(Ottawa Dog of the Week for March 28th, 2012)

“This is Piper she is about 8 months old now. We adopted her from the Paws R Us Puppymill bust. We met her the last Saturday that the Emergency shelter was open. It was love at first sight for me, and she came home the next Thursday. She has been with us since before Christmas and is doing so well. She is a very sweet Puppy and we are so happy to be able to say she is home.” Piper’s Humans, Leonard and Tauney.

Continue reading →

It’s a journey that almost didn’t get started.

In November of 2009, 97 huskies were rescued from horrible conditions. With little food or water, the dogs lived in filth and inhumane conditions. They inevitably had to feed off their fallen brothers and the young to survive. No animal should live like that.

Of the 97 that were rescued, all of them were saved. And since that day in early November, 127 puppies have been born into welcoming arms. As of mid-January, all the puppies that were old enough have found loving families. It’s a sad story with a happy ending.

The owner of the huskies was once a respected breeder who was recommended by the local SPCA. He had 12 huskies that he took excellent care of. It’s unclear what happened, but most newspaper articles go out of their way not to criticize him. This suggests that he may have fallen ill or for whatever reason, was not able to care for them.

If he were a puppy-mill operator, his hide would have been pasted to the barn door and we would have known what he had for breakfast by the end of the day. The public hates puppy mills. Even worse, they hate the people who operate them.

So why does it happen so often in Quebec? The answer is simple: anyone can call themselves a breeder. There are no rules and regulations saying that you must provide this or limit your dogs to that or house them in this type of structure. No, in Quebec, anyone can buy a couple of animals and start breeding them.

Of course puppy mills wouldn’t exist without the many pet shops who grab up the healthy dogs. There are no regulations for pet shops either. Most of them turn a blind eye to the ways the animals might have been treated because they just see the healthy ones that are offered to them. But they know what goes on behind the scenes.

So in the end, the 97 huskies were rescued and all will find a home. And 13 of them already made their way to the suburbs of Ottawa in late November. Plenty of people with big hearts have stepped forward to open their homes and their hearts.

And as for the 127 newborn puppies, they are off to an excellent start.

Denton Fowler wrote this article for petpellbeing.com which offers prevention and treatment products for cancer in cats and Cushings Disease in dogs.

To learn more about the Huskies still available for adoption through BARK rescue, visit their website.

If you remember before the holidays there were a whole bunch of Huskies rescued and many of them were pregnant. The puppies have all been born and now they are ready to go home!

BARK Rescue has many husky puppies available so if you have room in your family for one more (cute) member, give them a call!

Hopeful Hearts has been asked again to step up and help dogs from puppymill busts in Montreal! There are 28 dogs that need to be rescued but we will help with as many as we can. Most of them are poodles, poodle mixes, terriers, and cockapoos. These dogs are in poor condition with burnt skin from urine so they will need your love and compassion!

If you think you can help, please reply to Brandy and request an application. A home visit will be done prior to placing a dog with you. Hopeful Hearts pays for all food and vetting. Visit the Hopeful Hearts website for more information.

CBC’s television series, Marketplace, has always had great features and I trust them to get down to the bottom of things. When someone told me that they were going to air a feature on How Not to Buy a Puppy, I was eager to check it out. It is a very informative piece on what goes on behind pet stores that sell dogs, and where they actually do come from.

You can watch the segment online through the CBC website.

Continue reading →

Last night I checked out the Bullies in Need website and saw that they had done a writeup about the dogs they just rescued from the recent puppy mill busts in Quebec – I have reprinted it below with permission. It is heartbreaking and tears came to my eyes while reading it. I cannot believe that people are capable of treating dogs this way. Please read and if possible, donate some money or consider being a foster family for these poor dogs of unjust circumstance.

They did not choose the life they were rescued from, let’s work together to give them a better one and show them what it is to be loved.

In this special case, Bullies in Need has brought back dogs of all breeds, so please check out their adoptables.

Montreal SPCA [has been] dealt a difficult hand, but is teaching us all why hard work pays off for over 270 dogs.

Where do puppy store dogs come from? Well, most pups come from puppy mills, and there is assumed to be over 2000 such puppy mills in Quebec, where breeding mothers spend their lives in tiny cages, producing litter after litter until they are wanted no more, and then they are disposed of, for another prisoner female. Males don’t have it much better – if they are not deemed cute enough – they are left to die, sometimes starving and gasping for their last breaths. Humanity at it’s worst.

Continue reading →