Caring People Rescue Dogs From Mistreatment And Abuse

Fourteen years ago Camille Manfredonia went into a local pet store to buy some dog food, and met a puppy that would change her life. "I took this small puppy out of his cage to play with him, and noticed right away that his collar was too tight. They hadn’t changed it since he had outgrown it, and his skin was growing up over the collar and choking him. He was going to be dead in a few days." When the pet store owners didn’t respond to Manfredonia’s alarm, she took the dog home with her and started doing some research into where this poor creature had come from and how a thing like this could have happened. She learned that the dog had come from a puppy mill.

There is an urgent need in our society to pay attention to the treatment of dogs. Although many dog owners treat their dogs like members of the family and keep them stocked with the best accessories money can buy, all over North America dogs are being abused and ill-treated, or even euthanized because no one wants to take them home. Puppy mills are dog breeding operations that work to churn out puppies for quick sale to pet stores or individuals. The dogs are often kept in squalid conditions with two to six dogs per tiny crate, and when a dog won’t sell or becomes too old to breed, it is simply killed.

Camille Manfredonia’s puppy from the pet store is now living a happy and healthy life, and Manfredonia herself has made it her quest to save dogs and puppies from a similar fate. With a rescue group called Rawhide rescue, she is working towards a safer world for dogs.

In shelters all over the country dogs are waiting to be adopted into new homes. Dogs may have been dropped at the shelter because their original owners didn’t have the time for them, didn’t want to pay medical expenses, or decided that the dog had behavioral problems. Others may have been picked up by animal control and were found to be in abusive households. Although shelters try to place the dogs in new homes as soon as possible, many of them will resort to euthanizing the unwanted dogs in as little as a week.

Thankfully, people like Terri Stonehocker from Lemoore, California, are attempting to put a stop to the practice of euthanizing unwanted an abused animals and are rescuing dogs themselves. "As long as they don’t pose a threat to anyone, they can stay until they are adopted," says Stonehocker, "I’ve had some dogs here for years." At her dog rescue operation, Stonecliffe Animal Rescue, Terri Stonehocker sees hundreds of dogs come and go over the course of a year, and she doesn’t see the numbers decreasing any time soon. "I get more and more people calling me every day," she says, "It never seems to end."

Using the popular website Petfinder.com, Stonehocker tries to place as many dogs as she can into new homes. Shelters and rescues are great places for families to adopt new dogs, but some people are still prejudiced against them, convinced that the dogs that were given away or abandoned have behavior problems or worse. So, they’re buying from pet stores or puppy mills, not knowing that there are thousands of sweet and gentle dogs waiting in shelters. For many animal rights activists, dispelling misconceptions about shelter dogs is an important goal.

All over North America, dog rescue groups like Rawhide Rescue go to puppy mills and persuade the owners to give them the dogs that are destined to be killed. These dogs are then found loving homes where they can spend the remainder of their lives. Unfortunately some of the dogs are not in good health when they’re saved, but Manfredonia knows that even if a dog only has a month left, it spends a really good month with excellent care. "It doesn’t matter," says Fredonia, "We’re just here for the dogs. It fulfills my life to see a dog change, to come out of its shell, and to get a great home."

It seems that people everywhere are starting to take notice of the need for action when it comes to the treatment of dogs in our communities. Even virtual communities of dog lovers are heeding the call.

The popular networking site Dogphoria.com donates 10 percent of its proceeds from the site’s pro memberships to dog shelters and rescues. "We are committed to helping dogs in need," explains Trevor Williams, the creator of Dogphoria.com, "for a community like ours that gives so much joy to people on a daily basis, there’s a need to spread that joy outside of ourselves, and to reach dogs that aren’t as fortunate."

Evidently Dogphoria.com attracts members with similar concerns for dog welfare in their own communities, as Camille Manfredonia has profiles of her own dogs on the popular site. "Sometimes people from Dogphoria.com who know me and what I do will contact me when they’ve found an abandoned dog in their neighborhood, and I’ll offer them some advice," says Manfredonia, "having a network of [dog lovers] online to reach out to for help is a great thing."

Community is an important theme in the culture of dog rescuing. Sharing information and spreading awareness is what will ultimately achieve the goal of improving the treatment of dogs in societies. Dog rescue operations are always in need of money, time, and resources.

It is important that people begin to understand the gravity of the issue of the treatment of dogs. Saving a dog from a shelter or adopting one through a rescue group is a great step toward improving the lives of dogs. Progress is made by saving one life at a time. To find an animal shelter or rescue organization in your state, visit www.canines.com/rescue or www.spca.com.

You can find information about Stonecliffe Animal Rescue at http://west.petfinder.com/shelters/CA1005.html and Rawhide Rescue at www.rawhiderescue.org.