Unfortunately, animal abuse is still a serious problem across. Thousands of dogs are being abused and used in puppy mills, with the sole purpose of breeding pups so that their so-called ‘owners’ can sell them for plenty of cash.
This is the story of the poodle B.B. who hasn’t seen the light of day for her entire life. She was locked won into a filthy, disgusting cage in the basement of a house repurposed as a breeding mill. Ventilation in the room was non-existent and the cage was filled with B.B.’s own waste.
Luckily, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) raided the puppy mill where B.B. was being held. They’re not really sure how old B.B. exactly is, but they do know that she has been tragically abused. Her mammaries were swollen indicating that she had bred over and over.
“She was very tiny, and she looked like this helpless creature,” Jessica Lauginiger, animal crimes manager at HSUS, told to the website The Dodo. “I put my hand up to the cage, and she’d come up and sniff a little bit. She was very hesitant for human attention, but she wanted it.”
Amazingly, B.B. was able to trust people once again, albeit slowly. Jessica was able to open the cage and take care of the dog.
“I remember how tiny and frail she was in my hands,” she said. “I pulled her close to my body, and she leaned into me.”
HSUS made sure that the puppy mill would be shut down for good – not only B.B. was being abused, but they rescued over 150 other dogs, cats, and even goats who were either abused or severely neglected.
All of the animals were saved.
Local vet Brenda Tortoreo met B.B. at the Cabarrus Animal Hospital.
“B.B. was in a corner. She looked pitiful. She was scared to death. She wouldn’t eat, she wouldn’t drink and I felt so bad for her. And I said, ‘That’s the one I’m going to take home.’”
Understandably, B.B. had to adopt to actually living in a home and not in a filthy confined space with no freedom.
“I put B.B. down on the floor, and she kept going in circles — not running, but walking,” Brenda mentioned. “I guess that’s all she knew to do. I put her in the living room, and to go into the hallway, she would not cross that border (between rooms). I have two granddaughters who live with me, so I would put her in one of my granddaughters’ rooms, and she was terrified of rugs. She just wanted off the rug.”
Brenda also said that the outside world was very frightening and even terrifying for the poodle. She had no idea what sunlight felt like and how it felt to play around in the grass.
Thanks to Brenda’s love, B.B. got the learn the wonders of being raised by a loving owner and kept on learning.
“She’s got three big baskets of stuffed animals. She takes certain stuffed animals, and she’d bring them to bed, and she would line them up like she was nursing them, and she’d lick them, lick them and lick them. It was just so heartbreaking.”
It’s been a while since B.B. was rescued and now she behaves just like a normal and happy dog. She takes great comfort in the plenty of stuffed animals that she received from her owner.
“She runs around the house,” Brenda said. “She’s eating like crazy — she was originally about 3 and a half pounds, but I think she’s maybe about 10 pounds now. She loves the grass now, and she loves playing with the other dogs in the backyard.”
The two now share a very cute and adorable bond and Brenda’s love has made sure that B.B. keeps on flourishing.
“About three weeks ago she started licking me — she’d never done that before. She’s really come out of her shell. She’s my little princess.”
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