ANATOMY OF A PUPPY MILL RESCUE... ALDF had an amazing victory in shutting down one of the largest puppy mills, and now is the anatomy of shutting one down and the statistic of how many puppies,dogs,cats, livestock, wildlife and birds are in these puppy mills. We all need to take the time to help, sign petitions for better legislation against these very abusive mills and stronger penalties against the owners.. Mahalo

Human Society of the US, ASPCA,NY, PETA, ALDF. and more are all part of a intervention to rescue and save the animals at Puppy Mills.   

What is the anatomy of a puppy mill rescue.. well many watch the news and it looks like it may take a faction of the time to rescue dogs, cats, possibly livestock and horses. Now we need to look at the whole picture.. start to finish.. which can take up to a year. Why is that you may ask?? 

         

 It starts with emails, phone calls, under cover visits, and videos. Neighbors will call and email and complain about barking, foul odors and fleas. Some will call or email that they smelled burning flesh.  Now it starts this can be considered launching a full scale political view and a campaign to seize and rescue dogs, cats, wildlife and livestock  Reviews of the investigations are then forwarded to legal teams to ensure all the information is beyond approach, and it will then become fuel to light that fire. Once, the undercover investigation documents are in all in order and reviewed, along with videos, then implementing a search warrant for the property is the next step.  Once the Search and Seizure Warrant is given the local authorities accompany the organization, which has a convoy of trucks, vans, horse trailers if needed, and trained volunteers usually from surrounding counties. 

 Local Sheriff, Deputies and the staff of the local chapter of the organization implementing the rescue, appear at the front door of the owners of the puppy mill.  Many times the owners will not allow entrance and will say there is nothing wrong here, once the investigators of the organization enter, and see the premises, owners will argue with authorities and will usually end with arrests and the rescue of the animals is in motion. Some of the animals are so dirty, unclean, absolutely no care,one cannot tell what breed. Many are without water and food, and some are nibbling on dead wildlife pieces of meat mixed in with old dog food.   

There are estimated over 10,000 puppy mills in the United States. and implementing the steps to put them out of business is a very tedious and one must be very meticulous in documentation . Every dog, cat, wildlife and livestock rescued will be evidence to build the case against owners of puppy mills. Health records, e.g. broken bones, (many have), infections, skin lesions, bloody fluid noted in ear canals and so much more, must be meticulously documented by the veterinarian which will also be used in the case. 

Once the rescue begins, the staff of the organization enters, along with the trained volunteers. Many of the dogs will not know how to walk on a leash and many may not want to be touched by rescuers.  Carefully and with patience, love and a gentle voice every animal will be carried out by a parade of loving and caring volunteers. Each animal, dog, cat, bird, livestock, horse will be inspected by a veterinarian for outward problems. Many will have hair loss, fly bites and tops of ears missing, gum disease, matted fur encrusted with feces and definitely emaciation. Some may even be in packs, so they protect one another, bear teeth, but they too will be carefully and lovingly rescued. They are then carried taken to mobile kennels, in the trucks and SUV's. They are now heading for SAVE HAVEN, in the care of kindness, which none of them have ever known or encountered during their lifetime. Some will be approachable for adoption maybe within six weeks or more. Others will take more time, personality issues, which will need a lot of caring.and continue training. These organizations who implement these large rescues, work with many "NO KILL" shelters and foster care, in every state, and county, who will then have the dogs, puppies, cats, even livestock ready for adoption.

What is sad is that many of the Puppy Mill owners, were once rescuers at one time, some maybe  worked with AKC as Exhibitors and Judges.  "WOW" how can they turn an about face and become such abusers. They seem to have turned a blind eye and definitely do not have love in their hearts for the animals in their care. I guess "money is the root of all evil", as they say.  

Many will go to prison, some may serve just jail time, with enormous fines and definitely not able to have animals again.  

"The HSUS identified a puppy mill: an operation that sells dogs for money and fails to breed them appropriately or provide adequate housing, shelter, staffing, nutrition, socialization, sanitation, exercise, and veterinary care. That definition was agreed to last year by The HSUS, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the American Pet Products Association, the Pet Industry Distributors Association, the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, and retailers Petco and Petland."

The HSUS began is now offering a $5,000 reward, the organization and is now receiving more than 600 leads from its puppy mill tip line (1-877-MILL-TIP), the web, and state directors. 

All of the the organizations whether it is Humane Society US, PETA, ASPCA, ALDF, Best Friends, and more, who implement these large scaled rescues from Puppy Mills, depend on us for donations, and help. They depend on us to sign petitions, for better legislation regulating these mills. They cannot do what is necessary without each and every one of us who see this abuse, the horrid conditions the animals live in, we also need to reach out to them, HELP, DONATE (when possible) be a first responder and volunteer to help the rescues, especially if it is in your state or county..

We too are here to SAVE AND PROTECT all animals in need of our help!!!

                                      Puppy Mill Statistics

• An estimated 167,388 breeding dogs are currently living in United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)-licensed commercial facilities for breeding purposes this very moment.*
• There are an estimated 10,000 puppy mills in the United States (this includes both licensed and unlicensed facilities).
• Over 2 million puppies bred in mills each year.
• An estimated 1.2 million dogs are euthanized in shelters every year

References:  HSUS..  puppy mill rescue and statistics 2014

                    ASPCA. puppy mill rescue, 2016

                    ALDF...  shut down of puppy mill, 2016   

 No Life is better than another.. and all Life was created with purpose...

 We cannot co-exist in a civilized world, until we respect the dignity of all animals created...and  STOP THE BARBARIC ACTIONS against them...  

 We cannot measure our goodness on what we don't do or what we resist.

 We can only measure our goodness on what we embrace and what we create.  

 Be an Angel of Kindness and wondrous gifts will abound you...