Best Friends is a rescue organization dedicated to helping animals that are from mills, unwanted, abused, etc.  About a month or so ago Whispering Oaks Kennels in West Virginia surrendered close to 1000 dogs, mostly dachshunds and Best Friends came to the rescue.  Please read this post to learn about why we should never buy from animals from pet stores, online, and most breeders.  Please do not support mills (which means pet stores, most people do not know that) and adopt!

Parker is one in a thousand—literally. Our little brown Dachshund was one of nearly that many dogs and puppies surrendered by Whispering Oaks Kennel in Parkersburg, West Virginia last week. Until he was rescued, Parker lived in a rabbit hutch with three other dogs; it’s likely he never left that cage. Ever.

Until last week Parker’s sole purpose in life, his reason for being worthy of food every day in his owner’s eyes, was to make puppies. Whispering Oaks sold thousands of puppies online over the years, getting from $300 to over $700 per puppy. Customers had no idea that all the dogs lived in barns and rabbit hutches, because they were never allowed to see where the adult breeding dogs lived. And they couldn’t have known that their puppies may have had a dad like Parker.

I first met Parker last Sunday, when I was on a team of three whose job it was to go cage by cage and put an ID band on each and every dog. My volunteer partner Travis called the ID bands “the ticket out of here.” He and I went along methodically along with Deputy Shanna Modesitt to make sure we had tagged every dog in every cage, and then teams came along behind us and loaded the dogs in crates so they could be taken to the staging area where an army of rescue workers and volunteers waited. Parker was in a free-standing rabbit hutch-type cage outside. All the cages looked like they’d been slapped together with whatever scrap material the breeder could find. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to live in that cage every single day, with nowhere to get out of the sweltering heat, and nothing but a plywood box with no bedding to curl up in during the freezing winter.

Heavy welding gloves protected my hands, just in case we encountered a biting dog. I remember that Parker’s cage was especially tricky because the only way to access it was to lower a large wooden door, leaving a good two-foot hole for dogs to pop out of if they wanted to escape. Travis had the ID bands ready, and Deputy Modesitt was on the other side of the cage, shooing the dogs our way so we could reach them. All the dogs in the cages around us barked furiously at us—I don’t know that they’d ever seen so much action in their lives! I was able to hold one, then the next miniature Dachshund in the cage for Travis to put ID bands on them. And then from the other side of the cage Deputy Modesitt shouted over the barking, “DO NOT let this one bite you; he’s got horrible teeth!” I shouted back “okay!” and opened the wooden door one more time as a scruffy brown Dachshund with huge, snaggly brown and white teeth came zipping to our side of the cage, urged by Deputy Modesitt. He allowed me to pick him up without a fuss, Travis secured his ID collar around his neck, and we let him go back in the only cage he’d ever known.

Later, we found him at the staging area where he had been kept with his cage-mates. He’d likely need extensive dental care, and what better “poster dog” for the all-too common dental neglect found in puppy mill dogs? So he was one of the first dogs we directed Michelle to as she went around to select dogs to come back to Best Friends.

Before we loaded him into a travel crate on our van to come home to Utah, the only experience I’d had with Parker was taking him out of his cage at the puppy mill. But his personality soon presented itself—and what a personality he has! We stopped every few hours to get the dogs out of their cages, since we’d had to really pack them in to fit everyone in the van. My biggest fear was that we’d lose a dog, considering that they’d never ever been walked on a leash before, and probably hadn’t ever walked on the ground before. But little Parker handled it like a pro. He got so excited when we came to his travel crate, he’d SMILE with that crazy mug! Many dogs smile when they’re excited, wrinkling their noses and showing their teeth in a big grin. On Parker, that smile was quite a sight to behold. But what a great little guy.

Soon he was walking on the leash pretty well, sniffing the grass, and going potty outside like a good boy.

After nearly forty hours on the road, we finally arrived at the sanctuary where everyone got to meet Parker for the first time. I can’t wait to watch him blossom here with the care and love that he has deserved, but has been denied until now.

For more information about Best Friends Animal Society please visit their website, http://www.bestfriends.org

Please educate people on the terrible attrocities that happen at puppy mills. We can stop this by not purchasing dogs but adopting instead. Please remember that for every dog that is purchased one dies in a shelter.

Hey Everyone!

I came across this website that I feel extremely necessary to share with everyone. It is called Dogs In Danger, http://www.dogsindanger.com . This site is all about the last chance to save a dogs life before they are euthanized in a shelter. It is very sad but very real, it actually shows you the number of days the dog has before it is put to sleep. It looks like there are few shelters that participate in this program when in actuality thousands of shelters are euthanizing tens of thousands of animals on a daily basis.

I commend the founders of this site and admire their commitment to truley putting forth the maximum effort of saving dogs’ lives!

So please, please forward this site to everyone you know! Please educate people on shelter adoptions vs. pet store purchases! You can be a voice for these poor dogs and animals, please help save them!

Thanks so much for reading!!

Naperville Pet Walkathon Helps Support “Making Strides For Strays”

It is time to put on your walking shoes, round up your family and friends, grab fido and his leash and head out to support the Animals Deserving Of Proper Treatment.

The annual pet walkathon sponsored by A. D. O. P. T will be held in beautiful downtown Naperville Il on Sunday May 4th at 8:30 AM. Registration begins at 7:30 AM. The starting point for this 5 k walk is the 5′th Avenue Station on 200 E. Fifth Avenue and the course will take you through the downtown Naperville shopping district and their scenic River Walk. Many local shops will have special sales just for this event. Don’t worry you don’t have to stay home just because you don’t have a dog, and there are many shortcuts so you do not have to complete the whole course. There will be entertainment, snacks, rest stops and watering spots for dogs and humans alike along the way, vans will be circling the route to pick you up if you get tired.

We attended last years event with our 2 long hair dachshunds, they met many new friends and so did we. Animal lovers are such a nice breed aren’t they? Especially when they are banded together for such a great cause.

This is A. D. O. P. T.’s 15th and largest fund raiser so please support this years theme “Making Strides For Strays” by making a pledge for this worthy cause that goes towards helping animals and their pet rescue shelter. While there is no registration fee, participants are asked to obtain pledges-per-kilometer or a set donation. Set a goal and ask friends, family, and co-workers to help you achieve it! Check into a matching pledge programs with your employer or a local business.

Our sponsor this year is Waggs N Wet Noses Pet Sitters of Naperville, a loving pet sitting service for local residents.

The Naperville carpet cleaning service at All Natural Services will also be our sponsors this year, for pet stains on carpeting they are the professionals. Thanks Jon!

All pledge-getters turning in $100 or more will receive this year’s specially designed, “Making’ Strides for Strays” T-shirt. They would love everyone to get a Walkathon T-shirt and wear it during the walk. The top pledge-getter will be honored with his/her/their name added to the “Makin’ Strides for Strays” Plaque mounted in the lobby of A.D.O.P.T.’s Animal Shelter.

All donations raised from their biggest human and canine social and fundraising event will be used toward the veterinary and special needs of the animals in A.D.O.P.T.’s care as well as the overall operation of their Animal Shelter. For more information about this pet walkathon in Naperville Illinois please contact Sandy at 847-458-6366 or visit the Animals Deserving Of Proper Treatment website below.

A.D.O.P.T. Naperville Pet Walkathon 2008

Today I would like to introduce you to one of our favorite local animal shelters, The Will County Humane Society.

They are the first no kill animal shelter in Will County near our home in Naperville Illinois. They are a privately owned, 501-C3 charitable organization and receive no assistance from local or state government.

We love all the things they do to help find new homes for pets that have been dropped off, abandoned or left behind and they have a great website showing a Pet Of The Week page showing pictures and descriptions of rescued pets that are just waiting for a new family.

They provide shots and medical treatment for all the animals in their care to make sure that you only get a healthy new friend if you are looking for a pet to adopt into your home.

For example all of their puppies and kittens have had their first shots and all adult dogs have been spayed or neutered and have received Rabies, Distemper, Parvo, Corona, Leptospirosis Nepatitis and Kennel Cough Vaccines.

All adult cats have been spayed or neutered and have received Rabies, Feline Leukemia, Feline Distemper, Chlamydia, and Feline Rhino Vaccines.

The animals in their care need special attention over the winter months – their bills for heating, caring for the increasing number of abandoned pets and the overall increased needs of vet bills make this a very difficult time for them.
They have T-shirts on sale to celebrate the 40th year anniversary of the shelter. Coffee mugs, travel mugs, canvas bags, note pads and clips all with the Will County Humane Society Logo are also available. Sales from all of these items always contribute to the upkeep of the shelter.
If you would like to donate your time as a volunteer to this humane society or wish to donate something else to help the rescue animals instead they have a Pet Shelter Wish List that can give you donation ideas.

I would appreciate it if you can do anything to help this great animal shelter, the pets they have in their care or the thoughts behind their motto;

“Pets Are Not Disposable Please Love Us For Our Whole Life”

Visit their site to lean more

The Will County Humane Society

Every year, animal lovers working in shelters are left with no option but euthanasia after being unable to find them new homes. The question many of these devoted volunteers find themselves asking again and again is how do these animals, many of which are sweet, loving souls, end up in shelters with a desperate need for a permanent home?

They come from all over the place. Having worked in animal shelters, there are a few common scenarios that crop up again and again.

• Those that find strays. Some people come into the shelter with a stray dog or cat that has been hanging around for a few days, that they finally managed to catch. Usually they’ve been spotted by the kids, and often the family asks to adopt the animal if it’s real home isn’t found, which is often the case.
• Those that claim they’re strays. There have been situations when someone has brought an animal to a shelter (usually a cat), and say that it’s a stray. The shelter scans the animal and finds a microchip. They ring the number…and a mobile phone in the person pocket starts to ring. Talk about an awkward situation.
• Those that pass away. Nobody plans to die, and sometimes pets are suddenly left without their owners after a tragic event, and end up in a shelter. Often these pets have special instruction such as ‘must not be separated’ because they’ve spent their entire lives together. The experience of being in the shelter is often traumatic for them, and although being kept together makes it slightly easier for them emotionally, it makes it harder for them to find new homes. This is because most potential adopters are looking for one pet, not two.
• Those that don’t care. Some people just fail to realize that by not spaying or neutering their cats or dogs, they’re going to be eaten out of house and home by hoards of kittens or puppies. This doesn’t seem to bother them though; when they kittens or puppies get to big, too expensive or aren’t cute any more they dump them at a shelter to make room for the next lot.

The end result is that animal lovers working in shelters are left with the heartbreaking job of cleaning up other people’s mess. Some situations are unavoidable, but much of the heartbreak could be avoided by spaying and neutering pets, and by having a contingency plan for them if something should happen to you, or if you become unable to keep your pets at home.

Please remember that owning a pet is a lifelong commitment and should not be taken lightly.

Nearly-Dr Ferox is a blog about the life and times of an Australian Veterinary student.

She shares her experiences not only with fellow vet students, but all those out there that hope one day to be Vets, or wished they had chosen a Veterinary career.

Her blog can supply knowledge to pet owners and explain to animal lovers things they they may now have known.

Some of her posts include Working With Pigs, Vets Over The Phone, Garlic Toxicity, and, The Little Black Dress

Please visit her site to learn more about Veterinarians and Veterinary students and all the things they do to help the animals.