Fierce in Seattle: Dog Days
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a blogumn by Kelli Bielema
Just one of the happy faces that now has a home!
There’s nothing like a purr or a wagging tail to remind you that someone, no matter its life form, will be there for you, always. Kitty cats and puppy dogs give the best advice: love. Just love.
Because pets want nothing but love and to give love (not necessarily true of all cats I’ve known!) I cannot fathom why anyone could ever be cruel to animals. While some pet parents feed their canines & felines better than entire third world nations, the polar opposite is happening at puppy mills. The individuals who run these operations have no regard for life whatsoever, including any respect for the people looking to adopt a new member into their family. We’ve become a disposable society—it’s come down to making a buck and not really about having this great addition in your life.
I’ve been volunteering with the Seattle Humane Society for about 6 months and it’s been incredibly rewarding and fun to work with dogs who were found as strays, owner-surrendered, or puppy mill victims. I fall in love with a different mutt that I would love to take home about every week. While that’s a challenge of my own, a new one has arrived for the entire animal-loving community. Last week, the Humane Society of the United States conducted a raid on a Kennewick, WA puppy mill full of about 400 miniature American Eskimo dogs. The conditions were some of the worst this rescue group has seen, and I challenge you to watch the video here without crying.
While at the Seattle shelter for my shift this past weekend I visited the kennels containing up to 100 of the dogs from the seizure. For the first time since coming to SHS, and during that time witnessing another influx of a different puppy mill raid, I lost my shit (special thanks for Aunt Flo for being in town to expedite the meltdown! Holla!).
While in the kennels with the foster coordinator I said to her “I really don’t know how you do this every day.” These little white faces stained yellow, their tiny bodies frail and shaking, it was the saddest thing I think I’ve ever seen. When you walk through the other kennel areas there’s barking, jumping and carrying on from the dogs. When walking past these sweet babies, it’s relatively quiet, which makes it so much more upsetting because dogs should be barking and jumping and happy! As heartbreaking as it was, they all seemed to be relieved. They are already steps above their lives at the puppy mill and soon they will all receive loving, caring homes that are several steps above a life in a shopping cart.
For more information on how you can help in the Seattle area, click here, and on a national level, here.
I can't watch the video now, since I am at work and will definitely bawl. I volunteered for the Humane Society when I was in high school in Minnesota walking dogs. I only made it about 3 months before I saw my first abuse case, and was too heart broken and upset to continue volunteering. Kudos to YOU for continuing to give love and warmth to these innocent dogs!
I can't watch the video now, since I am at work and will definitely bawl. I volunteered for the Humane Society when I was in high school in Minnesota walking dogs. I only made it about 3 months before I saw my first abuse case, and was too heart broken and upset to continue volunteering. Kudos to YOU for continuing to give love and warmth to these innocent dogs!
Oh yeah, the video will destroy you. Here's something everyone can do..please friend Scotlund Haisley on Facebook, too. He's the top dog (har har) that was in charge of this HSUS raid. You'll see his first hand account photos & videos…depressing, but delivers the message.
Oh yeah, the video will destroy you. Here's something everyone can do..please friend Scotlund Haisley on Facebook, too. He's the top dog (har har) that was in charge of this HSUS raid. You'll see his first hand account photos & videos…depressing, but delivers the message.
It's no wonder that so many of the dogs that people buy at pet stores have bad temperaments after growing up in these kinds of conditions. I hope all these dogs find happy homes.
Are they ready for adoption yet? I'm sure there are a lot of people who would take them in.
I'm finding out more info, but more than likely they will go under observation for awhile, live in foster homes until ultimately being available for adoption. With the last raid we had to wait a few months before the pups could be adopted. But worth the wait for sure!
It's no wonder that so many of the dogs that people buy at pet stores have bad temperaments after growing up in these kinds of conditions. I hope all these dogs find happy homes.
Are they ready for adoption yet? I'm sure there are a lot of people who would take them in.
I'm finding out more info, but more than likely they will go under observation for awhile, live in foster homes until ultimately being available for adoption. With the last raid we had to wait a few months before the pups could be adopted. But worth the wait for sure!
I'm already crying and I can't see the video at work either. I'm not sure I can handle it. It makes me sick. I don't understand how anyone can have such total disregard for a living thing. Especially sweet baby dogs. I think these people are sociopaths.
Keep up the good work, lady!
I'll friend Scotlund Haisley now.
J
I'm already crying and I can't see the video at work either. I'm not sure I can handle it. It makes me sick. I don't understand how anyone can have such total disregard for a living thing. Especially sweet baby dogs. I think these people are sociopaths.
Keep up the good work, lady!
I'll friend Scotlund Haisley now.
J
great post. we've been thinking about getting a puppy lately (or a dog) and just yesterday signed up to be foster parents for a local rescue shelter. i can't wait! but now i just want to take in a couple of those miniature alaskan pups. such a sad situation they were in, but i'm very glad for the uplifting ending.
Yay for you! As the saying goes "adopt, not shop!"
great post. we've been thinking about getting a puppy lately (or a dog) and just yesterday signed up to be foster parents for a local rescue shelter. i can't wait! but now i just want to take in a couple of those miniature alaskan pups. such a sad situation they were in, but i'm very glad for the uplifting ending.
Yay for you! As the saying goes "adopt, not shop!"
Oh Kel, what a great one!! Obviously these people should be forced to live in a cage called prison cell. I also am concerned when people say they "can't" look at videos or go to Humane Society, etc because it will make them "too sad"…listen, it's not about you! It's about the animals and if they had to live it the least you can do is visit or watch and spread the word!! When I talk to people about volunteering they say "I just can't do it, I would want every dog". Well, it seems like a good excuse but it's not, you can't take every dog so you just help them in the brief time you are there. Scotlund rules…
I don't think invalidating our feelings about watching these videos or passing judgment on how people choose to interact with the Humane Society helps the cause. I also can't watch videos of child abuse or women getting raped. That's not selfish or weak, I think, but a true assessment of my ability to deal with seeing such horrors. On the flip side, there are a few things that I could do, that you might not be able to emotionally handle, and I would never deride you for not being able to do so.
Also, with my limited time and other causes that I support, I don't volunteer for the Humane society, I just provide a home for our cats. I think we all play important parts in various causes and to diminish one part hurts the cause as a whole.
Oh Kel, what a great one!! Obviously these people should be forced to live in a cage called prison cell. I also am concerned when people say they "can't" look at videos or go to Humane Society, etc because it will make them "too sad"…listen, it's not about you! It's about the animals and if they had to live it the least you can do is visit or watch and spread the word!! When I talk to people about volunteering they say "I just can't do it, I would want every dog". Well, it seems like a good excuse but it's not, you can't take every dog so you just help them in the brief time you are there. Scotlund rules…
I don't think invalidating our feelings about watching these videos or passing judgment on how people choose to interact with the Humane Society helps the cause. I also can't watch videos of child abuse or women getting raped. That's not selfish or weak, I think, but a true assessment of my ability to deal with seeing such horrors. On the flip side, there are a few things that I could do, that you might not be able to emotionally handle, and I would never deride you for not being able to do so.
Also, with my limited time and other causes that I support, I don't volunteer for the Humane society, I just provide a home for our cats. I think we all play important parts in various causes and to diminish one part hurts the cause as a whole.
Just reading these comments, I'm not even going to try to watch the videos — I know I'd get too upset.
However, I don't think we're a disposable society when it comes to pets. Most people love and treat their pets well, I think. Then there are these other people…
Still, thanks for sharing this remarkable story with us. I'm so happy that these dogs got rescued and will go to loving homes. I wonder, are the adoptive parents getting any special training on how to deal with them? Though I love both of my cats, I wish that I had received more instruction from the humane society when I adopted them. They'll never be affectionate and I understand why, but I wonder if I could have somehow worked with them to be not-so-scared from the beginning.
You would be surprised how some people treat their pets. I've encountered some owner-surrendered dogs that never got exercise and don't know how to fetch or even look at you. Very sad, indeed.
The great thing about Seattle's Humane Society is we offer training to those who have adopted pets, and pay particular attention to those animals who were in bad situations. How to recognize the behavior, how to adapt it and such. In the case of these puppy mill pooches, they generally have had no social interaction much less any sort of housetraining skills. It's challenging to change these behaviors and takes a patient soul. But it's not impossible….Some puppy mill dogs I've worked with actually turned out to be incredible, trusting lap dogs. Ah, the blind faith of animals.
Just reading these comments, I'm not even going to try to watch the videos — I know I'd get too upset.
However, I don't think we're a disposable society when it comes to pets. Most people love and treat their pets well, I think. Then there are these other people…
Still, thanks for sharing this remarkable story with us. I'm so happy that these dogs got rescued and will go to loving homes. I wonder, are the adoptive parents getting any special training on how to deal with them? Though I love both of my cats, I wish that I had received more instruction from the humane society when I adopted them. They'll never be affectionate and I understand why, but I wonder if I could have somehow worked with them to be not-so-scared from the beginning.
You would be surprised how some people treat their pets. I've encountered some owner-surrendered dogs that never got exercise and don't know how to fetch or even look at you. Very sad, indeed.
The great thing about Seattle's Humane Society is we offer training to those who have adopted pets, and pay particular attention to those animals who were in bad situations. How to recognize the behavior, how to adapt it and such. In the case of these puppy mill pooches, they generally have had no social interaction much less any sort of housetraining skills. It's challenging to change these behaviors and takes a patient soul. But it's not impossible….Some puppy mill dogs I've worked with actually turned out to be incredible, trusting lap dogs. Ah, the blind faith of animals.