Happy Gotcha Day!

Nine years ago, today was a special day for me. My Boston Terrier Baxter and I drove to Chicago to pick up our new dog. She was a French Bulldog that we were adopting from Chicago French Bulldog Rescue. Not only did I immediately fall in love with her, but her story opened my eyes to the horrible business of puppy mills.
Her story was typical for a puppy mill puppy. She was born in an Amish puppy mill in Iowa, then shipped with a truck load of puppies to a Chicago area pet store. Too young to be on her own but in the eyes of the puppy farmer, the cash was all that mattered.
From there, she was sold to a woman who thought her mother might like a puppy. But after trying to house train a dog in the city in the middle of winter, they called the rescue and asked them to find her a new home. And luckily for me, Pippa found her new home in Northern Michigan.
There are so many troubling parts to this story. Puppy mills breed dogs over and over again with little vet care. They put profits over the health of the dog. They then ship them, many times too young, with a truck full of puppies to be resold in pet stores. The puppies are in crates in these trucks for sometimes days, with little care. If you’ve ever had an 8-week-old puppy,  you know how cruel this is.
And the rest of their puppies are sold online through websites. Those puppies are sold and shipped via commercial carriers. Also, without care.
What I learned from adopting Pippa was just how cruel the puppy mill business is and how easily it is to buy a puppy and be completely disconnected from its birth mother and original kennel. And that is why over 2 million puppies are sold every year from puppy mills.
So, if you’re thinking of adding a puppy to your family, think rescue first. I have adopted my last three dogs and all were under a year old. Think you cannot find the dog you want from a shelter or breed rescue? It’s not true. It might take a few months to find the dog you want, but they are out there. I’ve proven that no matter what breed you are looking for; it is possible to rescue the dog you want.
If you need info on rescue, please feel free to email me at Diane@lite96.com. I’ll be happy to share the information I have.