Introducing our newest DemoDog, Guido

He's a six year old Pomeranian puppy mill rescue. I've had him for about three weeks.



There's a terrific vet here who volunteers his services to rescue groups, and that's where I found the little guy. He had to be shaved down because he arrived very matted, but otherwise he's in good health. He was surrendered by his miller because he was a 'reluctant breeder'.

I've gotten quite an education in the last month on puppy millers - I met with a number of rescue people as I looked for a new pooch (my Dalmation had to be put to sleep last month due to kidney failure - she was 14 and a terrific, terrific friend). The horror stories they've told me about millers have been helpful as I've worked to gain Guido's trust and make him feel safe. So far, his progress has been excellent and he's an active, intelligent little dog who gets along great with my Lhasa.

What's heartbreaking is how difficult it is to shut down even some of the worst puppy mills. There's very little regulation of them and the stories I've heard are just horrible. I've really gained a huge respect for the people who do rescue and work to change the laws regarding puppy mills, and try to shut down the most terrible ones. It's a never-ending battle.

I know there are quite a few rescue people here, and any further tips on helping puppy mill dogs adapt from their former prisoner status would always be welcome.

Those links are terrific (and help to explain some of Guido's behavior - he's terrified of noise and runs from his supper dish). He's such a great little dog and I really want to help him adjust to life outside the mill, and this is just what I was looking for.

The vet did end up pulling most of his teeth - I'm not sure if this is due to the neglect of the mill or if it's common in toy breeds to lose their teeth at a fairly young age.

He looks young for his 6 years. Glad you found him!

He acts pretty young, too. The first day I got him he mainly hid under a desk for the entire day, which was fine since I figured it was his timetable, not mine, that would dictate when he'd feel safe enough to explore a little.

Now he's right at home, and while I've sort of had to teach him how to play with toys (can you imaine that? A 6 year old dog who's never had a toy?) he's having a great time with some of his new stuff from PetSmart - he has a little stuffed duck that he gleefully flings all over the house every morning. He seemed afraid of grass at first but now he zooms all over the yard barking at squirrels. It's like he's having his second (or possibly first) puppyhood.

Those puppy mills should be taken out - one place I agree with PETA.

Had a friend who got an Corgi from a mill - the poor little thing had a ridiculous number of litters, and she was just worn out. It took her a long time to learn how to be a dog, and she never got over being shy, but ended up being a great pet.

The story about the little duck toy brought a tear to my eye.
:cry:

dogs who have to learn to play. Whats wrong with those puppy mill people. You'd think their emotions would kick in and they would CARE about the animals.

Many of the puppy millers think of their dogs exactly as you would think of breeding livestock, and treat them accordingly.

One of the rescue people I met is working to shut down a large nearby mill - they have 47 breeding females, to give you an idea of the size - and the dogs are kept in a large metal shed in cages in the middle of nowhere, on farm land. In the summer, when the temperatures often hit 100 degrees, they place fans in the shed - the metal shed - which maybe lowers the temperature by a degree or two. In the winter, they have a single wood-burning stove to keep the dogs warm.

The millers don't even live nearby. They visit the shed twice a day to feed the dogs and breed them. Imagine the lives these poor dogs have - for as long as they live, considering how often they're bred. I keep thinking of how frightened these dogs are during thunderstorms (Guido shakes and hides when it thunders outside) and how seldom they've been touched by human hands in kindness.

One of the rescue people told me that during the Depression, USDA allowed dogs to be used as breeding livestock to keep farm families afloat and that little has changed since then. That's why it's so hard to shut these things down.

is with the AKC. As long as that organization will register any dog whose parents were of the same breed, you're going to have problems shutting down the mills. (Over half of the AKC income is from puppy mills)

Second is to shut down the pet stores that SELL puppies and kittens. They are the ones that buy from the mills. Yes, it can be done. Took a while and some dedicated people, including vets, but our area no longer has ANY pet stores selling puppies. (PetSmart still has its adoption days but these are run by the SPCA and rescue organizations...totally different from selling an animal with questionable provenance for as much as you can get)