St. Charles Humane Society rescues 17 dogs from puppy mill
ROY SYKES / JOURNAL St. Charles Humane Society staffer Ashley Minton grooms Leo, a 4-year-old Pomeranian rescued from a Mexico, Mo., puppy mill. Leo had little or no human contact while at the puppy mill, so staff members work to give him the socialization he needs to fit in with an adoptive family. .
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When Kelly Backes and other St. Charles Humane Society volunteers walked into a puppy mill in Mexico, Mo., they saw dogs that could barely walk, having been caged up for most of their lives. They saw malnourished dogs covered in feces.
"You don't have to be a dog lover. Anyone who walked onto those premises would know it's wrong to keep dogs in those conditions," Backes said.
The puppy mill owners decided to auction off its collection of adult dogs and puppies just before the Nov. 3 vote on Proposition B, known as the "Puppy Mill Initiative." St. Charles Humane Society staff and volunteers saw an opportunity to help some distressed animals.
Proposition B, passed by Missouri voters, limits breeders to 50 breeding dogs and requires regular feeding and veterinary care.
"Missouri is known as the No. 1 puppy mill state in the country," said Backes, a board member for the St. Charles Humane Society. "When I received the auction list it intrigued me. We decided that if there's an auction, it's a chance to help these dogs."
Backes and her husband, St. Louis Blues forward David Backes, and Jamie and Mark Buehrle contributed a total of $3,000 for the effort. Mark Buehrle, a graduate of Francis Howell North High School, is a Chicago White Sox pitcher.
The money was used to buy 17 dogs from the puppy mill during the auction Oct. 29 and 30.
"They had matted hair, they were covered in feces, confined in wire cages, their teeth are rotting, they're out in the cold and heat with no shelter," Kelly Backes said.
Several dogs had to have rotten teeth pulled because they had no veterinary care, she said.
Several of the dogs have since been adopted. Two others, a Pomeranian and a Pekinese, still are available for adoption.
"We're very fortunate here," Backes said. "We get a lot of foot traffic, and a lot of the animals we get in are adopted out quickly."
Kim Brown, executive director of the St. Charles Humane Society on Pralle Lane, said it's extremely rewarding to find homes for the puppy mill survivors.
"These dogs deserve so much better," Brown said. "For the adult dogs, at least half their lives have been spent in that kind of environment. We'll be able to make their last years much better."
Another dog, a beagle they dubbed Big Bertha, was pregnant when they bought her. She had a litter of six puppies, but two died within 36 hours. Another had a severe cleft palate that a vet determined was inoperable. The puppy was euthanized, Backes said.
The cleft palate is genetic, and usually once a dog gives birth to a cleft palate puppy, they are spayed so they don't continue passing on the gene, she said. But it's likely this isn't Big Bertha's first litter.
The Backeses are fostering Big Bertha and the puppies until they are healthy, weaned, spayed and neutered so they can be adopted.
The shelter also has a 9-year-old Chihuahua. Staff and volunteers are working to help socialize the dog.
"That's the amazing thing about animals," Backes said. "They can be mistreated like that, but still end up making amazing pets after they're shown that people can be kind, too."
ROY SYKES / JOURNAL St. Charles Humane Society staffer Ashley Minton grooms Leo, a 4-year-old Pomeranian rescued from a Mexico, Mo., puppy mill. Leo had little or no human contact while at the puppy mill, so staff members work to give him the socialization he needs to fit in with an adoptive family. .
..Related Links
Related: St. Charles Humane Society
When Kelly Backes and other St. Charles Humane Society volunteers walked into a puppy mill in Mexico, Mo., they saw dogs that could barely walk, having been caged up for most of their lives. They saw malnourished dogs covered in feces.
"You don't have to be a dog lover. Anyone who walked onto those premises would know it's wrong to keep dogs in those conditions," Backes said.
The puppy mill owners decided to auction off its collection of adult dogs and puppies just before the Nov. 3 vote on Proposition B, known as the "Puppy Mill Initiative." St. Charles Humane Society staff and volunteers saw an opportunity to help some distressed animals.
Proposition B, passed by Missouri voters, limits breeders to 50 breeding dogs and requires regular feeding and veterinary care.
"Missouri is known as the No. 1 puppy mill state in the country," said Backes, a board member for the St. Charles Humane Society. "When I received the auction list it intrigued me. We decided that if there's an auction, it's a chance to help these dogs."
Backes and her husband, St. Louis Blues forward David Backes, and Jamie and Mark Buehrle contributed a total of $3,000 for the effort. Mark Buehrle, a graduate of Francis Howell North High School, is a Chicago White Sox pitcher.
The money was used to buy 17 dogs from the puppy mill during the auction Oct. 29 and 30.
"They had matted hair, they were covered in feces, confined in wire cages, their teeth are rotting, they're out in the cold and heat with no shelter," Kelly Backes said.
Several dogs had to have rotten teeth pulled because they had no veterinary care, she said.
Several of the dogs have since been adopted. Two others, a Pomeranian and a Pekinese, still are available for adoption.
"We're very fortunate here," Backes said. "We get a lot of foot traffic, and a lot of the animals we get in are adopted out quickly."
Kim Brown, executive director of the St. Charles Humane Society on Pralle Lane, said it's extremely rewarding to find homes for the puppy mill survivors.
"These dogs deserve so much better," Brown said. "For the adult dogs, at least half their lives have been spent in that kind of environment. We'll be able to make their last years much better."
Another dog, a beagle they dubbed Big Bertha, was pregnant when they bought her. She had a litter of six puppies, but two died within 36 hours. Another had a severe cleft palate that a vet determined was inoperable. The puppy was euthanized, Backes said.
The cleft palate is genetic, and usually once a dog gives birth to a cleft palate puppy, they are spayed so they don't continue passing on the gene, she said. But it's likely this isn't Big Bertha's first litter.
The Backeses are fostering Big Bertha and the puppies until they are healthy, weaned, spayed and neutered so they can be adopted.
The shelter also has a 9-year-old Chihuahua. Staff and volunteers are working to help socialize the dog.
"That's the amazing thing about animals," Backes said. "They can be mistreated like that, but still end up making amazing pets after they're shown that people can be kind, too."
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