Success Stories

                            " Jonsey"

Let me tell you about Jonsey. He is a very special Chihuahua. What makes him so special,? well he survived a puppy mill for 4 years. That is never an easy feat for ANY dog.

    Puppy mills are not a good place for ANY animal. The dogs tend to live in very small wire cages, in dark, swanky barns, the cages are barely big enough for one dog, but they normally have two dogs in one cage. A male and a female, then if they have pups, the pups get to live with their parents for a few weeks, till they are pulled.
And then the male does his job and the female is pregnant again, the female NEVER gets any breaks, they are bred from the time they are old enough until the time, they no longer produce.

Jonsey was subjected to this treatment as well. These dogs live amoungst themsleves. They live day to day, not knowing what will happen in the next moment. They are treated worse than livestock, they are NEVER handled, they are never spoke kindly to, they are never touched, except to grab at them to give shots, sometimes, or to check for abnormalities. They do not get petted, they do not get treats, they do not getout of those wire cages, they never feel the ground, grass, carpet, nothing but wire.
    No one speaks kindly to them, they do not get very good food.
But yet they are expected to produce.

    Jonsey came to us over 6 months ago.
I had to feed him can food sitting on the floor, and putting the can food in front of him, and avert my eyes, I was not allowed to look at him while he ate.
I was not allowed to touch, at all, he would shiver and shake so much, I thought he would have a heart attack, literally.

I was not allowed to put my hands on him for the first two months.
If I wanted to pet him, I had to climb in his crate, and force myself to pet him, while he would shiver and shake, and look totally terrified. I had to show him, that I would never ever hurt him, that he could trust me. I did this everyday for two months.
Until he finally allowed me to pet him, outside of the crate.

   We put a harness on him, so that we could introduce him to the outside, he would again, shiver and shake, he eyes would get so wide, I got to hate that look, it was a look of PURE fear. A fear that only a human could give him. It was at those times, that I am very glad that I do not live near a mill operation farm, for I know what I would have done to the people who had done this to this little dog.
      After awhile Jonsey got to use to grass, between his toes, and he got to like it, he learned to do his business outside, he learned that grass is sometimes good to eat.
He also learned that carpet is very soft and it does not cut his feet like the wire did. He learned that carpet is great for when you have an itch, the carpet will help you itch it.

He learned to trust me a bit more everyday.
He learned what a treat was, that took a bit for him to figure out
but once he did, he now loves treats.

George

George came to us from a local Puppy Mill. HE was only 5 years old, but he acted and looked like alot older. George was born and raised in a cage, he was never allowed to come out and walk in the yard, he was not allowed to smell the flowers or spend time with humans, instead he had to breed for his keep. His cage must have been small, for George's spine was hunched. He had a hump on his back, poor guy walked like he was an elderly dog. He had the floppy earred grin of a happy dog, which we are very sure that he was. Boy the first time he was allowed to get out and walk on the grass was priceless. It took George a little longer than the rest of the mill dogs to figure out how to run, he wanted to but everytime he tried he would fall on his face, it was a great day when he FINALLY figured out how to run, he loved to run, he would stumble a bit, but always got back up and ran like the wind. What a great gift to be able to give to a dog, the ability to be free. George was with us for a little while for her had lots to learn if he wanted to find happiness with a great family and live inside a home. George now lives in a home with other shih tzus, where he has finally found happiness, he has a family to love him, no more cages to live in and he has a large yard where he can run till he drops........