Life at Marys house: November 2009

Many mill dogs have learned (through abusive treatment) to not show they are in pain, to not cry out when they are injured and to fight to survive when they are weakened. Dogs are pack animals and when one is injured and cries out - others go on the offensive and will attack. As a matter of survival against man and other dogs, they are forced to not react to horrendous pain. I have taken to listing 'pain' as a result of the untreated conditions and needs.

The following are medical issues COMMONLY found in Mill dogs that have been released to rescue:

Female Problems:

Some females have had mummified puppies inside of them. One was only 3 yrs old and had to be euthanized because the puppies had adhered to her intestines.

Dead babies inside of them usually found when spaying unless they are dripping pus and you think Pyometria so you run for the Vet the first day.

Pyometria is an abscessed, pus-filled infected uterus. Toxins and bacteria leak across the uterine walls and into the bloodstream causing life-threatening toxic effects, without treatment death is inevitable. Spayed females obviously can not get

Pyometria but it is not uncommon for breeder releases to need immediate, life saving surgery. This is a horrid and painful condition! Most likely caused by the female having rotten teeth and trying to lick herself clean. Bacteria enters the Vagina and causes this problem.

Miller done c-sections and they sew the dogs up wrong sometimes catching the intestines in with the skin or use office staples. And then I am sure that some slit open the pregnant dog and leave her to bleed to death and put the pups on another dog.

Prolapsed uterus, this is caused by delivering excessive litters of babies.

Pregnant female with bladder stones, luckily her pups were far enough along to save when she had to have bladder surgery. She ended up with a c-section at the same time.

Dental Problems:

Untreated dental disease causing rotting of teeth, broken teeth from trying to get out of enclosure, causing constant horrible mouth pain. Broken and rotting or missing teeth cause constant pain while trying to eat hard food dog kibbles.

Inadequate nutrition is supplied, which causes calcium to be withdrawn from their teeth and bones. Bones so brittle and so much calcium loss, that my Vet would have thought Bone cancer had this not been a mill dog.

I have had several come in with the nasal fistulas. And several with teeth worn down to the nub from chewing on the wire cages.

Ear problems:

Ear canals are infected, sometimes have ear mites. Chronic infections with old hard material causing constant excruciating pain, sometimes ear canals swell shut, have been known (rarely) to cause need for surgery to open and drain.

Ear mites bite causing extreme pain, nausea and vertigo. Dogs howl because of the unrelenting discomfort. They scratch and cause injury to their outer ears trying to get relief. Dogs whose ears were so badly infected that we had to do a total ear canal removal (total ablation).

Eye problems:

Eyes covered with thick green mucus due to infection and huge lumps of dried mucus around the eyes. Cherry eyes , prolapsed retina , punctured eyeball, micro-eyes , missing eyes.

Blind from Untreated dry eye which feels like sand in the eyes every single time a dog blinks his eyes or opens or shuts them.

Dogs with corneas so “sanded” that you can’t tell where the cornea ends and the pupil begin as the eye is just all dark.

Eyes that are so damaged that they fall apart and when vets go in to clean up and stitch the eyelids shut, have to remove the leathery or pussy bits of eyeball.

Foot Problems:

Toenails grown down around and into the bottom of the feet.

Splayed toes and raw pads from walking on the wire bottom cage floor.

Small dogs having to walk on their haunches to keep from falling thru the wire floor of the cages end up with legs stuck in the bent position.

Parasites:

Internal parasites and diseases cause constant upset stomach and bowels and diarrhea. Parasites steal the nutrients, whatever they are in the inadequate food, causing other health problems. Dogs HAVE to have a constant rolling and discomfort in their bowels. Parasitic worms actually attach themselves in the bowels and suck blood and nutrients, and discharge waste products. They can have severe anemia from large numbers of either external or internal parasites.

External parasites, fleas, bite and suck blood from the host animal. If overwhelmed with fleas, puppies surely will die, adults sometimes do. Numerous heartworm positive ones we have gotten because they were to cheap to give them the Ivermectin.

Dogs are host to several kinds of mites, small bugs like ear mites which bite constantly and suck blood from their bodies. Cause unrelenting intense pain and itching and scratching, and maggots have been found in the holes which dogs dig in their skin in an attempt to stop the itching from the mites.

Grooming:

Matted (unshaved or unclipped) long haired dogs ESPECIALLY if they get rained on or otherwise wet, winds the fur up in itself, causing hard knots which eventually begins to pull all over the dogs' bodies and within a year or less starts to pull the hair folicles out of the skin. Unclipped dogs accumulate feces at the rectum, in the fur, and either the feces back up inside the dog causing toxicity, or rip the fur away from the rump, causing pain, bleeding, and secondary infections.

Unshaved dogs in moist or extremely hot venues sometimes have bacterial and fungal infections festering underneath the fur causing swelling, hot spots intense pain and itching which dogs cannot relieve by scratching, exactly like a woman's vaginal yeast infection, untreated.

Unshaved dogs frequently become immobile because they cannot move to lick and clean themselves, can't jump, sometimes cannot walk, and the mats can become like tourniquets on their legs, ears, and cut off circulation.

Urine scald, secondary infections to feet and belly area, due to the scald. This is from marinating in ones own waste for years and not getting a bath every.

Missing body parts and broke limbs:

Dogs come in with missing ears, tails, toes, feet, etc. Broken limbs from getting them caught in cages. dogs that can not bark because they had a metal rod crammed down their throat to "debark" them

Emotional problems:

They go stir crazy from sitting in a cage , day after day never getting out. They spin in circles in the cage to try to burn energy and have trouble learning to walk a straight line on flat solid ground.

Urinate and sometimes defecate when they are picked up. That may continue for months or years.

So neglected they cower in a corner shaking like a feral animal and when you look directly at them or make a move toward them they defecate. Will not eat in front of a human and sometimes not in front of other dogs.

Become unreasonably frightened with a collar and/or leash on, due to either/or being picked up only by the scruff of the neck, or chronic untreated ear and dental pain. They are afraid to be reached for because the millers pick them up by the scruff of the neck.

Terrified of open spaces, cannot be walked outside or tolerate large spaces. Terrified of thunder, lightning, rain or wind, depending on the dog.

Mill dogs usually cannot 'play' Because they take quick movements as threatening. They might sooner (within months) learn to carry around toys, toss them, pile them up, but hard to play w/ humans because they don't know what they will 'do to them'.

01-13-2008

Ray Charles was rescued from a terrible puppymill a week ago by another rescue. They were over loaded and asked us to come get the Pekes. This old man was a matted mess. He looked more like a lion than a dog. His eyes didn't receive medical care and it appears he is almost blind. He is about 15 pounds, very compact and pure muscle.

01-16-2008

Ray Charles is the poster child for Puppymill dogs. I got him home on Saturday night and took him out of the transport cage and just knew there was something bad wrong with him. He was limp and walking like he has Parkinson's disease. I gave him some Dyne and honey in case his sugar was low and he seemed to come back a bit. He laid down to go to sleep and never got up except once to poop pure blood. We rushed him to the Vet and he was beyond saving. Bleeding internally , bad prostate and barely any brain function except to breath and beat his heart from many strokes. And he was only 8 years old.