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Originally Posted by Mum  ......Last week headline in our NC paper was " 300 pups taken from puppy mill" Yep...to our dismay..same kennel we got 2 pups from. Now we've learned that in the last 2 yrs..his kids left home and he was alone. He admitted he never cleaned the pens..that he threw his table scraps in pens "sometimes" and no health care even though he guart. a 2 yr health warranty. The police said most of these pups lived in a crate ..size of a cat carrier..the Mom and litter and couldnt even turn around..they had never been out dog crate..never felt a human touch...IF they had water dish..water as filthy with poop in it. We had taken our baby to Vet Immed and she had 2 parasites..1 transferred from Mom and other from dirty water with poop in it. Called him and he said to send Vet Bills and he'd reimburse..he didnt.
North Carolina has NO laws for Animal Cruelty...this man was breeding for greed and will get away with it.
Our baby is weary of grass so is being trained on wee-pads which is going good. She still tried to eat her poop..so have to watch her close! She's so loving and delightful and we're blessed we got her outa there! police said alot of Mom's were in crate with the litter and had been dead for awhile...police said "overbreeding"
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Our previous Yorkie, Tina, was a former breeder "mommy dog" that we adopted from a rescue in Pennsylvania. She came with a host of medical and behavioral problems - but with a great vet, and good advice from wonderful friends at YT, we had her for 6 happy years. Despite her horrid past, she was a sweet and affectionate dog and we loved her dearly. When she suddenly had 4 seizures in one day, our regular vet referred us to a neurologist who diagnosed her with necrotizing meningoencephalitus (NME) and so we had to say goodbye to her.
So when I finally stopped crying every day, I started looking on PetFinder and found a Yorkie at a local rescue, and we were selected to adopt him. Wendell is 2 years old, and had been surrendered by a family when the wife was diagnosed with a serious medical problem. They loved him dearly, and had spoiled him rotten, but realized they weren't going to be able to give him the attention he was used to while she was undergoing surgery and further treatment. The previous owner provided all of his paperwork, and was proud of the fact that he was a purebred dog from a breeder in Oklahoma. RED FLAG. But since they lived there at the time, I was hoping that she'd done her research and that he was from a reputable breeder. So I looked up the name of the breeder, Aurelia Snow, and the search came up with dozens of hits on news stories about how her kennel had been closed down last summer, her dogs were seized and she was charged with several counts of felony animal cruelty. I couldn't find any information on what happened next, but I hope she's sitting in a tiny, damp prison cell somewhere, getting little food and being forced to lie in her own excrement. (But of course American jails are much nicer than that)
I don't know why, but the news hit me like a ton of bricks. After all of the information available about puppy mills, they are apparently still out there, duping unsuspecting people into thinking they are getting happy, healthy dogs raised in clean and loving environments. I was sickened to think about Wendell's parents having to endure such conditions. But then after a little more thought, I realized that this was a HAPPY ending. With a little more searching, I read that the yorkies (she bred chihuahuas, maltese and yorkies) had been turned over to OK Yorkie Rescue. And in following up with their site (isn't the Internet wonderful?) I found alot of pictures of the "before" and "after" of some of the dogs that had come from there. So his parents and their companions were rehabilitated and placed into loving homes to live out their lives as pampered companions.
Wendell has several issues common to Yorkies (LP, sensitive stomach, teeth prone to tartar build up) but none of the behavioral problems that Tina had. The previous owners probably got him out of the mill early, so he was spared that at least.
So I guess what I'm trying to say, is, I know how devastating it is to realize that your baby came from a puppy mill. But just keep in mind that your dog's parents are out of the hands of that despicable man, and in homes where they will be loved and spoiled, just like your little one is.