Movin' On Up
Puppy mill dogs start going to new homes
by Kelli Ohrtman, Best Friends StaffMore than twenty dogs who never knew life outside a cage are now living in loving homes. As applicants are screened, references called and homes checked, the dogs rescued by Best Friends and local rescue groups in Virginia from a life of breeding for their owner’s profit are finally going to homes where they’ll be treated like one of the family rather than livestock.
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When the news came out on Oct. 14th that the rescued dogs had arrived at Pets Alive in Middletown, New York, 200 people filled out applications online to adopt them. By the end of the week, more than 1,000 applications had been filled out by people hoping to bring home a little rescued dog. It has taken nearly two weeks of preparation, including vet checks, spay/neuter, and behavior assessments, but most of the dogs are finally ready to go to homes.
Patti Perfetti, Best Friends’ adoption coordinator at Pets Alive, began calling approved applicants on Saturday to come in and pick out a dog. “We considered the applications in the order we received them,” Patti said. “Then we started calling applicants’ vet references and doing home checks.” Once all the pieces fell into place, it was time to start sending dogs home.
Ghost, a red and white Dachsund, was one of the first lucky dogs to be chosen. Her adopter Leslie arrived breathless at her scheduled time. “I’m so excited,” she told staff and volunteers at Pets Alive. “I can’t believe I’m really here!” She knew she wanted a Dachshund, as she has lost two of them to health problems and old age in as many years. After some deliberation, she chose Ghost. “Can I change her name?” asked Leslie. She was told of course she can—Ghost is now officially her dog. “LUCY! HER NAME IS LUCY!” Leslie shouted, her grin stretching from ear to ear.
Meanwhile, people waiting to hear back about their application have been asked for their patience. It has taken hours of marathon application processing[?]--reading, vet calling, and a fleet of volunteers doing home checks--to approve the first 100 adoptions But it’s all worth it to ensure that the very best homes are found for dogs so deserving of a permanent, loving environment.
Thousands of dogs need homes!The Virginia puppy mil rescue, and the work at Pets Alive to find forever homes for every rescued dog has been a great opportunity to remind people that adopting dogs from rescue groups and shelters, not buying puppies from pet stores is the best way to find a new family member. Anyone who does the math (1,000+ applications for 180+ dogs) can see that there are many more applicants than dogs from this particular rescue. At the same time, small and purebred dogs sit in shelters, waiting for a family to pick them, and some spend their last days there until they are euthanized for lack of space. Because puppy mills contribute to the pet overpopulation crisis, too many dogs spend their last days in animal shelters. Rescue groups are usually full to capacity, using foster homes to care for dogs they take in. In short, there are thousands of dogs just like these out there waiting for homes at local shelters across the country.
At Pets Alive, we’re doing our best to “connect the dots” by encouraging people to visit other shelters online to search for specific types of dogs if we can’t match them up with one of the dogs from the Virginia commercial breeder.
A Little Help From FriendsWhile lucky adult dogs are going home one at a time, we reached out to other rescue groups to help with several of the still-nursing mothers and one pregnant female. Seven crates were loaded into a Best Friends logo truck on Monday, and were then hand-delivered to two different rescue groups who offered their assistance. It will be several weeks before puppies from those litters are old enough to be spayed or neutered and adopted into new families. Thank goodness for
Animal Haven in Flushing and the
Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons! Pictured above: Dorothy goes to the Hamptons. Come One, Come All!Because the community has been so supportive of the recent rescue, we’ve decided to host an event to bring the community together and to meet many
other adoptable animals. An adoption event is in the works for November 10th in Liberty, New York, and will include other rescue groups and shelters from the area. The remaining dogs from the puppy mill rescue will be there, in addition to adoptable animals from Pets Alive, plus many more from other organizations. More news to come...
How You Can HelpDONATE Now that these dogs and puppies are in our care, we want to give them the best life we can. They deserve nothing less. Your donations are deeply appreciated.
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Main photo: Lucy and Leslie