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MEET #78
Many of you have heard of puppy mills but have not experienced the 'horror' of them. Number 78 came to us in April 2005. This little 3 year old has lived in a tiny cage her entire life. It was made out of chicken wire and stacked with the cages of other dogs. The floor was chicken wire too. She had nothing firm to put her feet on. Typically, they are made like this so that the cages don't need to be cleaned. When the top dog eliminates, it just falls down through the cages onto the poor dogs at the bottom.
She and the other females were shaved down while the males were left shaggy. The farmer explained that it made them easy to tell apart. He decided to get out of Westies because they were too much trouble to groom.
A couple from Michigan decided they would like to make some extra money by breeding Westies. They went in search of breeding stock and ended up at this mill. There were 8 Westies but they only wanted three. They finally made a deal to take four of them and after a couple of weeks, they gave Number 78 to Rescue. They indicated that the girls all had razor cuts from being shaved and skin conditions.
Our foster mom got Number 78 and immediately renamed her Fiona. Fiona was in very bad shape. After two baths, she began to look like a Westie instead of a Cairn. She walked on her tiptoes because the pads of her feet were so swolen. She wasn't housebroken but was very loving when she had the courage to come to her caregivers. The vet was appalled when she saw her. The razor cuts were not really razor cuts. Rather, her entire body is covered with a severe staph infection....from the tips of her ears to the bottoms of her feet. This infection is old and long-standing. It originated from allergies (the tendency to allergies would, of course, have been passed along to her puppies). After brewing for some time, it caused swellings that burst her skin. The skin in those areas is now scarred and will likely never grow hair again. The infection is why she walked on her tiptoes. The people who surrendered her said that she had a hernia. She does not. She has a mass which the vet believes is inflamed mammary tissue. (The vet does not think it is cancer but it is growing. It will be removed and examined to be sure.) Fiona was placed on strong antibiotics and we are giving her time to recover before we go further. We pray the mass is not cancer and that good food, medical care and love will bring her back to the little Westie she was meant to be.
Fiona improves emotionally every day. Her foster dog siblings and family are teaching her things such as climbing stairs and house breaking. She drinks up every bit of affection offered. We are very hopeful that she will recover and become adoptable. We are also doing whatever we can to get the Ohio authorities to investigate this mill and force some improvements. This may be wishful thinking but we have to try.
So the next time you see a sweet little puppy in the pet store, remember what that puppy probably came from. Remember Fiona and realize that purchasing puppies from stores puts money in the pockets of the puppy miller and allows them to keep dogs in this condition. Remember that patronizing the pet store that sells puppies, gives the millers a place to sell their goods. And when you buy from a breeder, be sure to check out the breeder thoroughly. Find out where they got the breeding stock and make sure it wasn't from a puppy mill. If there is no other reason for not shopping at pet stores, keep these pictures of #78 in mind and make her that reason.
May 5, 2005 An update from the foster home
Fiona had her surgery today. The "growth" turned out to be a hernia after all. Opinions were that it was mammary tissue. Well sit down and grab your tissue. The mass in there was an ovaria and a horn of her uterus. Those pictures of Fiona with the pink part of her nipples hanging down is this hernia. So, the muscle wall of her abdomen had a rupture in it. Through this wall came a horn from the uterus and an ovary. It took two vets in surgery to get this out. There were adhesions of the ovary to the inside of this hernia, so, it she must have had it for a while and had problems with it. She was under anesthesia for over two hours. Dr. Tina gave her some injection(I don't remember the name) that is 25 stronger in pain relief than morphine. She is going to be a very sore little girl. She is going to recuperate in my bedroom away from the noise and chaos of the rest of the house.
Dr. Tina said that she cannot imagine anyone even thinking of breeding this little gal. When I think of how those of us trying to decide what the lump was and mushing it around in our fingers were doing, I want to cry. We thought it was mammary tissue or a fatty growth. It was an ovary and the top of her uterus!!!! This little baby has had a miserable life. I am so glad she found her way to westie rescue.
END OF MAY 2005
Happy news! Fiona has found her forever home and is now living happily ever after!!
Donations can be sent to Westie Rescue (check made out to WHWTCSEM) in care of Beth Widdows, 1371 West South Blvd., Troy, MI 48098. (Any excess will be used to help other Westies.)
While Fiona has now been adopted, anyone interested in adopting a future rescued Westie can go to our Rescue Website to get the application and read about our rescue process.
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