May 2009 Archives
Inside Puppy Mills
NAME: Sophie
BREED: Pekingese
AGE: 5 years old
NAME: Lovey
BREED: Yorkshire Terrier
AGE: 6 years old
ABOUT THE DOGS: Sophie, aka Biter, a 5-year-old female Pekingese, was one of the dogs removed from World Kennels on May 2. Last Chance for Animals, the rescue group who took her in, believes that Sophie was born at World Kennels purely for breeding purposes and had never lived outside of her wire cage. Sophie is thought to have had 5 or 6 litters. LCA volunteer Kim Sill was the first human outside the kennels to have contact with Sophie. From day one, Sophie has been aggressive to every person she comes in contact with, except for Kim, to whom she is very attached.
Lovey is a three-legged Yorkie, also from World Kennels. She was first seen by LCA getting trampled by the other dogs in the cage. Once removed, she immediately started licking Kim. The licking started off cute but has since become a bit of a nuisance.
ABOUT THE OWNER: Founded in 1984 by Hollywood actor Chris DeRose, Last Chance For Animals advocates conscious and informed lifestyle decisions, and the organization is committed to disseminating truthful information about societal animal abuse to improve the treatment of animals. LCA continues to conduct undercover investigations with its many volunteers and has succeeded in putting puppy mill pet stores out-of-business and making puppy mill kennels compliant with USDA regulations. Learn more about the group at LCAnimal.org.
BEHIND THE SCENES: An initial edit of the Last Chance for Animals segment featured Cesar working with Sophie and Lovey, as well as a brief background of the puppy mill story. After the National Geographic Channel saw the segment, they wanted to do a longer and more involved story about LCA and its exposure of puppy mills. Dog Whisperer Producer Christina Lublin worked intensively with LCA, and they came up with an undercover investigation in which Cesar could participate, resulting in an hour-long look at what happens at a puppy mill.
Investigating Alongside Cesar
Going to a puppy mill was initially a very daunting and life changing event for me.That alone made last year one of those "years" in my life that would never be forgotten. Add to that Cesar Millan helping me realize that "I" have been the biggest problem in my pack of rescue dogs. Next add getting to be a part of the team that took Cesar to a puppy mill.
While standing in the windy Antelope Valley Cesar suggested that I take pet shop owners to puppy mills and to shelters. The cameras were following him, the police were on their way to remove us, the sand was blasting our faces and in the distance you could hear the rest of the crew screaming for us to pack up and leave. We were running to get in my truck, as he said, "you have to do that. Show them what they are contributing to." In that moment I felt as if nothing else was happening. I was getting some great help from a great hero of mine. Then as I got into the truck I hit my head. Cesar didn't laugh, he asked if I was okay? I was, but I was also terribly embarrassed.
Cesar was no nonsense. He wasted no time, he acted in the moment, and was aware of everything going on around him. But still he was able to give me some really good advice.
I have cherished that time with him and have taken all of his sage words and put them into action.
The help he gave me with my own pack of dogs has made me be able to bring in foster dogs that need a place to get rehabilitated until I find them a forever home.
Of course first there was Lovey, the Yorkie missing a foot. Sophie the biter, then Tobey the Chihuahua that never got adopted at a pet store, Cooper the Bassett Hound, Yogi the Anatolian shepard, Ginger and Barry the red listed shelter ShitZu's, and Little Bit the Yorkie that now lives with Sharon Osbourne. Currently I am fostering a beautiful Pomerian mix with a broken leg whose name is Foxy. He was deemed highly aggressive and on his way to be euthanized when I took him. My pack doesn't always agree with the choices I bring home but it keeps me on my toes. My wonderful dogs like that I discipline them. I now "can" discipline them thanks to Cesar! My dogs like me being a leader. I can see in their eyes that they trust what I am doing. On the other hand I am not quite sure if my husband feels the same way.
Joel has been falling in love with every dog I bring home. He has a rough time letting them go. I thought if I took him along for the home checks that he would be better. Cesar I may need some more help, how do we get my husband to follow the pack leader?
A Careful Approach to an Awful Situation
When we first received the Dog Whisperer submission from Last Chance for Animals (LCA), I was really excited. I knew LCA's work from the HBO documentary Dealing Dogs, so I couldn't wait to meet these real life animal heroes. The original segment about LCA was Cesar Millan rehabilitating a couple of puppy mill survivors. When it was decided we would be producing a full episode about LCA and actually going inside puppy mills, I wasn't sure what to expect. I've done animal rescue work in Tijuana and witnessed some horrible things, but I had no experience with puppy mills. The day we taped at the kennels in Lancaster, CA will stay with me forever.
On the day of the shoot, I was pretty nervous. The puppy mill owners knew LCA would be visiting them, but they had no idea our film crew and Cesar Millan would also be there. We decided it was best if Chris DeRose and I were the first ones to arrive at the kennel. We didn't want to scare the owner with a full camera crew, so I had to be very careful in my approach. I explained we would be taping for the Dog Whisperer and that Cesar Millan would be demonstrating to LCA the proper way to remove timid and frightened dogs from their kennels. Luckily the owner agreed and signed a location release. What a relief! I quickly called SueAnn Fincke, our fantastic director, and soon the camera crew and Cesar were pulling up the hot, dusty driveway. The kennel owner's family stood by and watched, not sure what was going on. One of our cameramen went into the massive kennel structure to get some close-up, b-roll shots of the dogs. I followed him in and was immediately hit with the deafening sound of barking dogs. I stared at all the dogs in the cages and couldn't believe my eyes - there were so many. Row after row of small, little fluffy dogs. Some were so scrawny and skinny, others were insanely spinning around and others just stood there, trembling. In front of each kennel cage, was a gutter of pee that flowed in a steady stream.
A Veteran's Perspective
As a veteran investigator of 30 years I have seen and witnessed many horrible things done to animals. To be an effective investigator, you learn to separate your emotions from your intellect. Your job is to photograph, videotape and document what is going on and to put these people in prison and out of business for good, so it can't happen to any more animals. Next thing is you use this documentation to change laws and to make a permanent change for the animals. It never gets easy. When you go home at night and put your head on the pillow, that's when you have to deal with your demons.
I did my first investigation into a puppy mill about 23 years ago and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The cages were piled 3 tiers high and the pups in the top cage were urinating and defecating on the ones below. These dogs were kept in an outdoor enclosure and it was dead of winter. The pups on the bottom literally had ice forming on their bodies and were shaking profusely. The look on their faces is something I will never forget.
I investigated a case in Elko, Nevada where the temperature dropped down to 16 below zero chill factor. It got so cold that the owners abandoned their trailers, leaving these helpless animals to the harsh elements and certain death. When we got there, most of the animals were already dead - frozen in place. There were other animals as well such as rabbits and cats. Three months later, one of the dogs that survived this horrendous ordeal jumped off a sofa and all four of his legs broke because of what he went through. Hundreds and hundreds of the other animals weren't so lucky. All I can think of was that I wanted to destroy the place so that no one would ever come back and start up that horrible business again.
Click here to find out more information about the organization Last Chance for Animals.
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