When an English bulldog named Hyacinth stepped out of a transport van and into the waiting arms of a volunteer, it marked the final step in a long journey for this former puppy mill dog.
Hyacinth is one of more than 150 dogs who recently ended their Pup My Ride trek from Midwest commercial breeding farms to New York rescue groups.
The mostly-purebred dogs are the lucky ones, removed from several puppy mills in the Midwest and driven to New York area rescue groups where they’ll be adopted out and placed into forever homes. They’re the result of the latest Pup My Ride rescue that’s part of Best Friends’ Puppies Aren’t Products campaign.
“Fortunately for the dogs who are part of this transport, they were rescued before breeders disposed of them,” says Kelli Ohrtman, campaign specialist for Puppies Aren’t Products. “This rescue and the fact that they will be available for adoption in the New York area will make everyone more aware of puppy mills and the fact that thousands of dogs are killed simply because they don’t measure up for the retail trade.”
Now in the capable hands of rescue groups, they’re being treated for everything from fleas and dirty ears to being spayed and neutered.
At the halfway point to New York, in Columbus, Ohio, at the Franklin County Humane Society, 30 eager volunteers converged on the transport vehicle to put in fresh bedding, feed all 150 dogs and walk the larger ones. Beth Blostein and Bart Overly, who regularly volunteer at the shelter, say they were more than happy to help when they learned that a Best Friends rescue team would be passing through their city.
"Puppy mills are a huge problem in the state of Ohio too," says Overly, "and when we saw that Best Friends was helping at a na
tional level, we wanted to help too."
This latest rescue is a collaborative effort between Best Friends and the groups who took in the dogs, including North Shore Animal League, Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons, Noah’s Ark and Mt. Pleasant Animal Shelter, as well as Sumter DART emergency response team. In addition, eight dogs left for Best Friends Animal Sanctuary where they will be treated and then put up for adoption. They include a boxer named Uncle Sam, Beauty, a small poodle who’s missing her lower jaw, a young chocolate lab who’s energetic, a keeshond boy who loves everybody he meets, as well as four others. (Watch for a story soon about all eight dogs).
When a 2-year-old beagle was taken from the large air-conditioned transport trailer upon arrival at North Shore Animal League, she immediately went into surgery for an emergency spay and to repair a prolapsed uterus, a common affliction of overbred female dogs. A veterinary technician who helped with the surgery says the dog came out of it with flying colors and was doing well in recovery.
“Look at that face,” a volunteer said as she carried the beagle to the clinic. One by one, the dogs were handed over to volunteers who carried them inside.
The dogs all seemed to share the same anticipation as the beagle. Invariably, each one looked up at the volunteers and sniffed the air. Their journey was over.
Queen, a tiny, gray Chihuahua who needed immediate medical assistance, had that same look on her face.
“She’s very cute,” says Dr. Sarah Alward, a full-time veterinarian with Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons, Queen (nicknamed “Mouse” by volunteers who cared for her at a temporary care center in the Midwest) had a prolapsed rectum from pushing too hard during birth. Best Friends had sent her to a vet in Missouri for a temporary procedure to repair the prolapse.
As soon as Queen arrived in New York, Dr. Alward helped her get comfortable and then scheduled her for surgery this week at Animal Rescue Fund to permanently repair the prolapse. “It’s a standard surgery,” Dr. Alward says. “She’ll feel much better.”
As for the English bulldog, she’s already feeling better. After Sylvia Ottaka, a director at North Shore, along with a volunteer, cleaned Hyacinth’s face, the dog, despite her heavy, bulky build, went into the play position and then jumped up on them.
“It doesn’t look like the folds of skin on her face have ever been cleaned,” Ottaka says as she carefully lifts the folds to clean under them. “But she feels good now.”
With that, Hyacinth plopped herself down in front of Ottaka, who was sitting on the floor, and reached up to lick Ottaka’s face. “She’s very sweet,” Ottaka says. “We’ll find her a great home.”
Participating Rescue Groups
Along with Best Friends, each of the following groups participated in the Pup My Ride rescue. Please contact the groups directly to donate supplies, money and your time, or to learn more about dogs available for adoption.
Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons
Mt. Pleasant Animal Shelter
Noah’s Ark
North Shore Animal League
Sumter Disaster Animal Response Team, Inc.
To view the video of the dogs' safe arrival at rescue groups, please click on video image.
See the video of the dogs when they were first rescued.
Click here to watch the video of Fancy, a rescued puppy mill dog, make a photo shoot pleasantly difficult.
How You Can Help
- Adopt don’t shop. Many purebred dogs are available for adoption. Search by breed at Petfinder.com for your next family member.
- Help rescue more dogs from puppy mills by donating to Puppies Aren’t Products campaign to fund future Pup My Ride programs.
For More Information
Pup My Ride: A Best Friends program to get dogs out of shelters and puppy mills and into areas
where they are most likely to find their forever homes. We deliver the pups to local partners with highly successful adoption programs capable of finding homes for many dogs at a time.
- To learn more about Pup My Ride, please click here.
Photos by Molly Wald
Videos by Jason Watt