26/04/2017
Hey, friends! Here is my full rescue and adoption story. Please read and share. The more we can educate people about puppy mills, the more dogs like me can be saved. And be sure to like Finding Shelter Animal Rescue page so you can keep up with the other dogs my rescue group saves! Don't worry, I will be back to keep you posted on how things are going! I don't want you to miss me too much! Love and butt bites ~Violet
The best things in life are worth the wait and Violet’s wonderful wait has been no exception. Violet The Puppy Mill Survivor is ADOPTED! Here is her incredible story:
On September 17, 2016, the day before PMAD Pa A Day of Hope & Help for the Mill Dogs in Lancaster, PA, the Finding Shelter Animal Rescue van pulled into a long driveway leading up to a farm house where a few breeding dogs were being kept. Inside the van, Finding Shelter’s co-founder and President, Grace, and world renowned dog behaviorist Victoria Stilwell were talking about a plan to get as much help to an English Bulldog who reportedly was very sick. Another Finding Shelter volunteer had been at the farm a few days earlier to pick up a different bulldog who was being voluntarily surrendered due to medical issues. The volunteer asked if someone could go back to the farm to check on the remaining English Bulldog who appeared to possibly have mange and see if the breeder would release her or at least accept supplies to relieve some of the dog’s discomfort. The farm was legally operating and they were not required to give up any animals to the volunteers. The breeder was adamant about keeping the sick dog to try to get puppies out of her.
When Grace and Victoria pulled up to the house, two farm dogs ran up and circled the car. A third dog, the English Bulldog, crawled out from under the deck. The dog was red with missing fur and her eyes swollen shut. She heard the visitors pull up to the house and made her way to them. She couldn’t open her eyes but made her way over and used their legs as scratching posts to try to find some relief but just leaned into them seeking attention and love. The other dogs were in decent, physical shape at first glance. Even another English bulldog living in a rabbit hutch in the garage because she was aggressive towards other dogs was at a healthy weight and was social with the human visitors. The horse in the stall even leaned over to receive attention and give kisses. Not at all an ideal situation for dogs to be living and breeding and raising puppies, especially solely for profit, but there was no evidence of abuse or overall lack of care with the other animals. This was a huge education opportunity and something needed to be done.
The breeder/farmer was told that it looked as though the dog had mange and was asked what he was doing to manage it. He said that he was using homemade “elixirs” for her skin and eyes. For her skin, he was feeding her apple cider vinegar and spraying her coat that was missing fur and had open sores with rubbing alcohol. For her eyes, he was pouring raw cow’s milk in them. He said he had tried those things on himself when he had a fungus and it seemed to work. He desperately needed education and he received it.
The sick bulldog began to vomit in the driveway and was weak and hot to the touch. You could hold your hand a few inches away from her body and feel the heat coming off her. Something needed to be done and with some factual and accurate information about canine health (and Victoria very wisely telling the farmer and his wife that the mange could possibly be contagious to them and their children), physical evidence of her being sick, a history of her not producing for the breeder so she was not bringing in any money and finding out that if someone from the state came to inspect the dogs he could get into big trouble, he willingly offered to surrender her and asked if he could help by putting her in the van to be taken away. In less than 20 minutes a refusal to surrender turned into one of the most successful puppy mill rescues ever experienced.
The dog was secured in the van and when they got to the end of the driveway, in absolute shock for the positive outcome of the visit, Grace and Victoria did a mixture of laughing and crying and saying over and over how lucky that things turned out with the dog’s rescue being secured. It was a miracle! This was a first during a visit to a Lancaster County farm where a breeder was totally against giving up a dog they wished to breed for profit and then voluntarily offered to surrender the dog so quickly. All it took was education in this case but this is not a normal circumstance and most dogs cannot be freed in this manner. This was one of those once-in-a-lifetime puppy mill rescue moments. The day continued and more dogs were picked up from various farms and handed over to their rescues. It was a very successful day but the English Bulldog was a surprise save so where would she go? She didn’t have to look very far. It was decided. She was the newest Finding Shelter dog.
After a long day travelling all over Lancaster County, PA from farm to farm, the dogs made their way to their rescues after being filmed by the crew from the upcoming documentary, A Voice for Lil Olive, a film focusing on puppy mills. The sick English Bulldog Victoria Stilwell helped to save and named Violet was a superstar with every person she met. After a brief time greeting her new fans, she was off to the emergency hospital to get a good night’s rest and start treatment for her multiple issues including demodex mange.
Demodex mange is not contagious to other animals or to people like the other type of mange, sarcoptic mange. So after a few days in the hospital just to decompress and get 24 hour attention so she would be off to a great start in the next chapter in her life, Violet moved into her new foster home with Grace and Steve, Finding Shelter’s co-founders. They were not expecting to have another foster but made space for another crate and after her two week quarantine from the other animals, paired Violet up with another foster dog named Jordy so she could transition into her foster home with a buddy.
At first, Violet was quiet and calm. Her eyes and skin hurt but she got relief every other day with medicated baths and received eye drops three times daily to ease some pain. She started on daily doses of Ivermectin to kill the demodex mites and as the weeks and months went on her fur started to come back, her skin was less irritated and she started to play. At each repeat skin scrape, less mites were found and the better she felt, the more naughty she could be too. She would roll in dirt and mud, bite foster mom in the butt and try to pull off foster dad’s boots. As much as that behavior was not ideal (and it was worked on with positive reinforcement training daily), it was good to see her acting and playing like a puppy and feeling healthy.
Violet loved to play in the snow and for the times when she needed to wear a cone on her head so she wouldn’t irritate her eyes, she would happily run up behind her buddy Jordy and scoop him up with a smile on her face making Jordy so mad at the time, but immediately being forgiven. No one could ever truly be mad at Violet. After all, she survived the unthinkable and she was a miracle, just like her rescue mission turned out to be.
Thanks to all of the good care from Dr. Becky Ehrlich at Radnor Veterinary Hospital and good follow through from her foster family, after five months of treatment, Violet was finally demodex free! It was time for her to get spayed and just as luck would have it, she went into heat and the surgery had to be delayed for a few weeks. Once she was cleared for surgery, she was spayed and the surgery went so well she easily recovered and then could have surgery a few weeks later to fix her eyes.
Thanks to the skilled care of ophthalmologist Dr. Amanda Corr of Metropolitan Veterinary Associates & Emergency Services, Violet’s eyes were in great shape for surgery and the procedure was a complete success! Not only did Violet have entropion (her bottom eyelids folded inwards causing chronic irritation) but she also had two separate eyelash issues called distichia and ectopic cilia where hard eyelashes grew inward scratching the eyeball. All of the eye issues were perfectly corrected and after a full and complete recovery, Violet was ready for adoption.
Violet had all kinds of fans (over 2,000 on her own page! Violet The Puppy Mill Survivor) and she caught the eye of many people when she would go to meet and greet events even before she was ready for adoption. One couple, who met her at the Clover Market in Bryn Mawr in November 2016 had an extra special meeting with Violet. They spent time petting her and thought it was funny when she tried to get into the woman’s purse and shopping bag just to check things out. She asked them for belly rubs and genuinely enjoyed interacting with them. It was no surprise to receive an application from the wonderful couple that afternoon.
Throughout the months that Violet was recovering, the awesome couple from the Clover market would follow up to see how she was doing. Their veterinary reference was stellar and their own dog had a history of demodex mange, so they could pick up and handle any issues that might come up. They sent her gifts, encouraged others to donate to her medical care (which exceeded $5,000 after the most generous discounts) and kept up with her progress. Never pushy, just open minded and excited for the possibility of her joining their family if it was right for Violet and for their dog and for them. Violet’s foster parents disclosed every bit of medical information and behavior to them. The good, the bad and the butt biting ugly. The Finding Shelter adoption process is designed to work for animal and humans to find the best fit for everyone.
Once Violet was recovered, a visit was scheduled and it went even better than expected. The dogs got along, she had fun exploring the house, she showed off her foot biting skills (she moved from biting butts to biting feet around March of 2017) and the potential adopters even got to see her startle during a walk. She might be a social and outgoing dog, but her history was living tucked away as a sick breeding dog on a hidden Lancaster County farm so being safely kept on a leash at all times is a must and they got to see her startle and try to back out of her harness first hand. They were not going to take things lightly and keeping her on leash outside of their secure fence was the plan.
The visit was such a success that everyone decided together that this was a great match and Violet had picked her forever family. A week later, after gathering items from her shopping list, setting up a crate and puppy proofing the house, Violet moved in. And boy, was she a happy girl.
Violet now has a mom and dad who love her more than words can say and a dog brother named Bruiser who not only is one of the coolest dogs around, but also keeps Violet under control and is always appropriate when playing with her or telling her when to chill out. They nap together on the couch, play tug with toys and go on long walks together multiple times a day. They enjoy time in the fenced yard and just enjoy being well loved dogs together in a happy, safe and wonderful home. Her mom and dad could have gotten any dog they wanted from anywhere but they specifically loved Violet and the wait was worth it for them, too. They love Violet for Violet.
Violet ‘s story is unique in that most dogs kept for breeding at puppy mills are not voluntarily surrendered. Most dogs like her suffer in silence only to fade away without anyone ever knowing they exist. It is the job of animal advocates, rescuers, animal rescue volunteers, adopters and those who care about animals everywhere to save them, share their stories and be their voice so others who are trapped in the mills can have their voices heard someday as well. Violet is a bright and shining example of the beautiful strength that dogs have to bond, connect, thrive and be a part of a family. She never gave up and neither did any of the people who love her so much. She is a true survivor and an inspiration to everyone who meets her or gets to know her story. What a wonderful girl and what an honor to be a part of her happily ever after. We LOVE you, Violet!
www.findingshelter.org
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C.A.R.I.A.D.
Peter Egan
Lucy The Rescue Cavalier
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