Puppy Day!

In the late fall, a group of Golden Rescue volunteers in and near Arkansas attended an auction where puppy millers were putting dogs up for sale.  The volunteers purchased as many Goldens as they could that day, saving approximately 70 from living the rest of their lives in other puppy mills.

GRRI was asked if we could help by taking some of the rescued puppy mill dogs.  Former GRRI president and long time Golden breeder Judy Laureano, who now lives in Tennessee, graciously agreed to help. Transportation was arranged, and a sweet gentle female, Dolly, arrived at Judy's home.  Soon after, Dolly began showing signs of pregnancy ... and sure enough, she was.   We were grateful beyond measure that Dolly had been sent to Judy, who has so much breeding experience behind her. Dolly got excellent prenatal care and lots of love at Judy's house.  And then, on  December 5, 2004, Dolly delivered 11 healthy (and adorable!) puppies! They grew and grew and grew ... and Dolly was an excellent Mom.

What are puppy mills? Puppy mills are harsh, squalid and inhumane factory style dog breeding farms that are incomprehensible to those of us who care about responsible breeding, and who consider our dogs to be intelligent, feeling creatures deserving of safe, comfortable and well loved lives. How do puppy mills thrive? Most puppy mills own hundreds of dogs of various breeds, and produce thousands of puppies per year without applying the fundamental hallmarks of selective breeding and companion animal care -- such as screening for inheritable diseases and temperament problems; or providing proper nutrition, adequate housing, or appropriate veterinary care.  With virtually none of the standard and humane considerations at play, puppy milling is a very lucrative business model. Are puppy mills regulated? Although puppy mills are licensed by the USDA, most fly under the radar of USDA inspectors, who are already overburdened with their primary role -- overseeing the nation's food supply.  It's no surprise, then, that conditions at most puppy mills are substandard or worse. Where are puppy mills?  In this part of the country, Pennsylvania leads the list.  But the mid-west is the most prolific puppy mill region. How do these puppies reach consumers?  The millers sell them to puppy brokers, who then transport and sell them to pet shops nationwide, where consumers buy them at a high retail price, and without knowing the abysmal conditions they perpetuate through their purchase. Why are consumers confused? Most of these puppies are registered with the AKC, which gives people the mistaken impression that they have been bred with care and concern.  But the AKC is not a regulatory agency -- and in this context, they are simply a listing service that assigns each puppy a unique registration number and tabulates the number of dogs registered each year by breed. Another harsh reality is that there are puppy mill auctions.  When millers go out of business, or simply want to clear out their *inventory*, they contract with auctioneers who sell the dogs to the highest bidder. Again, humane issues such as inheritable diseases, temperament, proper nutrition, adequate housing and appropriate vet care are ignored in these auctions.  The only concern is profit -- for the miller, the auctioneer, and the buyer -- who most often buys the stock for his or her own puppy mill What Can YOU Do About Puppy Mills? Learn more about puppy mills and help educate others  -- let your search engine be your guide.  The web is filled with informative sites that will tell you and show you the truths about puppy mills.  Encourage the media to cover the issue. For a list of media in your area visit:  http://www.ecola.com/tv/ Spay and neuter your pets.  It makes sense for lots of reasons -- health and pet overpopulation chief among them.  But when you have PUREBRED dogs, spaying and neutering also prevents your dogs from becoming puppy mill breeding stock if they are lost or stolen.  (Yes, THIS happens!) NEVER buy a puppy in a pet store, and shop for supplies ONLY in pet stores that DON'T sell puppies.  Remember:  With every pet store purchase, you send a message to the entire puppy mill trade.

At the end of January, Judy and her husband Ray drove Dolly and the puppies up to New Jersey.   Other GRRI volunteers had been busy all month too, prescreening the many applicants who wanted Dolly or one of her pups.

And now the day was here, Puppy Day: 
Saturday, January 29th.

Everyone was ready, and excited.  But first the pups needed a snooze.

 

And then it was bath time ....

 

   

 

And then it was time for families and puppies to meet and fall in love.

Kevin Wilkening & Laura Smith with Culver & Dolly

The Rosenblatt Family with Chelsea

Shari & Jordan Stack with Casey

Priscilla Prickett with Clifford & Dolly

The Pappayliou Family with Gracie & Dolly

Olivia & Bill Bergner with Chloe

The Sbraga Family with Shylow

Denise Holtz & Kelly Blazejewski with Tazo & Dolly

Shiloh went home to her adoptive family, the Kings, the following day.

Rufus went into foster care and is currently looking for a forever family.

Dickens is also in foster care and looking for a family to love him.

It was a difficult day for Dolly, who still was very attached to her puppies and reacted when each one left with its new adopted family.  But finally, the day was done and it was time for Dolly to head to her new family, too.

Dolly looks so sad leaving ...

But so happy in her new forever home with Ellie Marshall

Dolly, may you and your puppies have long, happy, healthy lives with your new families!

Thanks to the following GRRI Volunteers for all they did to help Dolly and her puppies get off to such wonderful new lives:
Judy & Ray Laureano
Terry & Joe Veiga
Eileen & Drew McFadden
Ruth Osman
Linda Walter
The Adoption Interview and Home Visit Teams