puppy_mill

Sheila came from incredibly horrible living conditions. She and 10 other Malamutes were
forced to live in a basement with no sunlight. The females were constantly pregnant and the
males were used every time a female came into heat. Sheila was about 9 when she was
pulled which means she most likely had at least 18 litters of puppies! The dogs were fed out of
a pig trough and fought for their food. They were not let outside for potty runs, so the filth was
right in their living area. In September of 1999 Van Buren County (in lower south western
Michigan) came in and removed the dogs. 4 of the females were pregnant, one due to whelp at
any moment. Carol pulled her from the shelter to get her to a foster home so the puppies
wouldn't be born in the shelter. 3 dogs had to be destroyed immediately. Several other dogs
eventually had to be put down due to aggression issues. You can see in the pictures these
dogs were scared to death and in very poor condition.

Imagine living in filth, fighting for your food, being female and constantly pregnant or nursing
puppies, never walking on the grass, never playing out in the sunshine, never being
loved.......then all of the sudden a bunch of people in uniforms and carrying poles/nooses
comes in and drags you by the neck and stuffs you in a cage in the back of a truck. You can
see the fear in the eyes of these poor dogs. This is the life of a dog in a puppy mill. This is
where that cute little puppy in the pet store started out his/her life. When you purchase a
puppy from a pet store, you help support these puppy mills...........if folks would stop buying
from pet stores, perhaps we can put a dent in the number of dogs forced to live in these
horrible conditions. Keep in mind this is just one very small puppy mill and just one breed.
There are hundreds of these "puppy factories" in the United States and all breeds are
affected.

Sheila is one of the lucky ones, although she very nearly had to be euthanized too as she
was very difficult to place. She was a screamer, she had no "manners", had no idea how to
interact in a home environment. She was placed twice, but these behavior issues caused her
to be returned to rescue. Ronda Allen of GRA-Wind kennels was at her wits end about what
to do about Sheila (she was the foster mom for Sheila), when a woman from Muskegon
offered to take her and try to work with her. Sheila's guardian angel was Shirley! Well, as you
can see by this website........the rest is history :-) Sheila was loved dearly by Shirley and
Carol and her urn will sit in a place of honor in the new kennel facility. The building will be
named "Sheila's Place" in her honor.