[bettyeanne]

I am sure that by now you have read about the puppymill “bust” in Logan County, Arkansas. This is a link: http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yorkie-news-site-announcements/166869-news-400-dogs-rescued-arkansas-puppy-mill.html and another link: http://www.uan.org/index.cfm?navid=556
Yorkie Rescue Colorado contacted the shelter in Denver to offer assistance, if needed. People lined up at the shelter to adopt and the puppies and young ones went quickly. We were contacted later and told that we might be asked to take about 15 Yorkies of the 93 that they had. We were then called on about April 6 and told that we had 72 hours to pick up the 9 that were left. We are a small rescue and had to scramble to come up with enough volunteers to foster these poor dogs. When Trish and the foster parents rushed down there, we got 8 of the most pathetic, sick, scared and abused animals we have ever seen!! None had been altered and none of their health issues had been addressed. We had expected them to at least have been altered and had their dentals. There’s everything from ear mites, rotted teeth, infected eyes, injured hips and, yes, we got the little boy with the broken jaw! Noone had addressed his injury at all and we can only imagine the pain this poor baby had endured. There has been no time to dwell on the anger and frustration felt by everyone … these poor little ones had to be helped and it had to be done quickly. We were contacted again this past week by the shelter. They have one more that we had 12 hours to pick up or she would be put down. She is only a year old and had become “snippy”! I suppose if I had been through what she had been through the first year of my life, I would be a little “snippy” myself! Yep, we have her and she is a little sweetie!

Even more importantly than the physical problems for these little ones, which we are addressing, is the horrible emotional scars. The first thing I have always done when I meet a new rescue, is look into their eyes. Almost every single one, without exception, has the most painful, defeated look in those eyes that it haunts me. One of the most rewarding things in this world is to look into those eyes and realize that the sadness is gone and there is a little sparkle there instead. For these little ones, I’m afraid that it will be a very long time before they get their “sparkle”. One thing that we can do to help them find that “sparkle” is to prepare them, as best we can, for that wonderful day when they go to their “forever home”! Sadly, the ones who were so quickly allowed to go to homes didn’t have this opportunity, and sorry to say, some of their homes probably won’t be “forever”. We just pray that their new parents will be patient and understanding when dealing with them and try to bear with them until they can adjust. Sadly, some of them never do. The ones we have are with foster parents who will try their very best to help them through this. They will have to be in foster care longer than rescues normally are because some of them have so much infection due to their rotted teeth that they have to be on antibiotics at least two weeks before they can even have their dentals, much less have their broken bones and injured hips addressed. One of these is the sweet little guy with the broken jaw. He will have to have surgery involving pins and plates to fix his jaw but because of the infection will have to wait for the repair. It’s breaking our hearts!!

As most of you know, we tend to do things “outside the box” most days!! We have given no thought to the possibility that we can’t afford to do this … we just know that they are in need and we will find a way to provide them with the best medical care and the most wonderful homes that these babies deserve. We are compiling all the information that we can find [via the internet, etc.] about puppymill dogs and ways to help them adjust and deal with their very unique rehabilitation. These wonderful people who are willing to foster little ones from puppymills are to be commended!! We will provide a printout of all the FAQ’S and tips we can find to their new parents. I, for one, think that prospective “forever parents” should familiarize themselves with rescues before they apply to adopt and I think it should be an absolute requirement where puppymill dogs are concerned. Please remember that these are solely my thoughts and observations. One thing that’s burned in my mind is the fact that they are almost all terrified of grass and have difficulty walking. Here is a picture of one little ones paws … they are very large for her small 12 lb. frame because the only thing that her paws had ever touched was the wire in her cage. She has a very hard time walking!

We have not had time to get all their pictures on our website and update what’s been done and being done for them. We do have 2-3 pictures which were made early on if you care to look. Please keep checking back for updates and please keep these precious little ones in your prayers!