Freedom For 98 Rescued Puppy Mill Dogs
In Jay, Oklahoma a puppy mill was raided and 98 dogs were rescued from horrendous conditions.
The owner of the puppy mill had left town for more than a week, leaving the dogs without food. Many did not have access to water, nine of the dogs were already dead.
The owner of the puppy mill lived in a tent next to her puppy mill, Wehr said. She is expected to be charged with more than 100 counts of cruelty to animals, a felony, Berry said.
The uproar over the puppy mill in Oklahoma has been overwhelming, Wehr said. Oklahoma has the dubious distinction of ranking No. 2 nationwide for puppy mills – behind neighboring Missouri, she said.
Delaware County is a poor area, and some people there start raising puppies in hopes of selling them. But they are soon in over their heads – hardly able to support themselves, much less the dogs, Wehr said.
The dogs were rescued thanks in part to Darlene Wehr, a veterinarian from Delaware County, and the staff of the Denver Dumb Friends League. The dogs were driven from the puppy mill to Denver, Colorado where they will be available for adoption. Before the drive the dogs got their first taste of freedom.
Before the transfer, the dogs visited Salina’s dog park. They were overjoyed.
Unaccustomed to anything but dirt and filth, the miniature poodles and springer spaniels sniffed the grass. Then they had the time of their lives romping around the park, said Wehr, laughing.
If you’re interested in adopting encouraged to visit the Dumb Friends League Web site, or call (303) 751-5772, to find out when these dogs are available.
I am so upset that a person can be so cruel as to what this women did to these dogs. The courts should give her jail and not give her any food for a while and let her live in her own filth, so she can see and feel what these poor animals had to endure!
THANKS TO DARLENE WEHR FOR THE GREAT JOB!!!!!!WELL DONE…….PUPPY LOVERS LUV U FOR THAT!!!!!!
It’s time every state in this country adopts laws to stop this cruelty to animals . There are too many people running these puppy mills .
I’m not a big fan of “animal rights” (ala PETA) over human rights, but there has to be a way to stop these evil people. It seems that the preponderance of puppymills are situated in rural communities in agricultural states.
I can tell you first hand that these places are well concealed on the rarely traveled back roads. Many of these folks see absolutely nothing wrong with what they are doing. I witnessed a sorry scene one day. I had one of my girls at the vet, and in walked a “breeder” with a dog with a puppy “stuck”… had been that way for almost a whole day.
The vet tech started filling out forms and when she got to the question about the dog’s name, the “breeder” just looked at her (the tech) incredulously and shrugged. Point is, these folks look upon their dogs as if they are cattle, chickens or hogs. Now I DO have respect for all life and don’t believe ANY animal should spend it’s life in a pen or cage, dogs are DIFFERENT! Dogs are so people oriented, so responsive to us, so needful of companionship and love, they are almost human. We have bred these animals for millenia to be companions, to protect us and our goods/stock/children. They are a real part of human history, have contributed to our species more than any other animal, they deserve to have their own set of rights, and violation of them should be deemed a REAL crime.
Dogs are so special to so many of us, isn’t it strange that some folks are willing to buy puppies from pet stores supplied by those who commit crimes against those puppies and their progenitors.
my own dog was a puppy mill rescue and this just breaks my heart. Not only was she completely emaciated but she quickly developed a lot of behavioral problems that were hard to deal with at first. I just don’t understand how anyone can treat any animal this way. Hopefully this lady will get whatever the maximum sentence is and go to jail. To be able to inflict that sort of torture and inhumanity to an animal is unbelievable
I live in Denver and I’ve heard nothing but awesome things about the Dumb Friends League, good for them for helping out these poor babies!
Our President Elect said that he was bringing a puppy to the White House, maybe he will set an example and choose to rescue a dog instead of supporting puppy mills, I think there is room in the White House for several of these dogs.
Ninety-eight…! The Dumb Friends league are heroic to take on the task of trying to adopt out so many of those poor dogs. I hope they all find loving homes. It would be so nice if people could realize that breeding animals is more than just selling self-reproducing merchandise.
It is so nice to see a happy ending for these sweet puppies. I’m sure the owner’s punishment won’t come anywhere near the pain and anguish these poor puppies felt. I can’t wait for the day when dogs will be treated as more than property.
I think it’s great that these dogs were rescued. This town is only about an hour and a half from us but we never heard anything about this story, which is odd. There are several rescues in the area who could have helped…
Not real happy that the article says that Jay is “near the Arkansas border”. It’s at least 45 miles from our border and nothing but countryside. We don’t need anymore bad press by linking these people to Arkansas. Sheesh!
Puppy mills rank second for me behind dog fighting. I wish we could permanently ban both, and put those people behind bars for life. They deserve it!
Back in August 80 dogs were dumped in Courtney, Oklahoma. It was very evident from the condition these dogs were in that they had come from a puppy mill. I picked up 60 of the dogs and took them to my vet where we had volunteers standing by to help with the dogs. The amount of community response was just overwhelming. These dogs were in such poor condition, they were emaciated, most had mange to the point of not having any fur on their bodies and they were terrrified of us. But to make a long story short, in the end these animals all had a happy ending. They were all adopted and they are all healthy and happy now. To watch these guys play in the grass for the first time was such an emotional day. It was a happy day to see them have so much fun, but in turn it was a sad day knowing that these poor animals had never been able to play in the grass. I believe in an eye for an eye and I think that anyone who mistreats an animal, should be treated in that same fashion.
I hope that all 98 dogs find a wonderful and loving home. God bless all the people that helped to save these wonderful animals.
this is horrible and thank God for Dumb Friends. They stepped up to the plate. If they start prosecuting these people to the fullest extent of the law,with no mercy, maybe this will curtail these actions. The public has to be the eyes and ears for these poor animals. Pin these people to the wall and save the animals. I totaly agree with Patti, an eye for an eye.
I agree with Agnes’ Dad. The Obamas should probably get one dog from a shelter, and not support a puppy mill. If that works out, they should get a few. Maybe Sasha could have one for her own, and the same with Maila. Mrs. Obama could even have one! The dogs could also have their own room. A dog room! That was what I was thinking. If I ever became president, I would give Jet his own room.
Anyway, this is a disgusting thing to do to dogs. No one relizes that animals have feelings, too! You can’t just get them and let them sit there like a toy! It takes serious commitment and hard work to raise a dog. You have to give him food and water, walk him, groom him, train him, and more! The work even starts before you bring your dog home! This is the biggest form of animal abuse; neglect. People leave their poor animals to starve to death! If you want to end puppy mills, please join my friend’s Dogster group, All Against Puppy Mills”. DON’T SUPPORT PUPPY MILLS!!!!!!!