UAN crosses U.S. border to help puppy mill dogs

On September 28, a team of United Animal Nations’ Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS) volunteers began working with Humane Society International/Canada and the Canadian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (CSPCA) to care for 118 animals rescued from a puppy mill in Rawdon, Quebec.

Several days later, on October 1, four EARS volunteers accompanied HSI/Canada and CSPCA rescuers into a second puppy mill, removing more than 150 animals. The rescued dogs were promptly transported to the CSPCA emergency shelter where they will be checked by a team of veterinarians and given any necessary medical care.

When the CSPCA/HSI Canada rescue team arrived on the scene of the first puppy mill, the smell of ammonia made it difficult to breathe and almost overpowered them. In one of the rooms, music was playing at unbearably loud levels to drown out the noise of the dogs’ desperate barking. Many of the animals were housed in the dark basement. Ninety percent of the dogs were emaciated, with open sores and parasites, stacked in wire cages from floor to ceiling, some hidden behind closet doors in a house of horrors. Some of the cages even held the skeletons of dogs who had passed away weeks or months before, but had been left untouched.

"Though they have faced unthinkable cruelty for years, these resilient animals are already beginning to heal immensely under our care," said Marcel Marcotte, EARS Eastern Canada Regional Director. "Many of these animals had never before set foot on solid ground or been touched by a gentle human hand. It is so rewarding to be able to nurse them back to health."

Please support the Emergency Animal Rescue Service team in Montreal by making a donation to UAN’s Disaster Relief Fund.