|
Priscilla's Story (from a letter to the Italian Greyhound List) I agree 100% with those who advise not to buy the puppy in the window. The puppy mill breeders [breeding stock] pay dearly for those puppies. I must admit that I did the unthinkable and actually paid to have Priscilla released from her horror. Some of you will be put off by that, but let me tell you how it happened: An ad in our local paper advertising IG puppies caught my eye 5 or 6 years ago. I wanted to investigate, and finally talked my daughter into going along. We drove to a Missouri puppy mill totally unprepared for what we were about to see. I pretended to be a first time IG buyer, so the owner was more than happy to show us around. He had his dogs in a portable kennel, sort of a travel trailer with cages sticking out everywhere. The cages were supposed to have bottoms so bad things wouldn't fall on the lower dogs - some didn't. A really old IG female caught my eye - his best breeder he told me. She had 7 to 8 puppies just like clockwork twice a year. This bitch was horribly pathetic - she couldn't walk, just crawled on the wire. She had open sores on her elbows and stifles, abcesses between most of her toes where she should have had webbing, no hair, teeth sticking out at all angles that were yellow and brown, and runny eyes. The man said not to pay any attention to how she looked - she'd be fine again as soon as she weaned her current litter. I had a hard time not throwing up. Unfortunately, I couldn't get that little bitch out of my mind. About a month later, I called to see if she was still alive - then asked to buy her. I know, I know ... but I couldn't sleep!!! A friend went with me to pick her up, and the man put her down on the ground in his back yard. She couldn't even stand up, let alone walk or run. My friend, bless her heart, looked him in the eye and asked how long she had been like that. He said he had no idea. It was the first time she had ever been on the ground so far as he knew! He sold her to me without papers (wonder what he did with those?), but I did get a look at them. She was only 4 1/2 years old. Priscilla's problems are a lot like other puppy mill "breeders' ". Only one or two teeth left, luxating patellas, wry mouth (probably from a break while chewing on the wire), scarred eye, blue balding syndrome, and low thyroid. It was two years before she could let us touch her without trying to run and hide. When the vet spayed her, he found the probable cause for her extreme fear. Priscilla seemed to have been the unwilling victim of not just one, but several, "home-made C-sections". He said that no vet would have made such a mess. Priscilla still screams if we touch her while she's sleeping - I will never get used to that terrible sound. On a much happier note, Priscilla is doing well. It took her about 4 years to learn and get strong enough to jump on the couch - but once she mastered it she staked her claim. I will never have the heart to deny her anything! She is very loving, gentle, and sweet, and except for the night terrors, you would never know what she has lived through. The important part of this story is that if there had not been buyers for her puppies, Priscilla would not have had to suffer so, nor would many, many others. Please do everything you can to discourage the sale of puppies through pet stores - If Priscilla could speak she would agree! Note: Priscilla died in her sleep (in our kitchen) in 2002. She was dearly loved.
|
