Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

Just a Run of the Mill Dog

By

Blog the Change
This post is part of Be the Change for Animals, a quarterly blog hop focused on animal welfare.

I was undecided as to what to post about today.  Until my sister’s dog, Bandit went missing.

A run of the MILL dog.

A run of the MILL dog.

Typically one wouldn’t think a lost dog would be a cause to write about concerning changes in animal welfare.

Except Bandit isn’t just a dog.  You see Bandit came from a Puppy Mill. This is Bandit’s story as I remember it.

Twelve years ago when my sister decided she wanted a Jack-Rat (Jack Russell/Rat Terrier) she found a ‘breeder’ in North Carolina.  Excited she and her husband drove to Virginia to spend the weekend with friends and then my sister and her friend, drove from Virginia to North Carolina to pick up her puppy.

My sister was horrified when she got to the ‘breeder’s’ home.  There were cages, upon filthy cages chock full of dogs.  The ‘breeder’ took her past these cages on their way to the Jack-Rats.  My sister noticed one cage where a dog lay dead, just hanging out of the crate.  The ‘breeder’ said, “Oh, she died having puppies this morning, I haven’t had the time to clean out the cage.”

My sister was appalled.  When she got to the crate containing the Jack-Rat’s raised her hand and pointed, “I’ll take that one.”

And so Bandit came to live with my sister.

It’s important to note that Bandit did not know how to walk on a floor.  He’d never had the opportunity.  He spent his entire young life in a wire crate.  And he’s never been in one since.  He’s terrified of the crate and when my sister attempted to put him in one he lost his stuff.

Typically when a dog goes missing you can set up a humane trap, and the dog can be lured in with food.  We’re almost certain Bandit would never go into one of these Have a Heart traps.  He’s too afraid.

So my sister and brother-in-law have to hope that at some point Bandit will either find his way home or relax enough to allow someone to get close enough to snag him.  The good news is he’s been spotted near a farm just a 1/2 mile down the road from my sister.  The bad news is so far he’s eluded capture, and he’s spending his time in the wilds of New Hampshire where some dangerous predators also live.  

Bandit’s story is important to Blog the Change for Animals because his story sheds light on a very unsavory section of animal welfare.  Puppy mills.

I want to be clear here.  There is a difference between responsible breeders and puppy mill breeders.  

  • A responsible breeder screens purchasers of their puppies and almost always has some type of application or contract when you purchase that puppy.  
  • A responsible breeder will take the puppy back if health or behavioral issues arise.
  • A responsible breeder would NEVER allow their dogs to be sold in pet stores.  

Which means the puppies sold in pet stores come from puppy millers. 

Many areas of the country are taking steps to prohibit puppies from being sold by pet stores.

So how can you help?

  • Educate people about responsible breeders, whether it be on your social media resources or in person.
  • Find out if there’s a local chapter that advocates for stronger animal welfare laws.  CT has an advocating organization called Connecticut Votes for Animals. I signed up to receive e-mail alerts when a law regarding animals is coming up for a vote. Not only do I know when a vote is coming up, they also tell me what action I can take to facilitate the passage of the bill.  Because of organizations like CVFA, CT recently passed a law prohibiting chaining a dog out 24/7.  
  • Contact your state representative and ask how you can get involved.

If we can stop pet stores from selling puppies, we can shut down some of these mills.  

If we can educate people about responsible breeders, we can shut down some of these mills.

If we speak up for those who have no voices, we CAN be the change for animals. 

Together we CAN be the change for dogs like Bandit.

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Comments

  3. keeping everything crossed for Bandit. I am assuming your sister reported this horrible lady? And this also raises the point of ‘walking away’ I know that if you see a puppy mill pup you are supposed to walk away, leave it to the horror as doing so gives the ‘breeder’ money and so the cycle continues, but as an animal lover how do you walk away?!

  4. Oh my gosh, that is heart breaking! I can’t imagine having Katie run away at age 12, I wonder why he ran? I sure hope he is found and brought home soon. It would be scary with all the wild animals being such a small dog. That puppy mill sounds so awful. How can humans keep animals like that, just so very sad and horrific.

  5. Puppy mills make me very sad. I do not know how someone can live with him/herself and run/manage a puppy mill. The cruelty of people towards animals is something I will never understand.

    I hope and pray that Bandit will find his way home very soon. I’m sure his humans are very worried about their baby.

  7. WE PRAY that Bandit Does Make it home safe and sound… What a horrible start he had… butt since that wonderful day… we are sure his life has been a Dream Come TRUE.

  11. I think you already know this is an issue that really fires me up! I’m just terribly sorry to hear about Bandit and hope your sister will be able to bring him home soon.

  13. Ugh, I hate puppy mills. I hope the word is starting to get out about them. San Diego banned all pet stores last year, so at least that’s a sign of things moving in the right direction. I’m sending good thoughts for sweet Bandit and your sis. I hope he finds his way home!!!

  14. That’s a complication of coming from a puppy mill I never even thought of. Not having the trap for an option definitely makes it more difficult. I pray that Bandit can find his way home soon. I hope your sister knows she can reach out to Granite State Dog Recovery for help too….they may have some other ideas of things to try.
    We can’t spread the word enough about puppy mills and putting an end to them.

  15. I’m so, so sorry about Bandit and am thinking all the positive thoughts I can about his safe recovery. I’m very sorry that it was the spark for this post, but this is such an important topic. I’m glad that you were able to channel the stress into this, though I’m sorry it had to happen in the first place. Thinking of you and your family!

  17. Oh my dog I hope that sweet little boy is found and back safely at home very, very soon! Puppy mills are horrid, so are the pet stores that insist on selling for them. We absolutely must do all we can to rid our society of them – for the sake of the innocent animals.

    Here’s to a voice for animals!

    Thank you for blogging the change for animals!
    KimT
    btc4animals.com

  18. Harley’s story is similar with almost a year of vet bills to give him a fighting chance. So happy his breeder (puppy mill in disguise) is now behind bars. We’ve got to eradicate these places once and for all. Thanks for sharing.

  19. Really hoping your sister finds Bandit – please keep us posted.
    Any education we can do about the horrors of puppy mills benefits us all. Great post.

  20. My fingers and toes are crossed that Bandit is found soon – my heart goes out to your sister and family. 🙁

    Thank you for this post and for joining us today to blog the change for animals.

    A.J.
    btc4animals.com

  21. I hope they find Bandit.

    I have been to a puppy broker before. I went with someone thinking of getting a puppy from this person. While the pups were in a clean area, it was obvious that they were not at all socialized. The person had all kinds of “designer dogs” living in a tiled area of a garage. They were very young (I am guessing 6 weeks). I advised against the purchase and told them why. They pointed at one and bought the dog anyway ($1200 for a mix if I remember right). Why do people do that?

  22. OMG Jodi, this is so upsetting. It’s great that you’re pushing the information about pet stores, though, because they always lie and say they only buy from non-puppy mill breeders. ALWAYS. Our vet was the one who shed light on the fact that this is always a lie.

    I really feel for little Bandit and your sister and her family. I hope Bandit’s survival instincts kick in or someone puts some food out for him and he eventually makes his way home.

  25. Oh dear…I hope to see an update about poor Bandit, I cannot imagine! I don’t know where my Border Jack, Ruby, came from – whether it was a puppy mill or just someone’s backyard, but I take so many extra precautions with her because she is a flight risk and very difficult to catch. She has gotten away from me a few times, for maybe ten minutes at the most, and it has felt like a heart-stopping eternity. She is fearful and suspicious of tight spaces – I suspect she may have been trapped before as a stray – and I don’t think she’d set foot in a trap again.

    My mother and I also unwittingly visited a puppy mill when she was looking for an Airedale puppy. Dogs outside in cages in the New Mexico summer heat. My mom left without a dog, despite feeling terrible for the puppies, because she’d just lost a young dog to a rare form of leukemia and wasn’t going to take any chances on an unhealthy dog. She reported the breeder to the AKC and they did next to nothing.

    Thank you for reminding people of the ongoing injustices of puppy mills and I so hope that your sister is reunited with Bandit.