Puppy mills serve as high-volume breeding facilities geared toward making their owners a massive profit. Usually, this is to the detriment of the parents who are often left in tiny cages where they become sickly and have little chance to socialize with others.
One such dog, a Chihuahua named Freddie, got a second chance at life after he was rescued from a puppy mill.
Freddie had spent nine years in a puppy mill
A breeding dog, Freddie had spent nine years of his life fostering hundreds of puppies he would never know. Locked in a tiny cage, he had gotten too old to breed and his owner decided to get rid of him. Freddie was fortunately rescued in the nick of time.
Freddie is rescued
Freddie and 34 other dogs were rescued from the puppy mill where he was being held by the National Mill Dog Rescue (NMDR). He was in pretty bad shape when he was rescued. Malnourished and with no teeth, luckily, he had no life-threatening injuries.
Timid at first, eventually he warmed up to the staff at the shelter where he was taken. Soon, he was cuddling and kissing with them.
“Life in a cage takes a heavy toll on dogs, both physically and emotionally,” Theresa Strader, founder of NMDR, told The Dodo. “Many of our dogs require extensive rehabilitation before they are ready to become family members, [but] Freddie certainly has a resilient spirit. He is a spunky little guy.”
Freddie gets his first bed
Even more special was when Strader gave Freddie his first bed. Growing up in a cage, he had never had a bed before and was a little scared of it at first. He sniffed the bed once it was placed in his pen, but didn’t quite know what to make of it. Strader decided to take matters into her own hands.
“It’s heartbreaking to realize they have been denied the very basics until now,” she said.
Going into the pen with Freddie, Strader picked him up and cuddled with him. Once she felt that he was relaxed enough, she placed him on the bed, careful not to alarm him. Freddie started sniffing the bed, trying new positions to get comfortable, but finally, he settled in for a nap.
“Freddie loved his bed immediately,” Strader said. “Other dogs can be more cautious and have no idea what a soft bed is for, but they learn very quickly. Freddie snuggled in from the beginning like he knew that this was just one of many perks he will experience [now].”
National Mill Dog Rescue
The National Mill Dog Rescue, which rescues, rehabilitates, and re-homes retired commercial breeding dogs, captured the moment on video and posted it on the organization’s Facebook page. Quickly going viral, the result of the video was that Freddie ended up getting adopted after only a week at the shelter.
Freddie finds a home
A couple applied to adopt him, and after some assessments, Freddie was on his way to his new home. In the process, Freddie gained a new sibling, a Whippet named Cinnamon.
Most importantly, Freddie got a new chance at life and the love that he had never received before. For more on Freddie and his first time in a bed, check out the following video.
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H/T: My Positive Outlooks, The Dodo, Facebook – National Mill Dog Rescue, Humane Society
