usual afternoon nap and we did not wake up. We died a peaceful death and in my eyes, it was wonderful.


I am in heaven now. I am reunited with Mother, Penny and Runt. We are all a big, happy family once again! I have realize there are good and bad humans in this world. I still think there are more bad than good. Spud and Dorothy went to jail for one year for animal cruelty. They are now back in business. It makes me mad, that they were not stopped. Runt lived with his family for fourteen years, where he was loved and spoiled. I was glad he had lived a good life. Mother was shot at ten years old because she couldn‘t give birth anymore. Penny went from puppy mill to puppy mill. Penny did not produce big litters, so she was auctioned at auctions a lot. She died giving birth in a puppy mill, at the age ten. At ten, she had been in six different puppy mills and three different auctions. Some dogs in puppy mills are rescued as a puppy, like Runt, some are rescued by angels, like I was, but most of them, like Penny, Alpha, Friend and Mother, live in puppy mills their whole lives. They never got to experience love or attention. They never got to lay on a fluffy cloud or eat yummy food. They lived in misery and were neglected their whole lives.

Please think before you buy from a pet store, a puppy mill, a backyard breeder or that free puppy at Wal-Mart. Do not buy a puppy just because it is cute. Look at where the parents live, look at where the puppies live, get the number of their vet and ask the vet what they think of the breeder. Get references from humans that have bought their puppies. Research the breeder. If they tell you they do not have the parents there or they say they do not have a vet, do not buy from them. If the parents and puppies do not look healthy or do not live in a clean, nice environment, do not buy from them. Do not buy a puppy if it is poor quality or looks sickly. When I was a puppy, as I said, I hated and liked the “puppy buyers” at the same time and I still do. Think about this quote before you go and buy from a puppy mill, pet store, or backyard breeder. “Puppy buyers” save the puppy they paid for, but at the same time, paid the humans to keep neglecting the rest of us and making our lives miserable”. Even though humans think they are saving a puppy when they buy from a puppy mill, they are paying for hundreds of other dogs neglect and abuse. They are paying for that puppy mill to continue. The best thing “puppy buyers” can do, is report the puppy mill to the angels. Then, hopefully they will try there best and rescue us. Please save other dogs and puppies from going though the neglect and abuse, the others and I were forced to live in. Please buy from responsible, reputable breeders or even better, adopt a needy dog from a shelter or humane society! We do not have a voice so humans need to speak up for us. Please think about my story, before you go buy your next family member. It will make a difference in so many dog’s lives.


Written by: Katy Campbell
This story is protected by © Copyright, 2008. Please do not copy or transfer any text found herein. Thank you.

Offline Rajas Mom

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Re: Story of a puppy mill dog
« Reply #6 on: June 29, 2008, 03:07:15 pm »
Wonderfully written.  I'm crying right now. 
Raja (Our Princess), 3 yr St. Benard
Charlie (Our Calico Cat), 3 yr
Bocephus (Wild & Crazy Lab), RIP
Shadow (Secretly a Cat Schipperke Mix), RIP

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Re: Story of a puppy mill dog
« Reply #7 on: June 29, 2008, 03:47:01 pm »
Katy, you are an amazing young woman. Thank you.
'J'

Offline KatysTank

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Re: Story of a puppy mill dog
« Reply #8 on: June 29, 2008, 10:00:04 pm »
thank you for the compliments!