Stop Puppy Mills in North Carolina

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SOURCE: ESA

Contact Speaker Thom Tillis and Senator Pro Tem Phil Burger and tell them to get rid of puppy mills in NC.

BACKGROUND

Laila’s Story

The youngest member of the Kreem family has been working to support the NC chapter of HSUS and the North Carolina Voters for Animal Welfare to bring awareness to the upcoming bill to be presented in NC that will call for Commercial Breeders to be monitored to assure that the dogs are kept in sanitary conditions and that they are receiving appropriate veterinary care. This law will weed out the quality breeders from the mass breeders who have hundreds of dogs suffering on their property for the sole pupose of breeding the life out of them.

Laila has been traveling to events across NC, to share the rack cards created by the NC voters for Animal Welfare, telling citizens how to contact their local reps to request commercial breeder legislation. Some of you have met Laila, some have not. She’s a little firecracker that survived the most horrid conditions and hopefully will put a face with the suffering that is going on in Puppy Mills in NC. We’ve been everywhere from ladies groups, to churches, to pet friendly businesses to our first visit to spring mala at a yoga studio! If you belong to, or come across any groups that we can have about 10 minutes to share this info or be a guest and just hang out at an event to share legislation information, please let me know, we’d love to add more places to her calendar!

We’d like to unite NC rescues to stand for this cause and would love the opportunity to share this information with your supporters. There’s no competition for funding or face time, the only agenda is to urge voters to contact District Representatives and Senators. If you have an event, or know another group with an event coming up, we’d love to join you and share this information. If I can’t attend myself, I have a strong group of supporters/handlers that are always willing to step up to bring Laila and share this information.

If you have businesses in your area that are geared toward companion animals who would be willing to keep her cards in their business, we’d be glad to send to them. We’ve distributed about 4,000 so far and are more than happy to keep sharing.

Here’s Laila’s story and her mission for those who aren’t familiar with it:

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Hundreds of Dogs Rescued from N.C. Puppy Mill

Dogs housed in unsanitary conditions, lacking medical care …

The Humane Society of the United States’ Animal Rescue Team was called in by Caldwell County Animal Control to assist in the rescue of approximately 300 dogs from a Hudson, North Carolina property. The dogs were being housed in unsanitary conditions and lacked proper socialization and medical care. The owner has surrendered all of the dogs to Caldwell County Animal Control.

Read more from HSUS press release


Puppy Mill Awareness isn’t one day, it’s EVERY day …

Read more and get flyers here.


Inside View of a North Carolina Puppy Mill

(Source: Article by Donna Doe on PuppyMillRescue)

As a rescuer pretending to be a breeder, going inside a large multi breed puppy mill was an emotional roller coaster from sadness to disgust and horror. Having to keep an emotionless face and not react to what I saw and learned was the hardest part.

It is difficult to get inside a puppy mill and if you should find one contact PuppymillRescue. Please do not attempt to go in to see for yourself, as it may ruin the hard efforts of those who have already gained access.

When I arrived, there was an eerie silence and a strong acid smell engulfed the entire yard. The miller talked about the dogs as we headed to one of several buildings. The dogs heard us approaching and they began to bark and whine.

As I stepped inside a building a stronger putrid smell took my breath. My eyes started watering and with the dim lighting it took a couple of minutes to see the dogs. The barking was deafening.

There were small dogs, Poms, Dachshunds, Chihuahuas, and Pugs, crowded in rows of small wooden boxes that were too high for them to see over. Their world was only wooden sides. Dogs were circling and stepping on each other as they frantically jumped up trying to see over the top, some begged for attention, and some were motionless. Some cowed in fear.

On the other side were mostly larger breeds crowded in small inside boxes that opened into small outdoor runs.

One little pregnant Chi was being trampled and the miller said the pups would be born in the next few days.

When the miller’s back was turned, I was able to give a few a kind touches. When inquiring about a particular dog, the miller’s hand would move in circles just above the dog’s heads. This created more panic as they tried to escape from the hand. The miller grabbed the dogs by the hair or which ever body part could be caught as they were handed to me for inspection. When held the dogs remained motionless in fear. There were toothless dogs and some with only a few rotten teeth.

The miller explained how she stuck her finger inside their mouth to remove loose teeth and as it was easy, there was no reason to pay a vet to do this.

We entered another building much the same as the one before. I will forever be haunted by a Boston Terrier mom with one tiny pup in a small wooden box. The mother was frantically jumping for attention, but she was stepping on the pup. The miller kept screaming at her to stop and said that the other pups were trampled to death by the mother dog. I walked a little further down the rows of dogs hoping that if I moved away the dog might stop jumping and the miller would stop screaming at her. The screaming continued and as I turned,

I saw the miller pick up a long wooden board (2×4) and it rose above the miller’s head.

The miller noticed me watching and as the board swung down the miller’s arm moved slightly to the side and the sound of a hard hit against the top of the box echoed throughout the building. Feeling horror and anger, had the dog been hit my cover would have been blown as I could not have remained indifferent. Realizing that the board was there for a purpose, I have no doubts that it had been used on this dog. The pup’s cries were pitiful and I walked over and saw this mother dog with eyes tightly closed flattened on the floor against the back of the box trembling in terror. She did not look at me or make a sound. She did not move again while we were in that building.

As we were leaving the building, I noticed a tiny female min pin in a small wire cage placed away from the other dogs. A rear leg was at a weird angle. The miller said the dog hurt her leg, but she was fine. I asked if a vet had checked her leg and the response was no. This tiny girl trembled in silence. When the miller walked away, I reached thru the wire and softy touched her. This girl tugged at my heart.

The miller showed me Shih Tzu, Yorkie, and mixed puppies, all sizes and ages. The miller would bring out arm loads of pups from an area I had not seen. They were covered with dried feces and fleas. As the miller held them, they never wiggled or moved, but remained motionless in fear.

Around the buildings were many dog pens with small and large breeds. Their enclosures were mud with several inches of standing water and feces everywhere. The larger dogs only had metal barrels for protection from the cold and rain.

Around the buildings w ere many dog pens with small and large breeds. Their enclosures were mud with several inches of standing water and feces everywhere. The larger dogs only had metal barrels for protection from the cold and rain.

The other buildings in this mill were the same or worse conditions, but housed different breeds. There were numerous dogs with eye injuries, large cherry eyes, infected eyes, and skin infections, which were obvious at a glance.

The dogs rescued from this mill have had no teeth, no lower jaws, broken jaws, broken bones and were matted with feces hardened hair. One little Pom was so badly matted on his rear end that he could not go to the bathroom. Some dogs have Heartworms, intestinal worms, and some with medical problems that required surgery. All were filthy with fleas. We now know that some lived with constant pain and without vet care. Millers do their own medical care, if any, in order to save money. This was explained by the miller.


WHOM TO CONTACT

Thom.Tillis@ncleg.net; Phil.Berger@ncleg.net


SAMPLE LETTERS

Sample Letter One

Dear Speaker Tillis and Senator Pro Tem Burger,

Please end all puppy mill operations in North Carolina. They are institutions of animal abuse.

Thank you for your consideration of this  important message.


Sample Letter Two

Dear Speaker Tillis and Senator Pro Tem Burger,

We are a puppy mill state and our current cruelty laws are not sufficient to protect the dogs in these facilities. Dogs in unscrupulous commercial dog breeding facilities (puppy mills) must suffer for an extended period of time before law enforcement can step in. Our cruelty laws also do not address consumer fraud and taxation. NC leadership needs to support a responsible bill to regulate dog breeders in NC and make them accountable to the animals and the community.

Thank you for your consideration of this  important message..


Sample Letter Three

Dear Speaker Tillis and Senator Pro Tem Burger,

Puppy mills are horrendous places of animal cruelty. More and more people are becoming aware of these despicable operations. Those who make money from the lives of dogs like this should be treated as the criminals they are. Please do the right thing and prosecute all puppy mill operations.

Thank you for your consideration of this  important message.

Be an esoldier!

puppies, milled
We live here in a puppy mill
It is winter now, and we are
So chilled
When summer comes the
Heat is very strong
Our fur gets matted,
It gets too long
We cannot breathe
We cannot see
we can only feel
our misery
please rescue us
please get us out
we are not human
so we cannot shout

Karen Lyons Kalmenson