Thanks I have attached the email from the shelter where they describe what they are going to do. Dana is the shelter manager and the one I spoke with and donated to and the one who is going down to the auction Saturday.
Hi All,
As most of you know, millions of dogs and puppies suffer in puppy mills throughout the country, but mostly here in the Midwest. Several of us have been involved in actively protesting pet stores that sell puppies because these are ALWAYS from mills. (And of course, many of them end up at Save-A-Pet) Auctions take place every weekend where breeding dogs are put on the auction block to sell to other millers. There is also a "cull" section of dogs who are not of use to the millers anymore for breeding. They usually have a $5-10 pricetag on them because they are going to be killed anyways, so they just try to make some last minute money on them.
Here is video of a typical auction: (Please watch it!)
We just got word that a mill is shutting down (hooray!) and the dogs all need to be placed. We want to prevent them from being killed or sold to other millers. Several rescue groups are involved to try to save them. As you will see from the list, they are all small breed dogs. Since our kennel is full and funds tight, the only way we can help is to have people volunteer to either sponsor or foster one of these little guys until they are ready for adoption. Anyone who has worked with a puppy mill dog can tell you what a rewarding experience it is. This quote is from a group who has worked with many of these dogs:
"We have fostered several puppy mill dogs that came straight from the mills. I can help you get started and give you some very important information. It is one of the most amazing things to see these dogs come out of their shells, with a bit of patience, food, a warm bed and decent vet care these dogs can survive and thrive! They usually get along very well with other dogs, since that is all they have known, and they learn within a few weeks that men and women can be a dog's best friend."
We also think our involvement would be a great tool to educate the public about puppy mills and pet stores. The media has taken an interest in our protests and this would be a very concrete way of showing the suffering behind the cute puppies in the window and the terrible contribution these pet stores and puppy mills make to the overpopulation problem.
So please, if you have termporary room for a little dog or can help financially to sponsor one, let me know immediately. We have to know how many we can save ASAP so please get back to me or Dana by Thursday morning. Even if we can just save a couple, it's still a couple of lives who suffered terribly every day and deserve to be shown what being a dog should really be about.
Here is the list of dogs needing to be rescued:
Auction 1
Thanks so much,
Karen Rappaport
rappaportk@yahoo.com
847-338-7833