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Small Breed Rescue of East Tennessee |
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Missouri Puppy Mill Chihuahuas2/12/2012 update: Corrina is now available for adoption. Please visit her rescue page. 1/14/2012 update: Candy and Sweetness are now available for adoption. 1/2/2012 update: Silvertoes is now available for adoption. Please visit his rescue page. You can watch the video about the rescue of these 5 Chihuahuas at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-z5GmcAXHU and read the story below. All donations will go towards rehabilitating these Missouri Chihuahuas and other dogs in need and are entirely tax deductible! Please help us meet our goal and help us rescue abused and neglected dogs during this holiday season! No donation is too large or small and all are absolutely appreciated!
We plan to have more pictures on the website soon to go with the story below, but until then be sure to check out the facebook photo album for these rescued puppy mill Chihuahuas. Because of the economy and pressure being put on mill owners with new laws in place requiring them to provide a bit higher standard of care - although still quite appalling what is considered care - a Missouri puppy mill is closing. One hundred Chihuahuas will need to be moved out of the mill by the end of the year. About a month ago mass appeal emails and phone calls were made to all rescue groups across the country to find a place for all the dogs. Small Breed Rescue of East Tennessee has offered to take 5 of these dogs. We would love to take more but our homes are full of other dogs ready for adoption. The logistical challenge of getting the dogs here was incredible. It took the combined efforts of several sets of volunteers to drive them across the country. At one point one leg of the journey could not be met because the dogs were in an area with no contacts. The dogs were held with another foster home in Missouri for two weeks while awaiting transport.
The dogs have lived all their lives in a cage. They've had very little, if any, handling by the puppy mill owners. You see, when a dog is subjected to living in a puppy mill, they are not a pet, they are not loved, they are just a way of making money. These dogs don't have a bed to sleep in, they don't have a bowl to eat their food out of; they never get out of their cage; they never feel grass under their feet or know kindness. See www.prisonersofgreed.org for more information about puppy mills. So how can you help? You can make a donation to help cover the vet expenses we incur to make it possible for us to provide the care and attention our rescue dogs need. You can offer your home as a foster home for one of our dogs. Maybe you aren't up for the challenge of a puppy mill dog - or maybe you are? But we have dogs from all types of situations that we would love to find a temporary home for to give all dogs that are in need a chance. Maybe you'd like to be available to help with a transport. We get requests nearly every day for a leg to be filled in a rescue dog's journey to a foster home or a trip to the vet. We are also in need of dog beds, dog toys, dog blankets, towels, office supplies (i.e., copy paper, postage stamps), gas cards, dog food, puppy food, pee pads, bleach, xxs and xs dog sweaters and so many other things to help in the rescue of a dog. Many of our volunteers are doubled up to allow our rescue to bring in more dogs because the need is there and the requests for us to take in more dogs never stops. If you are thinking about adding to your family, maybe you can help us by adopting a dog that is ready for his or her new home. We have wonderful dogs in foster care. If you want to help in any way, please contact us by phone or email or drop by one of our adoption events and speak to one of our volunteers about how you can help us save just one more dog. Please follow this page as we keep you updated, and go to the available rescue page as the dogs become ready for their forever homes. |
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Finally on Saturday, November 12th, the dogs' journey began again. They had 6 legs of ground
journey with volunteer drivers. The dogs spent the night in Clarksville, Tennessee to prepare
for their flight to Wise, Virginia and then to Knoxville's McGee Tyson airport. The flight was
provided by volunteer pilots with Pilots N Paws. These pilots volunteer their time and their
aircraft to provide transportation for these animals.
The 5 dogs were picked up at McGee Tyson airport by 3 volunteers from Small Breed Rescue of
East TN on Sunday, November 13th. They were driven to Anderson County Vet Clinic for an overnight
rest and to be checked by our vet. After their arrival at Anderson County Vet Clinic, the
pups were placed in comfortable cages to rest for the night. But before they could rest, we
were so fortunate to have WBIR stop by to report on the story and spread the word to the community.
Silver Toes is 9 to 10 years old and has lived in that mill all his life. When we first saw Silver
Toes at the airport in his crate he broke our hearts. He was sitting with his head down in the
corner with his back to us. He wouldn't or couldn't make eye contact. He will require ultimate
patience and care from his foster family to try to bring him around to trust humans.
