Holly's New Life

Imagine a puppy mill. It's a barn on what appears to be a family farm. The noise is appalling, as dozens of desperate animals continually bark. Inside the barn there are dozens, possibly hundreds, of cages piled one on top of another, dogs living two or three to a cage. There is no ventilation, heat or air conditioning. Dogs' feet are splayed from walking on the wire that allows their waste to fall through the cages onto the animals below them. Their lives are spent in the service of their owners, producing profit in the shape of puppies. Their bodies are worn out by malnutrition and overbreeding. The only time they are handled is to undergo breeding; to have a c-section; to have their puppies taken from them; or, when they are no longer useful, to be taken away.

Picture a dog from that mill who is snatched from that life. She's removed to a home where she is bathed, spoken to, stroked, loved. After some weeks of learning how to live in a new environment, she is moved once more to a home where she becomes a valued and precious part of a family. When she is sick, she receives treatment. When she is lonely, she gets attention. It is quiet. There is comfort.

Holly is one of the very lucky, very few dogs who are born to live their lives in unspeakably inhumane conditions but who are given reprieve. Because there are volunteers who cared to go and find her and there are sponsors who paid for her veterinary care and there are adopters who wanted to share their lives and give her peace, Holly got to be one of the lucky ones. Here is a note from her family:

"Hi everyone- just wanted to send an update on Holly who we adopted in June of 08....We can't believe we've been blessed by her for nearly 2 yrs! She has been the most wonderful addition to our family! We are so blessed to have gotten her that words can't describe it. She is just recovering from a severe bout of pancreatitis brought on by a "dumpster diving" episode she made into our newly turned and invigorated compost pile over the week end. What frog can resist a good pile of mule poop? When she was so sick we kept thinking about what life would be like without her- she is so full of life. She has such a vivid sense of joy and gratitude- every thing we do for her is met with such mirth on her part! She is doing much better and will recover fully. I think we all aged a year or too worrying over her - we love her so! Please pass this on- we love you guys and send in a small amt monthly for your good work.

Thanks for all you do - The pic is of my husband and his girl
thanks-
the B's"

Now look at your own dog and imagine that your dog is living in one of those cages in that mill. Imagine that your next dog is living in there now, waiting to be given a chance to live like Holly. 

Last week, we heard the news that Missouri, the leading state for puppy mills, with over 1500 breeding operations registered, has gathered twice as many signatures as were needed to put a measure on the November ballot to require puppy millers to provide the very most basic things for the dogs in their mill. Veterinary care, food, water, safe housing, enough room to move around. Oklahoma and Missouri have 30-40% of the country's mills. If Oklahoma's citizens join with Missourians to provide the basics of clean and relatively humane lives for its puppy mill dogs, think of the suffering that will be alleviated and prevented.

The dogs who live in puppy mills will never know the life of a housepet. They will certainly never sleep on a pillow in a bed! But they may not suffer so much or so deeply as they do now, if these states' legislators have the courage to stand up against lobbyists and the enormous Hunte Corporation and choose instead to listen to the people of these states, who have no stomach for continued and unthinkable cruelty to thousands of dogs in the name of profit.

Dirty money is a good name for it, declares

The Frog Princess