On August 23, 2008, a large puppy mill breeding facility was discovered deep in the woods of West Virginia. Best Friends Animal Society is on site working with Wood County law enforcement officials, the Humane Society of Parkersburg and the Humane Society of the United States. The organizations have teamed up to rescue the dogs from Whispering Oaks Kennels. Authorities were alerted to the kennel due to complaints that the property owner was creating excessive pollution.

Authorities convinced the kennel’s owner to relinquish all of the dogs and sign a document that bars her from ever owning and operating another breeding facility. Hopefully, further legal action will be taken against the operator of the facility.

“Right now, we are concentrating on removing the newborns, the pregnant mothers, and any dogs who need immediate medical attention,” said Rich Crook, rapid response manager for Best Friends Animal Society. “The dogs, most of them dachshunds, Chihuahuas, poodles and other small breed dogs, were confined sometimes four or five to a cage measuring just two feet by three feet,” Crook said. “Many cages had feces in them. All had poor ventilation. The sheer number of animals was overwhelming, and the odor of urine in 90-plus degree heat was stifling.”

By Saturday evening at least 200 dogs had been removed from the site and transported to an emergency kennel set up by the Humane Society of Parkersburg. This organization is accepting monetary donations to help cover the costs of this emergency rescue effort. In addition, they are in need of clean towels and rolled newspapers.

Whispering Oaks Kennels has been operating for nearly two decades, keeping these empathetic and soulful creatures in squalor and depriving them of socialization and proper care. The kennel bred Dachshunds, Yorkshire Terriers, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Poodles and Jack Russel Terriers and other small breeds.

Puppy mills are commercial mass breeding operations that keep their dogs in unbearably inhumane conditions and supply pet stores and internet sites with irresponsibly bred puppies for sale to the public. It is estimated that puppy mills produce four million dogs per year, contributing to the massive pet overpopulation problem. The estimated number of euthanized homeless cats and dogs totals around 6 million.

Although many of us consider dogs dear family members, these commercial breeding facilities view our companions as profit making business, turning dogs into baby making machines that never leave their putrid cages or know the loving touch that a human can give.

By continuing to flush out such awful facilities, we give these pooches a chance to start fresh and begin a new life, without sadness, neglect and cruelty. All of the aforementioned organizations, Humane Society of Parkersburg, Best Friends Animal Society and the Humane Society of the United States are working together to get these animals ready for adoption as soon as possible.

Please take a moment to visit these sites and contribute assistance to these precious animals in any way you can. Their new chapter is in our hands.

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All dogs deserve the best, right? We pamper our pooches with spa quality grooming products, holistic diets, alternative medical care and more toys then the dogs know what to do with! In fact, in American, many dogs live lives filled with more luxury then most humans around the world will ever experience!

Now, I am all for spoiling our precious pets, especially when while doing so, we can offer Fido and Fluffy something to improve their overall health.

Satisfying Fluffy’s natural urge to chew can get expensive and confusing. We avoid rawhide because of how dangerous it is. The very popular Greenies are also unhealthy sources of chewing pleasure, indigestible and the cause of a lots of trips to the vet!

Bully Sticks, which dogs love, are great, all natural, digestible and low in fat. They help satisfy chewing urges and keep those toothies clean. But dogs chew through them quickly and at about $9.00 a pop, pet owners need to take on a second job just to keep Fido in dried bull penises! (Yes, thats what Bully Sticks actually are, so while its gross, just remember how much your dog loves them!)

I have two absolutely awesome solutions. The first are Antlerz, which I have written about in the past (click here). The Antlerz are an awesome, extremely long lasting and healthy choice.

But what about other options? I just discovered Canine Cavier Fish Stix. Awesome. These chewy treats are completely natural, with no preservatives, chemicals and made of fish cartilage and skin. They are durable (though not quite as durable as Antlerz) and each one holds up to my dogs chompers for at least a week.

The Canine Caviar is a great way for your dog to get necessary jaw and neck exercise, keep his teeth clean and they are a high quality source of chondroitin. Chondroitin helps maintain the integrity of your dog’s bones and it acts as a natural anti-inflammatory. Chondroitin also works to prevent destructive enzymes from breaking down joint tissue and in addition it helps to prevent clotting in the arteries!

So what are you waiting for? Every dog deserves some champagne and caviar dreams!

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Hiya! Ella Bean here, and yes, I am dressed like an Angel. Know why? ‘Cause I am!

Ella Bean, Rescue Angel, reporting!

I am hanging out with my new pal Oliver, a Toy Poodle who just joined my aunt Kara’s family. My cousins, Scarlett and Cayenne, also Toy Poodles went with the humans to the Howard County Animal Rescue. Oliver was there, waiting for his forever home. He had been used as a stud for a kennel of some kind, which means he was a daddy to lots of puppies, but he never had any humans to love him.

Oliver, like his namesake in Charles Dicken’s novel, Oliver Twist, has been treated with cruelty and lived a loveless life for the past five years. Like Oliver Twist, our Oliver has remained innocent and kind. He is skittish around people and didn’t know how to use stairs when we got him home. Household noises scare him and he won’t take food from human hands (which I, for one, cannot understand!).

Together with Louis and Oliver’s sisters, Cayenne and Scarlett, we are teaching Oliver how to be a dog. He has learned quickly to sleep on the human’s bed and he is already going up and down stairs.

We are working on potty training, which I know is really hard. It took my Beanie self a really long time and sometimes I still slip. Whoops! We are also teaching Oliver how to accept love and belly rubs. He just doesn’t know about this stuff!

Millions of homeless dogs face euthanasia each year. Though plenty of organizations take in these pooches and do their best to rehabilitate them and find new homes, there simply aren’t enough humans adopting their pets. Adopting a pup really is saving a life. Each of us is an individual with an awesome personality, just waiting to blossom.

Although I know and trust my awesome humans and they have become my family, before them I met some pretty awful humans who hated dogs. From my Beanie perspective, humans are living in a culture of instant gratification. They throw away whomever and whatever doesn’t quite fit in or is an inconvenience. They surrender their canine companions to shelters without much concern as to their future. Like Oliver, I was adopted. You can read my story here.

Louis, my big brother is from a responsible breeder. I know that Louis came to my mommy without any emotional baggage and Oliver and I came with loads…but that doesn’t even guarantee success. Humans surrender their purebred pups as well, even after paying lots of money for them.

Yes, we tend to go potty where you don’t want us too, we vomit and make trouble…but no one will love you like a dog will.

Oliver is already enriching the lives of his family and new friends. I am right by his side, helping him along, telling him that I was also totally scared and didn’t know to trust humans when I first met my family. I was scared of everything and now I am a rambunctious little superstar, with my own column on this awesome website!

Louis, my big brother is also super helpful. Since Oliver and Louis are both guys, Oliver seems to be following his lead, walking with him and doing some playful sniffing and tail wagging.

With all of our love, Louis and I, together with Cayenne, Scarlett and the humans will teach Oliver everything he needs to be spoiled silly, just like us!

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