Shetland Sheepdog Club of Southern Nevada ~ Puppy Mill Survivor

Hi! I am a puppy mill survivor. I spent my life in a cage making puppies for the pet stores and when I quit being able to produce puppies I was put with a group of dogs who went to auction. I produced approximately 65 puppies (my foster mom believes there were more who were not reported). I was then moved and lived with someone for a couple of years until I was having some real problems. Then I went to rescue and I was found to still have stitches inside of me and golf ball sized cysts on my ovaries. I also had a lower groin area hernia, lost 14 teeth, and a urinary tract infection. The vet who worked on me told my foster mom that they almost bred me to death. Well I spent 3 months in a foster home and then I was adopted and a couple of days after I got to my new home I started to urinate blood. Which from there I was found to have bladder cancer. So I went back to my foster mom. She really loves me and has decided to let me stay with her until it is my time to go. I am on medication everyday for the rest of my life but I am happy I have a bed to sleep in (I share with my new people) and people who love me and hold me and pet me all the time. I never have to share my food with any other dogs and I never have to care for another puppy again. I get to be cared for now. I still get scared of some noises but my foster mom always tells me it is okay and comes to my rescue.

My Photo Album

I wanted to share this little girls story because it is believed that she produced a litter every heat of her life until she couldn't do it anymore. She has little scars on her face and head which I think may have been from her having to fight for the food from her mate. My understanding is that this girl was in like a rabbit cage lifted up off the ground where the top dogs potty on the bottom row of dogs. Not sure where she would have been but if she was on the bottom that could be why she has all the scars from the urine burns. They are not big scars but little tiny bald spots all over in different spots on her head. She is so adorable. I hate to think that she spent her whole life in a place like that. Just to make puppies for the pet stores. This is the reason we all say do not buy from a pet store. Pet stores always tell you they buy from a licensed breeder but if you ask more about it you will find out that they are USDA licensed breeders who produce mass quantities of puppies. The mothers who are left behind to produce their whole lives never get to touch a ground or know what it is to be a loved pet. Also some of the puppy mills give a swine medication to the dogs to make them come in heat 3 times a year so they can have 3 litters a year. So please do not buy from a pet store. When you do you help keep dogs like this in a cage for their whole lives. Many times this dogs are put down rather then leaving the puppy mill. And many times if they do make it out they are put to sleep because they are so scared they can not survive in a normal house hold environment where they have to deal with people contact. And a whole new world to them. Learning new noises they have never heard before, stepping on things they have never felt before, people wanting and trying to touch them. New places and not having the security of that pen they have known their whole lives. Please do not buy from pet stores. We are not asking you stop buying puppies or dogs just do your homework and buy from a reputable breeder.