Tails: Unseen Efforts

This Saturday a group of my fellow rescuers are going into a mill in northern Wisconsin to save 34 dogs. They come in all breeds, sexes and sizes, but they share one thing in common: their lives have been spent making puppies for those places we call petstores.

It is a horrible life for them.

One of the rescuers has already gone into the mill to check out the dogs and prepare breed rescues for the shape these dogs are in. Yes, these dogs are in wire cages with wire bottoms and pooping on the dogs below them. They have been served cheap food and dirty water. And have never had one ounce of human affection.

And, most of them will have health issues such as bad teeth, viral infections and, all of them will need to be groomed. On top of the potentially fixable health problems will be the behavioral scars they all share and curing those will takes unconditional love and patience.

I know most people only see this kind of stuff on Oprah and tend to believe that these are isolated situations. But, I am here to tell you they are not. Nearly everyday I get emails about a mill closing or a puppy miller calling to "get rid" of the dogs because he has no use for them.

The conditions people see in newspaper stories or TV - aren't exaggerations - they are real and they are everywhere.

Nobody is out to get stores like Petland because they have poor customer service - it is because they are getting their dogs from these horrible places and selling them to unknowing people for LOTS of money.

I am not here to preach (okay maybe a little). I am here to sincerely express this is real.

This Saturday a group a rescuers are committing their time, their money (or that begged from friends like mine) to save these dogs that too few people believe are actually out there.

There are mass transports set-up to get these dogs to all the shelters and rescues who have stepped up to help. It is a tireless effort and the worse part of all is that no matter how many we save - people still don't believe it is true: the number of puppy mills out there and the conditions these dogs live in.

We are not crazy animal rights people... we don't expect every dog to sleep on a couch and have chicken for dinner - but we do expect dignity for dogs and the right to basic necessities.

This Saturday people are committing everything they have to save these dogs - all I ask is that people begin to believe this is real. There are 34 dogs who will prove it this Saturday and thousands more still waiting to be saved.