Born in a Puppy Mill -Tony's Story

Animal rights groups have been raging a losing battle for years trying to shut puppy mills down. Just as one is discovered and put out of business by the authorities, another one springs up in some other location. People wanting to add a puppy or dog to their family unknowingly keep puppy mills in operation when a puppy or dog is bought in most pet stores, from many websites or classified ads in the local newspaper. Older and wiser, I know now a decision my mother made to purchase a puppy after seeing an ad in our local newspaper was wrong. Only because purchasing puppies from seedy operations known as puppy mills allows them to continue their despicable business of animal cruelty.

This is the story of Tony, an American Eskimo. Beautiful, loving dogs with long snow white hair and dark brown eyes. Tony was born in a puppy mill. He was a lover from the time we brought him home as a pup, but was only with us for a short time. My mom responded to an ad in the local paper. She already had an American Eskimo and wanted a playmate for her. We knew the moment our car turned into the driveway this was not a healthy or nice place to raise puppies. Hundreds of dogs yipped and yapped as we strolled by each filthy pen that held too many animals for the space available. We had found a puppy mill.

Conditions the dogs were squeezed into were horrific and reminded me of farm animals. Rusted wire fencing separated groups of pups of different ages. Long dirty troughs held moldy dog food and empty water bowls were covered with mud and feces. The pens were all devoid of any kind of ground covering. Only mud from a morning rain. Tony caught our eye as we searched one of the pens. He was one of a handful of healthy looking pups we could see among hundreds of dogs packed into each fenced in enclosure.

The puppy mill owner had sprayed pregnant females as well as newborn pups with flea control. The terrible result produced puppies born without legs, some born with no eyes and other physical and mental defects as well as death caused by improper use of flea spray. Many newborn pups had lost one or both eyes because they were too young at the time they had been sprayed. They were the ones that didn't die. Deformities were also a result of over breeding, irresponsible inbreeding and not enough quality food.

Disgusted with the entire operation, we headed back to the car. That was when we heard a frantic yelp above the others. It was Tony. Bright eyes sparkled as we returned to the muddy pen he was in. Mom made up her mind right then and there, she was going to rescue at least one puppy from this horrid puppy mill.

The first thing we did as soon as we returned home with Tony was visit the local sheriff. The puppy mill owner must have suspected we would because when law officials paid her a visit that same afternoon, she was gone. We hadn't hid our disgust with the owner and apparently asked questions that troubled her. She abandoned all of the dogs, but made sure to take personal belongings and anything else that could have lead authorities to her. We found out she had lied about her name as well. To our amazement, she was found a few months later setting up another puppy mill in a neighboring county. Someone else had turned her in.

Most of the pups and adult dogs had to be put down. The few healthy ones were placed in competent and loving homes.

We quickly discovered Tony was full of both tapeworms and roundworms. A quick worming took care of those nasty critters. He had to endure three baths to get the filth washed out and we spent hours trying to comb clumps of tangles and mats out of his long and finally white coat.

Everything was fine as he slowly matured from an eight week old puppy into adulthood. However, we began to realize he was going to be smaller than an American Eskimo should be. His coat began to thin on his back and he became more aggressive as he grew older. He was fine with us, but strangers made him extremely nervous and he would lash out at anyone who tried to pet him. Tony was still a lover to those he trusted, but caution had to be exercised with company.

Cataracts began to dull his once bright eyes. He was only 3 and half years old. The poor little fellow looked like a 15 year old dog. Inbreeding, along with little and poor food quality when he was a prisoner in the puppy mill probably contributed to health problems that were beginning to show up.

Tony was only with us for about four years when he developed diabetes. Mom and our vet did everything they could for him. He received daily insulin shots along with a strict diet, but he was slowly dying. We knew the diabetes would be fatal and all we could do was make him as comfortable as we could. Because of irresponsible breeding practices by a greedy, uncaring person, Tony was paying the price and enduring the pain the puppy mill owner inflicted on him because she was looking to make a quick buck.

Almost blind, and losing a battle he wasn't going to win, Mom tearfully made the decision every pet owner hopes to never have to make. It was time to let him go and release him from his pain. Tony was born in a puppy mill and even though he had a short life, it was with people who loved him and attended to his needs. He was a good dog. Our little buddy died in my arms 6 months after developing diabetes. He never reached his 5th birthday. The vet assured Mom she had made the right decision, but it never feels like the right choice.

Mom never once regretted buying Tony. In her mind, she rescued him and I tend to agree with that, however, the best way to shut a puppy mill down is to not buy a puppy or dog from these puppy factories. If no one buys their product, sooner or later they will go out of business on their own from lack of money.

Source: My personal experience