MO, talks about wire hair terriers salvaged froma puppy mill in northern Missouri. One dog’sentire nasal channel was exposed where hisface had been torn away in a fight. ADachshund came with third degree heatingpad burns over 60% of her tiny body.

“It’s a miracle that dog lived,” Ives says. “Thoseare the heartwarming cases — the ones who aresupposed to die, but insist on living instead.”

Puppy mills are profit-driven enterprises that typ-ically fail to provide adequate veterinary care,diet, exercise or shelter. Large sites house up to1,000 dogs in rusted chicken wire cages heapedthree or four tiers high. Urine and feces seep intolower cages. Dogs at the top swelter in the sum-mer and freeze in the winter. Smaller facilitiesboard 50 or more dogs in squalid kennel runs.

The mass breeder’s bottom line is low overheadand high return. So bulk food purchases areoften comprised of sweepings from the foodmanufacturer’s floor. Dogs are so nutritiondeprived, their teeth rot as young as one or twoyears of age. Sometimes their jaws dissolve.Others lose their front teeth from gnawing onthe metal bars that contain them.

There are approximately 5,000 mill-style outfitsnationwide. Cruelty investigators have uncov-ered parasite-infested dogs with oozing eyes,ear infections, and fur so matted it forms acocoon over sores. Mange can transform apuppy’s skin into a blanket of red scabs. Dogs incongested quarters easily spread worms, upperrespiratory infections, coccidia, giardia, anddeadly parvovirus and distemper.

Dogs are found with gangrenous skin wherecollars became embedded in flesh. Others arebalding, blind, emaciated. Some long-term milldogs have been debarked by shoving a steelrod down their throats to mutilate vocal cords.

by Brenda Shoss, 6/14/04

She waddles over, a puffy “hair-do” perched upon stubby legs.The four-pound pup nestles against my chest and gives me thegoofy sideways glance. I’m a goner. I’ll call her Mandy.

I first laid eyes upon this irresistible Lhasa Apso at FlawdogsAdoption, a rescue dedicated to “little puppy mill leftovers”about 45 minutes southwest of St. Louis in Morse Mill, Missouri.

There are no kennels or cages at Flawdogs. A tree-lined bridgeleads to a canine Shangri-La where Silky Terriers, Corgis,Chihuahuas and Yorkies frolic amid pools and sunbathing decksin outdoor runs across eight yards. Inside, Shih Tzus, Poodles,Bichon Frises, and Dachshunds tumble over toys and eachother. It’s Camp Cute, with an army of wide-eyed fluffballs audi-tioning to steal your heart.

But Mandy’s doubtful peer recalls another setting. During herfirst week home, direct eye contact threatens her. Reachinghands remind her of harsh hands that once threw her from cageto cage. She pauses before open doors, remembering otherdogs smashed in gates when they tried to flee. She freezes on aleash. My gentle tug reminds her of a yank by the head or neck.

Love and a loose leash soon erase Mandy’s memories of birthinside a Missouri puppy mill. Yet though Flawdogs had testedand vaccinated her for ailments commonly spread inside breed-ing mills, Mandy grows anorexic and lethargic. She is treated forcoccidia and giardia parasites. Her back legs cave in as she walks.An x-ray reveals the head of femur bone is missing in her left leg.The same bone in her right leg is porous, ragged and dying.

Still, Mandy is one lucky dog. Flawdogs founder Sally Ives, for-mer director of Open Door Animal Sanctuary in House Springs,

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SHE WAS BORNIN A PUPPY MILL

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53 4by Brenda Shoss, 6/14/04She waddles over, a puffy “hair-do” perched upon stubby legs. MO, talks about wire hair terriers salvaged from

The four-pound pup nestles against my chest and gives me the a puppy mill in northern Missouri. One dog’sgoofy sideways glance. I’m a goner. I’ll call her Mandy. entire nasal channel was exposed where his

face had been torn away in a fight. AI first laid eyes upon this irresistible Lhasa Apso at Flawdogs Dachshund came with third degree heatingAdoption, a rescue dedicated to “little puppy mill leftovers” pad burns over 60% of her tiny body.about 45 minutes southwest of St. Louis in Morse Mill, Missouri.

“It’s a miracle that dog lived,” Ives says. “ThoseThere are no kennels or cages at Flawdogs. A tree-lined bridge are the heartwarming cases — the ones who are

6leads to a canine Shangri-La where Silky Terriers, Corgis, supposed to die, but insist on living instead.”Chihuahuas and Yorkies frolic amid pools and sunbathing decksin outdoor runs across eight yards. Inside, Shih Tzus, Poodles, Puppy mills are profit-driven enterprises that typ-

Bichon Frises, and Dachshunds tumble over toys and each ically fail to provide adequate veterinary care,

other. It’s Camp Cute, with an army of wide-eyed fluffballs audi- diet, exercise or shelter. Large sites house up to

tioning to steal your heart. 1,000 dogs in rusted chicken wire cages heapedthree or four tiers high. Urine and feces seep into

But Mandy’s doubtful peer recalls another setting. During her lower cages. Dogs at the top swelter in the sum-first week home, direct eye contact threatens her. Reaching mer and freeze in the winter. Smaller facilitieshands remind her of harsh hands that once threw her from cage board 50 or more dogs in squalid kennel runs.to cage. She pauses before open doors, remembering otherdogs smashed in gates when they tried to flee. She freezes on a The mass breeder’s bottom line is low overhead

leash. My gentle tug reminds her of a yank by the head or neck. and high return. So bulk food purchases areoften comprised of sweepings from the food

Love and a loose leash soon erase Mandy’s memories of birth manufacturer’s floor. Dogs are so nutritioninside a Missouri puppy mill. Yet though Flawdogs had tested deprived, their teeth rot as young as one or twoand vaccinated her for ailments commonly spread inside breed- years of age. Sometimes their jaws dissolve.ing mills, Mandy grows anorexic and lethargic. She is treated for Others lose their front teeth from gnawing oncoccidia and giardia parasites. Her back legs cave in as she walks. the metal bars that contain them.An x-ray reveals the head of femur bone is missing in her left leg.

The same bone in her right leg is porous, ragged and dying. There are approximately 5,000 mill-style outfits7 nationwide. Cruelty investigators have uncov-

Still, Mandy is one lucky dog. Flawdogs founder Sally Ives, for- ered parasite-infested dogs with oozing eyes,mer director of Open Door Animal Sanctuary in House Springs, ear infections, and fur so matted it forms a

cocoon over sores. Mange can transform a9 puppy’s skin into a blanket of red scabs. Dogs in

congested quarters easily spread worms, upper

respiratory infections, coccidia, giardia, anddeadly parvovirus and distemper.

Dogs are found with gangrenous skin wherecollars became embedded in flesh. Others arebalding, blind, emaciated. Some long-term mill

8 dogs have been debarked by shoving a steelrod down their throats to mutilate vocal cords.

Document hosted at http://www.jdsupra.com/post/documentViewer.aspx?fid=38e7cfbc-167c-4a99-a31e-7bf5b3f640ff

Breeding factories function primarily in Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa,Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania. Missouri leads the way, with anestimated $40 million per year in puppy mill profits.

Ives’ relationship with mill managers, mostly women, is unique. On 24-hour call, she awaits their invitation to collect the rejects slated foreuthanasia. “They see themselves as professional breeders. I must appearpositive and flattering. The few times I’ve leaked a look of horror, I’venever been invited back. My commitment is to any dog I can get out.”

Federally licensed Class A breeders form contractual agreements with bro-kers, or Class B dealers, who purchase mill pups for resale to some 3,500U.S. pet outlets. Brokers seek flawless 8-week-old puppies to pile intocrates for shipment by truck or plane. According to the CompanionAnimal Protection Society, a half-million puppies pass from mill to brokerto pet shop in the U.S. and Canada every year.

A dog who misses a broker’s weekly pickup from the mill may be deemed“too old” by the next collection day and consequently killed. If a brokerreaches his sales quota in a region, he has nowhere else to market pup-pies. In most cases, these leftovers are healthy young animals.

A broker’s criterion is based on what the public will pay for. “We’ve saveda lot of Bichon and Maltese pups who have biscuit-colored ears. Theywon’t accept biscuit on a white dog, or any color considered inconsistent,even an odd-colored eye,” Ives explains.

Ives rescues any animal a mill will release: Too small. Too large.Undescended testicles. Umbilical hernias. A sparse coat. A short tail. “Howdo you pick which ones to save and which ones to pass a death sentenceon?” she asks. “They ride quietly in our crowded van. We hold as many inour laps as we can to start the socialization.”

Mandy was a disposable mill dog. Her twisted back legs were likelyinjured in a cage jam-packed with puppies. Dogs suffer abscessed feet,hyperflexion, loss of limbs or bones, and deformed or broken legs fromtrauma inside overcrowded wire enclosures.

Mills usually cull puppies with leg defects. Ives acquires many ItalianGreyhounds dismissed for luxating patellas. In fact, their wobbly kneecapsarise from insufficient muscle growth. After days of open space and nutri-tious food, they “run around like lunatics,” she says.

The “flaw” in older dogs is their inability to produce a viable litter of sixor more pups. Mills breed females from six months of age to every heatcycle thereafter. When too worn to turn a profit, dogs as young as two tofive years are shot or clubbed in the head. Other throwaways are sold toresearch laboratories or simply discarded.

Brandylyn, a 17-year-old “chocolate” poodle, was five pounds and pregnantwhen Ives retrieved her from a mill. Three baths later, Brandylyn emerged asa white dog. “She had been sold, auctioned, and traded so many times, theylost track of her color,” Ives says. “Her babies were stillborn.”

One overbred Yorkshire Terrier arrived with 12 mammary tumors. Ivescompares their insides to “cole slaw, filled with adhesions, cysts, and scartissue. Some are boiling with pyometra (infection in female organs) thatcan fatally rupture.”

While breeders and brokers retain consulting veterinarians, they rarely callupon them. “Their idea of medical intervention is to stick a sick dog in agarage, basement, or barn,” Ives claims.

Shoddy breeding methods predispose dogs to chronic infirmities such aship dysplasia, dislocating kneecaps, seizures, eye lesions, liver and heartdisease, and autoimmune disorders. In California, a state financed studyrevealed almost half of pet store pups were sick or harboring diseases.

The Animal, Plant and Health Inspection Service (APHIS) arm of the USDAregulates animal industries. This financially strapped agency employs a

relative handful of inspectors to mon-itor thousands of Class A licensees(breeders), Class B licensees (brokers),Class C licensees (exhibitors), han-dlers, and biomedical researchers.

Present law categorizes high volumebreeders who sell directly to the pub-lic as “pet stores,” and exempts themfrom U.S. Animal Welfare Act guide-lines. Thus, a breeder who sells ani-mals via a middleman broker, theinternet or newspaper ads functionswith minimal oversight. Kittens, pup-pies and other companion animalseasily cross state borders with noinformation about the surroundingsin which they were raised. This loophole undermines a key intent of the AWAand deceives consumers, who are conned into spending huge fees on ani-mals with health complications.

When I ask Ives about her role in a system clogged with lax laws, she paus-es and then quietly clarifies her mission: “I am their caretaker. I get to touchtheir lives for a little while and send them bouncing into people’s arms. I amupstairs right now, looking over my little dogs in their playhouses, just hang-ing out the windows. This is grand. I am way too happy.”

Somehow, Ives finds homes for even the most traumatized animals. One fami-ly traveled 300 miles to adopt Trina, a blind dog with detached retinas.Mufasa’s family adores him, despite undernourishment that left him hairlessover most of his body. Tick, an underweight Dachshund who couldn’t sustainhis own body temperature, is photographed weeks later amid a swirl of shred-ded paper towels. Once they can wreak puppy havoc, Ives knows they are okay.

In closing I mention to Ives that although I currently have two cats and twodogs, I really want to rescue a beagle. “If I can talk my husband into moreanimals… Do you get beagles?”

“Funny you should ask,” she drawls. Ives knows I’m already hooked, but offersthis advice: “You need to break your husband in gradually.”

Honey, how do you feel about beagle pups?

ACTION:1 Boycott pet stores that buy and sell companion animals. Meet and fall in

love with your own puppy mill rescue. Out-of-state adoptions welcome!Flawdogs Adoption • ph: 636-274-2511; email: gnsives@aol.comweb: www.petfinder.com/shelters/flawdogs.htmlhttp://community.webshots.com/user/flawdogs P.O. Box 99 • Morse Mill, MO 63066

In Missouri, Flawdogs is at Arnold Petco every Sunday, 11:00 am to4:00 pm. Also: The second and fourth Saturday, each month.Arnold Petco • 1221 Watertower Place • Arnold, MO 63130

2 Ask your elected officials to crackdown on puppy mills by cosponsoring the federal Pet Animal Welfare Statute (the PAWS bill).

6. FLAWDOGS: Leftover ItalianGreyhounds the broker rejected.Their flaw? Utter lack of humantouch.

7. MANDY hangs out on Cleveland,a blind Lhasa-Poodle mix.

8. FLAWDOGS: Three baths later,“chocolate” poodle Brandylyn, 17,emerged a white dog! She waspregnant and weighed five pounds.

9. FLAWDOGS: Tiny Dachshundsrejected because expected to die.Malnourished and parasite-ridden,they survived.

10. FLAWDOGS: Tuffy, miniaturePinscher born with legs on back-wards, spent months undergoingsurgery. “We do not know how wellhe will walk, but he WILL WALK.”

10

PHOTOS:

1. & 4. FLAWDOGS: Little Braveheart, 6/05.Bruises covered most of his body and he’dgiven up hope at the mill. Today, he’s readyfor a second chance in loving home.

2. FLAWDOGS: Tick arrived too underweightto maintain his own body temperature.Today he’s someone’s spastic, beloved pup.

3. FLAWDOGS: Tuffy, a Miniature Pinscher,was born with his legs on backwards.

5. MANDY, 4/30/06

Breeding factories function primarily in Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, 10Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania. Missouri leads the way, with an PHOTOS:estimated $40 million per year in puppy mill profits. 1. & 4. FLAWDOGS: Little Braveheart, 6/05.

Bruises covered most of his body and he’dgiven up hope at the mill. Today, he’s readyIves’ relationship with mill managers, mostly women, is unique. On 24-for a second chance in loving home.

hour call, she awaits their invitation to collect the rejects slated for2. FLAWDOGS: Tick arrived too underweighteuthanasia. “They see themselves as professional breeders. I must appearto maintain his own body temperature.

positive and flattering. The few times I’ve leaked a look of horror, I’ve Today he’s someone’s spastic, beloved pup.never been invited back. My commitment is to any dog I can get out.”

3. FLAWDOGS: Tuffy, a Miniature Pinscher,was born with his legs on backwards.

Federally licensed Class A breeders form contractual agreements with bro-5. MANDY, 4/30/06kers, or Class B dealers, who purchase mill pups for resale to some 3,500

U.S. pet outlets. Brokers seek flawless 8-week-old puppies to pile into relative handful of inspectors to mon- 6. FLAWDOGS: Leftover ItalianGreyhounds the broker rejected.crates for shipment by truck or plane. According to the Companion itor thousands of Class A licensees Their flaw? Utter lack of human

Animal Protection Society, a half-million puppies pass from mill to broker (breeders), Class B licensees (brokers), touch.to pet shop in the U.S. and Canada every year. Class C licensees (exhibitors), han- 7. MANDY hangs out on Cleveland,

dlers, and biomedical researchers. a blind Lhasa-Poodle mix.A dog who misses a broker’s weekly pickup from the mill may be deemed

8. FLAWDOGS: Three baths later,“too old” by the next collection day and consequently killed. If a broker Present law categorizes high volume“chocolate” poodle Brandylyn, 17,

reaches his sales quota in a region, he has nowhere else to market pup- breeders who sell directly to the pub- emerged a white dog! She waspies. In most cases, these leftovers are healthy young animals. lic as “pet stores,” and exempts them pregnant and weighed five pounds.

from U.S. Animal Welfare Act guide- 9. FLAWDOGS: Tiny DachshundsA broker’s criterion is based on what the public will pay for. “We’ve saved lines. Thus, a breeder who sells ani- rejected because expected to die.

Malnourished and parasite-ridden,a lot of Bichon and Maltese pups who have biscuit-colored ears. They mals via a middleman broker, the they survived.won’t accept biscuit on a white dog, or any color considered inconsistent, internet or newspaper ads functions10. FLAWDOGS: Tuffy, miniatureeven an odd-colored eye,” Ives explains. with minimal oversight. Kittens, pup- Pinscher born with legs on back-

pies and other companion animals wards, spent months undergoingIves rescues any animal a mill will release: Too small. Too large. surgery. “We do not know how welleasily cross state borders with noUndescended testicles. Umbilical hernias. A sparse coat. A short tail. “How he will walk, but he WILL WALK.”

information about the surroundingsdo you pick which ones to save and which ones to pass a death sentence

in which they were raised. This loophole undermines a key intent of the AWAon?” she asks. “They ride quietly in our crowded van. We hold as many in

and deceives consumers, who are conned into spending huge fees on ani-our laps as we can to start the socialization.”

mals with health complications.

Mandy was a disposable mill dog. Her twisted back legs were likely When I ask Ives about her role in a system clogged with lax laws, she paus-injured in a cage jam-packed with puppies. Dogs suffer abscessed feet,

es and then quietly clarifies her mission: “I am their caretaker. I get to touchhyperflexion, loss of limbs or bones, and deformed or broken legs from

their lives for a little while and send them bouncing into people’s arms. I amtrauma inside overcrowded wire enclosures.

upstairs right now, looking over my little dogs in their playhouses, just hang-ing out the windows. This is grand. I am way too happy.”Mills usually cull puppies with leg defects. Ives acquires many Italian

Greyhounds dismissed for luxating patellas. In fact, their wobbly kneecapsSomehow, Ives finds homes for even the most traumatized animals. One fami-

arise from insufficient muscle growth. After days of open space and nutri-ly traveled 300 miles to adopt Trina, a blind dog with detached retinas.

tious food, they “run around like lunatics,” she says.Mufasa’s family adores him, despite undernourishment that left him hairlessover most of his body. Tick, an underweight Dachshund who couldn’t sustainThe “flaw” in older dogs is their inability to produce a viable litter of sixhis own body temperature, is photographed weeks later amid a swirl of shred-or more pups. Mills breed females from six months of age to every heatded paper towels. Once they can wreak puppy havoc, Ives knows they are okay.cycle thereafter. When too worn to turn a profit, dogs as young as two to

five years are shot or clubbed in the head. Other throwaways are sold toIn closing I mention to Ives that although I currently have two cats and two

research laboratories or simply discarded.dogs, I really want to rescue a beagle. “If I can talk my husband into moreanimals… Do you get beagles?”Brandylyn, a 17-year-old “chocolate” poodle, was five pounds and pregnant

when Ives retrieved her from a mill. Three baths later, Brandylyn emerged as“Funny you should ask,” she drawls. Ives knows I’m already hooked, but offers

a white dog. “She had been sold, auctioned, and traded so many times, theythis advice: “You need to break your husband in gradually.”

lost track of her color,” Ives says. “Her babies were stillborn.”

Honey, how do you feel about beagle pups?One overbred Yorkshire Terrier arrived with 12 mammary tumors. Ivescompares their insides to “cole slaw, filled with adhesions, cysts, and scartissue. Some are boiling with pyometra (infection in female organs) that ACTION:can fatally rupture.” 1 Boycott pet stores that buy and sell companion animals. Meet and fall in

love with your own puppy mill rescue. Out-of-state adoptions welcome!While breeders and brokers retain consulting veterinarians, they rarely call Flawdogs Adoption • ph: 636-274-2511; email: gnsives@aol.comupon them. “Their idea of medical intervention is to stick a sick dog in a web: www.petfinder.com/shelters/flawdogs.htmlgarage, basement, or barn,” Ives claims. http://community.webshots.com/user/flawdogs

P.O. Box 99 • Morse Mill, MO 63066Shoddy breeding methods predispose dogs to chronic infirmities such aship dysplasia, dislocating kneecaps, seizures, eye lesions, liver and heart In Missouri, Flawdogs is at Arnold Petco every Sunday, 11:00 am todisease, and autoimmune disorders. In California, a state financed study 4:00 pm. Also: The second and fourth Saturday, each month.revealed almost half of pet store pups were sick or harboring diseases. Arnold Petco • 1221 Watertower Place • Arnold, MO 63130

The Animal, Plant and Health Inspection Service (APHIS) arm of the USDA 2 Ask your elected officials to crackdown on puppy mills by cosponsoringregulates animal industries. This financially strapped agency employs a the federal Pet Animal Welfare Statute (the PAWS bill).

Document hosted at http://www.jdsupra.com/post/documentViewer.aspx?fid=38e7cfbc-167c-4a99-a31e-7bf5b3f640ff