Not just any puppy mill, news reports say that this could be the biggest puppy mill in Pennsylvania state history, and one report I saw on tv said there were over 800 animals on the property. Animals, as in, not only dogs- monkeys, horses, and who knows what else. I saw the monkeys and the horses myself, but I never saw the dogs. Let me explain.
I have been to this kennel many, many times. Why would I go to such a place? Well, when I first moved to this county seven years ago we needed a groomer for our dog (who no longer lives with us after viciously attacking our then-toddler daughter, but that's another story). This kennel/groomer was close by and the owner was very nice. When we adopted our second dog, a older, scruffy looking Pomeranian mix who had lost most of his teeth, saving him from death row one week before his date with the Creator, we took him there, too. I had always heard barking from my house, about a mile away, but never made the connection. Oddly, I didn't hear a lot of barking when I was there. I also didn't ever see a dog on the premises, because everything was fenced in and on the other side of the grooming site.
This is a picture from the kennel.When our rescued dog, Zorro, died of liver failure after we had him for six months, I was devastated. Four days later I went to this kennel to try to replace my poor old Zorro with another dog... as if he could ever be replaced. But I went. I went to our groomer, who I knew bred many different types of dogs, especially "poos" and "doodles" (that should have been my first red flag) and I asked the owner, who by now I had known for about a year, for a furry dog about 10 pounds. I thought he would let me take a walk around and see what kind of dogs he had. Instead, he brought the first dog, a "rescue" out to me. I didn't feel anything for it. Then he brought out what he called a "Cockapoo." (Three vets who have seen Rico have concurred that he is a Poodle-Bichon mix, not a Cockapoo.) My daughter and I fell in love right away- he looked like Benji. He was very inexpensive by breeder standards and I asked him why. He told me that he was small and was the last one in the litter and had been there for so long that he could give him to me for $200. I didn't ask the right questions. After all, this guy was our groomer, he wouldn't steer us wrong, right?
These are the dead dogs being taken out of a freezer at the kennel- 65 total. We brought our newly christened Rico Brogna (yes, we named him after the Phillies player) home and then endured months of him pooping and peeing in his cage. I called the owner of kennel twice to tell him he was doing this and he told me to not give him food or drink after 7 pm. Well, duh. Meanwhile, the other problem was that the dog ran from people who came into the house. He was fine with me but ducked away from my husband. When someone else tried to pet him, he cowered. It just didn't sit right but as I put the pieces together it was to late in the game to do anything. In my heart I have always believed that Rico had been abused in some way. He definitely was not socialized, and it was obvious he had lived his life in a cage, or why else would he poop and pee where he slept... for months after we took him home? When we took him out to do his business, he didn't seem to know what to do.
Needless to say we did not go back there for grooming or another dog. (Our next dog was rescued from Mississippi in March after hurricane Katrina, when someone from work went down there to bring about ten homeless dogs to PA for waiting families.)
Flash forward to today, October 1st. My mom calls me to say there was a puppy mill bust in a nearby town. I immediately said the name of the kennel. She thought I had seen the news but no, I just knew. I went home and turned on the news and wanted to get sick. Reports say it is possibly the biggest puppy mill in the history of Pennsylvania. (And that says a lot since Lancaster, PA is infamous for their puppy mills!) Over 800 animals, multiple dogs in cages, 1000 counts of abuse and neglect, dogs covered in feces.... and my dog lived there for 10 months. My sister, a rabid anti-puppy mill proponent, told me that I truly rescued Rico, because he was not in a shelter, but living in horrific conditions in a puppy mill.
When I drove home today I passed by the kennel. It was an animal SWAT team scene. Red SPCA trucks parked all over the kennel's lawn and driveway, all the Philly news crews, news choppers hovering overhead, reporters on both sides of the street, police cars, gawkers and traffic a mile long. In one report I saw, the owner (there are three) deny that they had that many animals there and then he pushed the camera tripod out of the woman's hands. He could actually stay in business after all of this. How is that possible???
Out of the estimated 800 to 1,200 animals in this shelter, the SPCA could only remove 100 of the sickest today to send to area shelters. What will happen to the rest?
If you don't know much about puppy mills, consider this: dogs crammed in cages with other dogs, water with feces floating in it, not replaced regularly, no exercise... the list of horrors goes on.These dogs are then sold to pet stores. When you buy a pet store dog, you may be saving that particular dog, but you're leaving room for a new puppy mill dog to replace it. Reputable breeders do not sell to pet stores. It's hard to accept that your dog may have come from a puppy mill, but don't repeat the mistake, and tell others. The best place to find a dog is on petfinder.com, which lists dogs from shelters all across the country, and which is how we located Zorro. PETFINDER
Allow me to give you a few links, one of which includes this site: Write To Legilsators to write to your congressman in PA to get the USDA to enforce the Animal Welfare Act and stop breeders from being allowed to shoot their dogs when they are too old or useless to breed anymore. You can also read about how PA farmers kill the dogs and use their remains as fertilizer for crops.
PACASHCROP
Mainline Animal Rescue
Click HERE for the video.
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