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| Pepper Ballard/ The HSUS |
Staff moved the dogs from a puppy mill to a better future, starting
at a Portland, Maine shelter. |
By Pepper Ballard
BUXTON, Maine—Fifty-one days after the state of Maine seized about 250 dogs of various breeds from inhumane conditions at a Buxton puppy mill, The Humane Society of the United States helped move approximately 130 dogs from the J'aime Kennel mass breeding facility to a secure Portland shelter facility.
The move was the latest in ongoing efforts to improve living conditions for the breeding dogs and their puppies by The HSUS Disaster Services staff and NDART® volunteers, who have been on-site assisting state employees with the animals' care since the first day of the raid.
The puppy mill owners, Heidi and John Frasca, were charged with several counts of animal cruelty alleging they improperly cared for the animals.
Move Key to Dogs' Recovery
Operators of the shelter in Portland, Maine, opened their doors to the canine guests on Thursday, taking care to fluff their boarders' beds the night before.
Since their rescue, signs that the dogs were bred continuously have faded. Countless volunteer and staff hours poured into cleaning, caring for and treating the animals have paid off, improving their attitudes and conditions. The dogs—who range in age from a few months to nine years—represented a host of breeds: shelties, miniature Australian shepherds, German shepherds, Irish wolfhounds, papillons, Brussels griffons and French and American bulldogs.
Suffering a Puppy Mill Reality
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| The HSUS |
Many staff and volunteers gave a helping hand
to the Maine puppy mill dogs. |
Despite weeks of careful care since their rescue, unmistakable signs of the animals' prior treatment remained. An adult female bulldog watched animal handlers walk across the yard of her longtime home with a quiet gaze. The gentle mother's loose teats drooped nearly three inches from her chest, a condition that Maine State Veterinarian Christine Fraser said is commonly found in dogs who are overbred.
A few pens away from the bulldog, a herd of excited shelties spun dizzily at the sight of every passing helper—another attribute, Fraser said—of a dog who's spent her life stuffed in a small cage. Because dogs in puppy mills rarely roam freely, they create their own games. These shelties looked like a pack of lost ballerinas.
"Dogs suffer from the environment they are living in: When you mill animals, you lose your ability to see them as a life. They become a business," said Jeff Eyre, The HSUS's director of Disaster Field Operations.
Since Maine seized the animals Aug. 21, about 10 puppies have been born each week. Pregnant dogs were immediately removed from the puppy mill and housed at shelters.
Fraser said it will take the dogs a long time to shake kennel behavior. A few dogs still cowered shyly and backed themselves into corners, a sign that indicates the dogs were not socialized properly.
Poor Health Common in Mills
Skin diseases, including sarcoptic mange, were found on more than 75 percent of the dogs when animal welfare crews first arrived. Widespread mange can pull ferociously at a dog's skin, making it painful for the animals to make even the smallest movement.
As part of their treatment, the dogs were tested for every possible parasite. When The HSUS and other teams first arrived, the close-quartered animals suffered from diarrhea and were found lying in their own feces. Teeth needed to be extracted. They had respiratory and eye problems. Many of the females were found with wounds on their nipples and were diagnosed with uterine infections.
Costly Care
To properly care for about 300 dogs, a kennel would need to employ at least 15 people and spend about $2,500 a day, Fraser said. In the first month of the rescue and recovery operation, about $125,000 had been spent in total to care for the animals. About 80 percent of that amount covered veterinary expenses. The total cost of restoring the animals to good health is likely to increase.
Science Diet donated food for the Buxton dogs. Steve Jacobsen, executive director of the Animal Welfare Society in West Kennebunk guessed they have eaten more than a ton of dog food since their seizure. He said workers had spread about 10 bails of wood shavings a day on the pen floors.
After the Long Haul
Thursday’s 11-hour transfer from puppy mill to public shelter—a coordinated effort among the State of Maine, more than 50 staff and volunteers from nearly 20 national and New England animal welfare organizations, the Salvation Army, The Buxton Police Department and Maine State Police—was no typical move.
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| The HSUS |
| Ensuring the dogs are safe and secure. |
Each dog was taken from the once squalid Buxton kennel to the safety of The HSUS' Disaster Services trailer.
The dogs were coddled, comforted, checked, numbered and placed in the trailer's cages and crates. Fences were propped between the trailer and door, forming a chute for the dogs' safe transportation. When the final dog was loaded onto the trailer for the journey to the Portland shelter, some onlookers cheered. Others shed tears of happiness, with hopes that the dogs will have a better life once they're able to be placed up for adoption.
Aside from The Humane Society of the United States, the following groups have worked to care for the J’aime Kennel animals since Aug. 21: The Animal Welfare Society in West Kennebunk, The Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland, The Animal Rescue League of Boston, The American Humane Association, ASPCA, Maine ASPCA, New Hampshire SPCA, Monadnock (N.H.) Humane, The Potter League (R.I.), Bangor Humane Society, Greater Androscoggin Humane Society, Marine Animal Lifeline (Maine) and animal control officers, volunteer veterinarians and volunteers from across New England.
