By many estimates, Oklahoma is second only to Missouri in number of puppy mills.
Oklahoma Puppy Mill Survivor
Hopefully, full-scale prosecution of mill owners, in tandem with enhanced oversight from the stepped-up laws about to come into effect, will give other millers some pause when they think about the conditions their dogs are subjected to.
Former bomb-sniffing dog finds a new home!
While most are people walking into a shelter, pound or other animal organization to pick out the animal of their choice, there are others that don’t fit easily into a box. This article is one of the most heart-warming we’ve read in quite some time and is a wonderful example of the joy and happiness animals can bring to their owners / families.
Gunner, trained to sniff out explosive booby-traps and was deployed with Marines in Afghanistan last fall
It tells of, a dog bred to sniff out bombs in Afghanistan who eventually had to be taken off active duty because of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and Deb and Dan Dunham, who lost their son Jason, a Marine who incredibly jumped on a grenade so that two of his fellow soldiers could survive.
A true hero - Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham covered a grenade shielding his fellow brigade.
A previous article on Gunner, who had been declared “excess” by the Marines after he stopped being able to search for bombs, had caused many people to ask to adopt him, including the Dunhams. A few weeks ago, the Dunhams drove from their home in New York to South Carolina to pick Gunner up at a kennel. This new family unit is now helping each other to overcome their shared traumas, aided by the bond between dogs and humans.
We’ve long been amazed at our dogs’ resilience and ability to shrug off any and all adversity they might have faced before we got them; the story we’re attaching here is on a wholly different, elevated level. It is tough not to get a lump in your throat while you read it.
Jason's parents visiting their son's gravesite.
Kudos to the Dunham for any multitude of reasons and to Gunner for proving that animals are incredible givers and receivers of love.
Gunner's new home!
Check out a recent discovery just outside of Waldron, Arkansas in Scott County. A woman who at one point had a puppy mill decided to just abandon those dogs and one cat. She indicated that she was checking on the dogs every 4 days to bring them food and water.
Dogs left abandoned, hungry and thirsty
Home or Hell?
My concern is that this woman has not been arrested (that I am aware of as of today). The woman in the story above “only” had 18 dogs at her facility yet the details of her willful neglect are still unfathomably horrible. Yet, where is the arrest? Where is the justice for these animals that cannot speak for themselves?
Here at Zoey Story and Protected Paws we wanted to recognize Puppy Mill Awareness Day and with it an enormous thanks and shout-out to PINK for helping to educate the public on the horrors of large-scale dog breeding facilities AKA Puppy Mills.
P!NK = Huge Animal Lover
Last week, she tweeted against puppy mills and the pet stores that profit from them, taking the time to educate her fans on what exactly a puppy mill is. With more than 2.1 million followers and an extremely loyal fan base she can get her message out very quickly!
Zoey Luvs P!NK!
Huge thanks to P!NK!
We’ve written before about Proposition B, on the ballot in Missouri this November, which codifies minimum standards for dog breeding facilities in what is renowned as the “Puppy Mill Capital” of the country. Check out this press release from the ASPCA, which recently rescued 100 dogs from a miller who could no longer care for them:
If you live near Springfield, MO and want to make a wonderful addition to your family, please contact the local ASPCA to find out how to adopt. The picture below is of Abby, Zoey’s older sister; Abby comes from a pound and has been the most amazing friend, sister and pet — it’s hard to believe it’s been more than four years since we got her.
How much is that Zoey in the window????
Months after we brought her home from Raising Rover and Baby, “Manhattan’s One of a Kind Puppy and Baby Boutique,” she was still being advertised on this website by the owner of the store, who claims repeatedly that he “is not an Internet farmer.” This ad remains(ed) on numerous websites until I requested that my dog’s picture be taken down and reported the store’s owner to the website for using false advertising. The store was soliciting buyers with a picture of a dog that came straight from a large-scale dog breeding facility (some may call it a puppy mill) in Missouri and was very ill at the time of purchase. I recounted Zoey’s Story (at least the first few months of it) on a highly-trafficked review website to let other well-intentioned but unsuspecting customers know who they were dealing with. The owner responded almost immediately, disputing every fact and becoming person, calling me, “a know it all and a liar.” He stressed that he had never used my dog’s picture on other websites to solicit business and that even if he had, I had never requested that any such image be removed OR that he had never received such a request from one of their advertising websites. See for yourself who’s telling the truth. Just add it to the growing list of reasons not to buy puppies from a pet store.
Was it really a posting mistake? Your call...