Our charity beneficiary for the “I’m Tired of Animal Cruelty” bracelet, Best Friends Animal Society, broke ground today on a new Puppy Care Center. The center will be a safe haven for puppies and suffering mother and father “breeder” dogs rescued from shut down puppy mills.

According to Best Friends, these “less-than-perfect puppies” from pet “breeding factories” are cast-off, due to birth defects, like weak hips, deafness and mental problems. The “breeder” dogs often spend their entire lives in cramped cages, producing pups until their bodies give out. For cast-off puppies and homeless mother and father dogs too, the Puppy Care Center will offer safe haven, a place to heal and a chance to join a loving, forever family.

Here are some things you might not know about puppy mills:

* Instead of adopting from a local shelter, 8 out of 10 people who bring a pet into their home, buy one from a pet store. And that simply alerts puppy mills and backyard breeders that it’s time to start the cycle again: to churn out even more puppies.

* Many pups who come from these “breeding factories” are taken from their mothers too soon … and dismal conditions cause many to suffer from chronic illnesses and birth defects.

* Most breeding moms and dads barely know the touch of a human hand. Days pass with no contact from pets or people, unless they’re being pulled from their cages to breed. For those who are rescued, everything about the real world terrifies them.

* The helpless pups and mother dogs, without real-life skills or desperately ill, are often abandoned, left to face a too-soon end in crowded shelters or on the streets.

The Puppy Care Center will:

* Treat the chronic illnesses and defects that plague the sickest orphan puppies and abandoned mothers, through state-of-the-art medical care.

* Keep newborn pups and their mothers together, safe and secure, in special family suites.

* Give once-terrified mother and father dogs, who are often “unadoptable” in traditional shelters, the everyday skills they need to join forever families.

* Find good new homes for these doggies through effective, nationwide adoption programs.

Read more…

Posted by Carrie Pollare

Source: Best Friends Animal Society

My favorite Sunday morning routine is hanging out in bed with a great cup of coffee and the Sunday LA Times, which I proceed to read cover-to-cover, a luxury I don’t have during the week.

On last week’s front page, I was amazed to see a story called “Putting the Hurt on Pet Abusers.” It was all about how LA lawmakers are coming down hard on people accused of abusing animals. Go LA! These sadistic psychopaths are finally being thrown in jail for their crimes against animals. Two things made me so happy: first, that animal abusers are paying dearly for their crimes in my fair city and second, that the LA Times thought this was an important enough issue to put it on the front page!

Los Angeles now actually has a task force dedicated to investigating animal abuse and neglect. And, the county district attorney’s office recently started training a group of prosecutors to handle animal-related cases, seeking tougher sentences, especially for repeat offenders.

Now, if we could just get that to happen all across the country by spreading the word, imagine how many animals we could save.

Photo taken by Los Angeles Police Dept.

Posted by Carrie Pollare