Buxton 'puppy mill' dogs ready to go to real homes Shelter workers urge people to consider the challenge of such pets.
By JOSIE HUANG, Staff Writer
November 28, 2007
One dog taken from J’aime Kennel in Buxton is shown after being evaluated in August.
Animal shelter workers can already picture the public going wild
when the first wave of dogs rescued from Maine's largest-ever
raid on a suspected puppy mill go up for adoption as early as
this week.
The high-profile case has whetted people's desire to help the
249 dogs that authorities said were sickly, living in squalor and
confined to cages, several at a time, before police descended on
the J'Aime Kennel in Buxton in August.
Sure to fuel interest is the fact that most of the dogs -- which
have since given birth to about 100 puppies -- belong to
popular small and toy breeds such as pugs, French bulldogs and
Brussels Griffons. That's rare for shelters, which usually see
medium-to-large dogs of indeterminate origins.
But shelter directors are urging people to think hard about
whether they are up to the demands of caring for a dog that has
grown up fearful or aggressive and has no experience living with
people.
"They're all breathtakingly adorable," said Susan Britt, director of
operations at the Animal Refuge League in Westbrook. "But none
of them are housebroken. None of them have been exposed to
children or cats. They have never really walked on a leash or sat
in a car, or learned how to climb stairs -- all the things we take
for granted with puppies and adult dogs."
To discourage rash decisions, the state is requiring people to
wait at least 24 hours after meeting one of the J'Aime Kennel
dogs before being allowed to adopt.
Prospective pet owners will be handed a seven-page primer on
"mill survivors" to be read in the interim.
"We would love to say that every puppy mill survivor just needs
love to turn it into a wonderful family pet, but that would be a
lie," according to the handout from A New Start on Life, a
Michigan-based dog rescue organization.
The organization explains that these dogs, living in cages all
their lives, have had minimal contact with humans, outside of
being vaccinated, being fed in groups or being moved to a new
cage for breeding or giving birth.
As a result, many dogs often are afraid of being touched or
being picked up. Those that bond with their new owners can
become so dependent that they grow destructive or depressed
when left alone.
Dogs from puppy mills also tend to have more medical expenses
because of skin and eye problems, and joint issues from living in
cramped cages, according to the manual.
"These dogs have already been through more than their share of
heartache," the handout continues, "and if your entire family is
not willing to make the commitment, the dog is better off
staying in our care until the ideal home for them is found."
Norma Worley, director of the state's animal welfare program,
said that, to her relief, many dogs have experienced a vast
improvement in their well-being since being taken from the
Buxton kennel.
Worley said that in the past several months, dogs have been
neutered and spayed and treated for conditions, some of which
can be passed to humans, such as the parasite Giardia.
They also are getting regular, healthy meals and time to go
outside. Worley noted that many of the dogs had very long nails
when they were rescued -- a sign that they were not getting
exercise.
The new puppies are doing particularly well, Worley said,
because they have had interaction with people and get to play,
unlike their parents.
"They don't know what their mothers and fathers have been
through," Worley said.
She said the dogs, which also include German shepherds,
Shetland sheepdogs and miniature Australian shepherds, will be
available at four shelters: the Animal Refuge League in
Westbrook, the Animal Welfare Society in Kennebunk, the
Greater Androscoggin Humane Society in Lewiston and the
Harvest Hills Animal Shelter in Fryeburg.
No more than six to eight dogs will be put up for adoption at
each shelter per week, Worley said. The state, working with the
shelters, is choosing dogs based on how physically and
behaviorally ready they are.
"It's important to take it slow," said Steve Jacobsen, executive
director of the Animal Welfare Society, where about 100 of the
dogs from J'Aime are being housed. "That's the best thing for
everybody involved."
Pictures and stories about the dogs will show up on the shelters'
Web sites as the animals become available, workers say.
At the Westbrook shelter, Britt said that placing the J'Aime dogs
for adoption in an incremental manner is also good for the other
dogs at the shelter.
"We don't want to flood the shelter with the Buxton dogs at the
expense of dogs in the general population that deserve time and
attention from the adopting public, too," Britt said.
Worley said the state, which seized the dogs from J'Aime in late
August and won custody of them a month later, is now pursuing
a criminal case against the owner of the J'Aime Kennel, John
Frasca.
York County District Attorney Mark Lawrence declined to
elaborate on the details of the case.