Replies

Puppy mills are dog hell on earth and the AKC is culpable in that they have *no* problem registering the many thousands of pups born in them every year.

We have a lot of backyard breeders in my general area who have their dogs pumping out babies in severely substandard environments and the AKC reps come in, see a “shelter” of the meanest sort, some kind of food and water, regardless of quality or cleanliness and cheerfully “pass” the greeders’ inspection.

That any of those poor dogs mange to live out their years as loved, well behaved pets is a miracle.

I have seen things that would make you vomit.

The little Pit bitch was wandering around in the office of the shelter, waiting to die because the staff knew she was ‘hopeless’ and wanted her to feel happiness for as long as she could.

She had been on a 2 foot chain in a backyard and was ‘gang bred’ by the local strays, resulting in 8 puppies, none of which looked anything like each other.

Despite the shelter’s efforts, all her babies died of massive worm infection.

Rowan [so named because she was red] survived her worm infection but was so emaciated and wretched that they knew no one would even think of adopting her.

It was on one of my regular visits hunting for Dobes that I found her.

I asked the director who that pretty little dog was and she looked around, trying to figure what I was talking about.

When I pointed, she said “You mean *her*?!?”

That sealed it.

Dog was coming home with me.

I took her back a month later and nobody even recognized her.

She was one of the most delightful, polite, “soft” and gentle dogs I’ve ever known.

How she could have gone through every horrible thing she had and not bear a grudge against people is beyond me.

I just wish her new owner hadn’t re-named her “Beavis”.

:-\

I would be suspect of someone who named their dog Beavis. I know about the AKC and it means nothing to me. Any real dog people will tell you to never trust the AKC, go directly to the breeder of the dog you want and check out their lineage. Almost every kind of dog out there has a club exclusively for whatever breed they prefer. These are the people you deal with to avoid a puppy mill dog.

I currently have a rescue dog. His mother was found chained to a tree behind a house that the former occupants had abandoned. None of the puppys looked alike either but the mom was beagle or part beagle. The dog I have came prenamed and we kept the name, Booray. He kind of looks like a beagle but he's very large and broad. He also has very light blue eyes. We think he may have catahoula in him. He's a good boy though, I think he may have some pot belly pig in him as he is broad and fat. Everyone that sees him has to try and guess what he is. To me he's just a dog.