Dogs rescued from illegal mill find happy endings

Inside a backyard puppy mill operation discovered in Trussville in July, animal control officers found conditions that would shock the average dog lover: 83 dogs, with matted fur and almost no human contact, being kept in wire cages stacked up to eight feet high. 

“We were called to the scene immediately, and when we got to the scene, it looked exactly like you would expect a breeding operation that puts the profits of the business over the health and well-being of the animals,” said Allison Black Cornelius, chief executive officer of the Greater Birmingham Humane Society.

Cornelius said many people think a puppy mill is a warehouse filled with animals in terrible conditions, but the operation can be as small as the one found in Trussville on July 2, with animals kept in cages in a backyard. The dogs were kept in dirty crates, often with their own waste, and many had dental, eye and skin issues as a result of the unsanitary conditions. Some of the dogs, which were mostly small breeds, were also pregnant.

The owner of the animals voluntarily surrendered them to animal control, which the GBHS operates for Jefferson County. GBHS put a lot of resources into the care of the animals from the puppy mill, beyond what they would have spent on a typical animal that comes to the shelter. 

Pregnant animals were placed in foster homes so they could birth their puppies in a comfortable home setting, while the rest of the animals were bathed, groomed and treated for any health issues.

Cornelius noted that puppy mills, like the one in Trussville, often operate illegally, without a business license or paying taxes on their income.

“When something like this happens, it’s the taxpayers who have to foot the bill to clean it up, yet this business is not putting any money into these systems that pay all the people who have to clean it up,” Cornelius said.

Cornelius is hopeful that with the amount of publicity that the puppy mill raid received, change will come in the form of legal action. Alabama is one of a small group of states that doesn’t have puppy mill laws in place.

“I don’t really know why,” she said. “Because I would think that if I was a breeder that was responsible and professional, I would want there to be inspections and regulations because then I would not be afraid for people to come in my place and see my animals, and it would set me apart from the people like this.”

For people looking to buy a dog from a breeder, she advised they look out for key red flags: the breeder being reluctant to let you come to their property to see where the animals are kept; not supplying any information about the birth parents; preferring cash as a  method of payment; or refusing to present a business license. 

Additionally, the internet has made it hard for consumers to know where they’re getting a dog from. Cornelius calls it a “consumer protection issue,” in that illegal breeders can easily groom and photograph a dog from a puppy mill, list it for sale online and have someone buy it without knowing the conditions it was raised in or if it may have been susceptible to any injuries or illnesses while there.

“We put stickers on wine bottles, for heaven’s sake, and say that it was tasted by this group and it gets a gold badge,” Cornelius said. “But yet we don’t want to have a conversation about how we can assure consumers that they are getting a life that has been taken care of and that its parents have been taken care of, so that you can be sure that you’re not contributing to the torture of an animal.” 

The majority of the animals from the puppy mill have now been adopted, as public attention on the puppy mill bust brought in a list of ready adopters. But before that, many were placed in foster homes such as that of volunteer Heather Echols.  

Echols has been volunteering with GBHS for the past three years, and during this time she and her family have fostered 200 animals. Echols said when news of the puppy mill broke, the humane society’s foster families received an all-hands-on-deck call. 

Although the duty of a foster home is to provide temporary home to animals before adoption, it worked out differently for Echols, her family and one lucky mother from the puppy mill, a schnauzer they named Mommy.

“Her hip bones stuck straight out — we could count her ribs — she was so malnourished,” Echols said, describing the first time she saw Mommy. According to Echols, the dog was “scared of everything,” with even the smallest noise from the television being enough to frighten her. However, looking into the dog’s eyes, Echols said she could tell that it just wanted to be loved. 

During her first few days in the Echols’ home, weak from the conditions of the puppy mill and pregnant with her own puppies, Mommy had to be carried everywhere. The family, which already owned two dogs and a cat, noticed a difference in how their animals acted around the new house guest.

“They seemed to accept her as theirs, too,” Echols said.

After giving birth, in addition to nursing her own puppies, Mommy would let motherless puppies nurse as well. If puppies were getting a bath, Mommy would sit next to the bathtub, keeping a watchful eye. None of the animals from the puppy mill had names when they arrived, but from seeing her dutiful and affectionate way with puppies that weren’t even hers, the name Mommy just seemed appropriate.

“Mommy would take a toy, walk into the next room to where [the puppies’] kennel was, and push it through the bars. I just felt like that was a way to honor her,” Echols said. “She’s Mommy.”

It’s because of new families like the Echols that dogs like Mommy and her puppies are able to recover from their traumatic experience and live regular lives as loved family pets.