Dan's Papers - August 8, 2008

Today I made two new very special friends; Jana Kohl and Baby. Jana is a remarkable woman whose attempt to buy a toy poodle turned into a shocking and awakening experience. Jana found a puppy on the Internet. While sharing her find with a close friend, she was told that the puppy she fell in love with is a puppy mill puppy. Jana really had no insight as to what that meant. Deciding to investigate by picking the puppy up herself, she flew to Texas where she visited a beautiful multi-acre breeding farm. Greeted by the owner, she was taken to one of two buildings that confined hundreds of dogs in cramped, filthy cages, and was told by the owner that animals have no feelings. She returned home alone but knowing that this experience was going to change her life.

Baby is a beautiful, sweet and loving white poodle that Jana adopted after she was rescued from a tortured life as a breeding dog in another puppy mill. There she was bred every heat cycle, which is twice a year. Baby has only three legs. She lost one of her front legs after years of neglect and mistreatmen, along with being bred over and over again. Her nursing puppies depleted Baby of calcium, eventually causing her leg to shatter beyond repair. She also did not have a name; just the number 94 tattooed on the inside of her left ear. Her vocal cords have been cut; a common practice in puppy mills to control the endless barking of dogs crying out for help. I cringe as I type these words telling you that the abuse goes much further than that.

Together Jana and Baby travel the United States via a bus decorated with eye opening photos of puppy mill dogs. Only the joint effort of people like Jana and the rest of us concerned citizens can close down what I call the PPP's or PUPPY PROCESSING PLANTS.

Here's what I learned. Someone like me will see a puppy for sale and feel instant love coupled with the feeling that I'm saving this puppy from some horrible fate. Does that sound familiar? Well, like they say, "Been there. Done That!" What I was told actually happens is that we buy a puppy and the money is used to replace that puppy with more puppies, which in essence turns a puppy mill into a living cash crop. Over 90% of all puppies sold in the United States come from puppy mills.

I met Jana and Baby at a book signing event for Jana's book, A Rare Breed of Love: The True Story of Baby and the Mission She Inspired to Help Dogs Everywhere. I was overwhelmed with emotion, frozen in my seat listening to Jana tell her story and the story of millions of dogs who suffer at the hands of mill owners.

If you are looking for family dog, please consider adopting a rescued dog. I promise it will be one of the most rewarding single acts of love you will ever do, and a great way to teach compassion to your children. Try your local rescues first. Also, check out www.etfinder.com. They have so many wonderful dogs that need good homes. However, you must be aware that puppy mill owners will try to list their dogs on rescue sites. Be suspicious of anyone asking for a fee of $200 or more. If your concern is transporting a puppy from a rescue site like www.puppyfinders.com, you can try www.trucknpaws.com and flyingpaws.org. They offer safe alternative travel, so the puppy you want from, let's say, Ohio can be brought to you in New York.

A Rare Breed of Love contains more than sixty photographs of Baby with many of her high-profile fans, from Barack Obama to Judge Judy to Patti LaBelle, and offers practical advice on what each of us can do to raise awareness, make a difference, and stop animal suffering everywhere. For more information and to read an excerpt from Jana's book visit ararebreedoflove.com. All proceeds go to animal welfare.