3 Dead Kerries At Auction 7/22/06
http://www.kerryblues.info/
Rocky Comfort
7 Kerries Rescued, 3 Dead, 5 Lost
by Janet Joers
Today (7/22/06) we rescued 7 Kerries from a suffocatingly hot and humid puppy mill in the muggy Missouri town of Rocky Comfort. No comfort existed for our Kerries there. Three of the Kerries up for auction died before we could save them. They were left to bake in 100-degree temperatures in unprotected pens. One died from the heat, and two died during the night from an attack by "something" (a bobcat or wolf?), and their mangled bodies were found the next day. Among the dead was Faith's 5.5-year-old sister (Faith was #2 from the April Surprise Rescue), and the other two were 1-year-old males. The remaining 5 Kerries were sold to another mill to be bred for profit, in conditions no better than where they were today.
The Kerries at today's auction sweltered in their cages, some in overgrown, matted coats, with nothing but slimy green water in their pails. One by one, our 7 were rescued for the lowest prices we've ever seen for our breed. One young female is missing a foot. We got her for $10. The average price we paid was less than a hundred dollars.
As I write this, our 7 Kerries are safely on their way in an air-conditioned van to Kansas City. There, our friends at the Good Shepherd Pet Motel are waiting to receive them, with food, water, a comfy bed, and an air-conditioned facility. In the coming days, they will be bathed, groomed, and vetted, then transported to their foster or adoptive homes. These dogs stand at the threshold of a whole new life. They have been saved.
The 3 Kerries that died--all of them AKC-registered--suffered a terrible death. There was no one to help them or protect them, or alleviate their agony. None of the hundreds of USDA regulations nor any of the AKC's touted inspections could save them. Two of these dogs, and possibly all three, were sold at the Seymour auction last March 18th, the same day the Foundation was rescuing 34 more Kerries up at Shelbina. We had asked the USKBTC for help, but no one came. Today it is too late.
I would like to ask each of you to dig deep in your heart, and ask yourself if could take just one Kerry, only temporarily, to save it from such as fate as these three. If we do not have the foster homes we need, we have no recourse but to leave them in the mills, alone and unloved, to suffer and die. If we do not have the volunteers needed to organize these rescues, more Kerries will be left behind. If we do not have the donations to continue our work, more Kerries will die in pain and misery. The time to volunteer is now. The 3 dead Kerries could have been saved. They came heartbreakingly close to having a loving home, like the 7 we rescued. Our prayers and sorrow go to them, and our resolve stiffens to save those still in the mills.
Janet Joers
Kerry Blue Terrier Foundation, Rescue Director