As was announced in the news last week, Quebec has had it's largest puppy mill seizure ever. Over 525 dogs, many females pregnant, were taken from a Outaouais commercial breeder, Paws R Us, due to them being neglected, lacking basic care and medical attention. These dogs had never seen daylight, nor stepped outdoors and walked on grass. They have no idea how to play with a dog toy, get their bellies rubbed, eat nutritiously or walk on a leash.http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8858809254704327518
Dogs were found with hair loss, skin sores, blind, respiratory problems, lame, injured, sick and very much afraid of human contact. Video footage can be seen on various news sites as well as at the Humane Society International Canada (HSI) website, but it's a very short representation of what the rescuers saw since they need to be so very careful about the legal ramifications of airing too much before this goes before a judge. There is still the risk that all these dogs and puppies get returned to the Labombard family. Believe it or not!
The dogs are in a shelter, being fed and given water, being held and given minimum medical treatment. Not too much more can be done for them, such as spaying or neutering, trimming nails that have curled under their paws, or taking them outdoors to get them socialized and trained because they are still the property of Paws R Us until a judge says otherwise. These animals can be in their cages at the shelter for weeks, but we can hope and pray that it will be but a bump in the road to a long, healthy and normal life for them all.
I volunteered several times in the past three years at the Montreal SPCA Emergency shelter after they had puppy mill seizures done and it is very emotional and physically draining work. It is, however, quite rewarding when you see a dog half-blind from the ammonia fumes from the urine in the shed he was kept in for years, limping because his paws are splayed from standing on wiring his whole life and with teeth half rotted, wag his tail because you just took him out into a quiet room and held him for a few minutes. That is why I kept going back to help, because most of these dogs recover and go on to lead wonderful lives once they are given the love and basic care they need.
Why does this heinous business continue and thrives in our country, and especially in Quebec? Because people still think of pets as objects, as replaceable, and make rash decisions based on emotions and fleeting thoughts. You can buy a pair of jeans at the department store AND stroll down the aisle and buy a dog ten minutes later at the pet shop! The laws are not in place to prevent this type of business, commercial breeding under cruel and unhealthy conditions. The laws won't change until the public's perception changes. When pet shops no longer sell puppies, but rather get involved with shelters and help them adopt their animals out, when newspaper ads and online pet selling are finally seen as the worst way of getting a healthy pet and when consumers finally learn the questions that need to be asked and the homework that needs to be done before even considering adding a pet to the household, only then will these practices change and the law reflect that. Maybe the law can change first, but I'm not holding my breath!
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