After more than a year of healing care and thanks to financial support from the Petfinder Foundation, 118 small-breed puppy mill survivors rescued from horrific conditions in Rowan County, KY, are finally ready to join families.
“Enrichment supplies for dogs traumatized from living in a puppy mill are extremely important in training them to trust people and ready them for adoption,” Tim Rickey, vice president of the ASPCA’s Field Investigations and Response Team, said. “Without your generous support, we could not have provided much-needed socialization and positive reinforcement to the dogs we rescued.”
After the APSCA seized the dogs in October 2011, the Pefinder Foundation provided them with a $1,000 disaster-relief grant to help with the dogs’ rehabilitation and recovery. The rescued dogs included Chihuahua, Dachshund, papillon, miniature pinscher and poodle mixes. Several of the dogs were pregnant, and some were only a few weeks old. All were badly neglected: Many of them were covered in mold and matted fur, and they were suffering from infections, dental disease and other health problems. They were kept in cramped, filthy cages.
“We used the grant to pay for treats, toys and staff/responder time socializing the dogs,” Rickey said.
After the dogs spent more than a year in recovery, the owner of the puppy mill pleaded guilty to two counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty and one kennel violation.
“Since the case has come to a close,” Rickey said, “we could finally make the dogs available for adoption.”
The dogs were all transferred to partner shelters, and Rickey reported their outcome couldn’t be better: “Most of the dogs were snapped up almost instantly and are now enjoying loving homes!”
To learn about applying for a disaster-relief grant, visit here.
