Puppy mills are horrible things. In puppy mills, humans don’t treat dogs as sweet, living beings in need of care and attention. They simply treat them as sources of income, and use them to breed puppies that they can sell. That being said, there aren’t many puppy mill stories with happy endings. But fortunately, there has been a beautiful life for Anna Kieth and her furry baby Suki since she was rescued from the mill.
Suki was already 9 years old when she was finally taken away from the puppy mill.
“She was never handled, vaccinated, or loved,” Anna explains. “Her only purpose was to have litter after litter of puppies for someone to make a profit. Because she never had vet care, when National Mill Dog Rescue rescued her she had heartworms, an infected uterus, mammary tumor, and luxating patellas. Suki was one of the lucky dogs as far as her dental situation goes. She only had a couple rotten teeth and her jaw was still intact. Many mill dogs have rotten jaws and end up starving to death in their cages because they can no longer eat.”
The National Mill Dog Rescue (NMDR) works to save pups of all breeds from the abuse of the mill. Anna discovered the organization when she was on the hunt for a Pomeranian.
“We were living in northern Colorado and I set out searching for Pomeranian rescues in our area when I found National Mill Dog Rescue,” she says. “The more I learned about their rescue mission the more I fell in love with this organization. In November 2015 NMDR rescued over 60 mill dogs including several Pomeranians.”
This was the perfect opportunity for Anna to bring a new furball into her home.
“I have wanted a Pomeranian for as long as I can remember,” Anna says. “After two years of marriage I finally convinced my husband that a Pom was the perfect addition to our family of fur babies! We already had Kiba, a German shepherd-husky mix, Kobe, a shepherd mix, and Lilly, a gray tabby cat.
“It took a few weeks to go through the adoption approval process, but we drove to the rescue facility with our two big dogs for my birthday to find our perfect Pom match!”
Because of Suki’s difficult history at the mill, Anna and her husband have needed to provide a lot of special care and attention to their new sweet Pommy.
“We had to foster her for several months while she had surgeries and was treated for heartworm,” Anna says. “Within four months of Suki coming home, she had to have a mammary tumor removed, a luxating patella fixed, and a femoral head osteotomy due to shallow hip joints from living in a tiny cage her whole life.”
The damage was just as psychological as it was physical.
“For months Suki would only come out from under our bed if we went and got her,” Anna says.
But by providing plenty of patience and care, and by creating an environment full of love and attention, Suki has began to adjust to her new home, and has come to trust Anna, her husband, and even the rest of the furry gang.
“She is becoming more and more brave and loves sleeping in our bed, cuddling on the couch, running in the backyard, jumping into big water bowls, getting pupachinos, and playing with squeaky toys!” Suki’s habit of swimming in water bowls is one of Anna’s favorite things about Suki. She and her husband call this Suki’s “personal pool.”
“Suki has made our lives so much more fun, fluffy, and full of cuteness!!”