51 Maltese Dogs Abandoned on a Country Road in Texas

A puppy mill operator's cowardly act nearly cost dozens of dogs their lives. Rescue is under way.

Police in Flower Mound, TX, received a call last month that "a large number of small dogs" were running loose beside a country road. Animal service officers were sent out, and they captured the dogs.

Fifty-one dogs, to be precise. All of them Maltese. They were in terrible hygienic condition, with "severely matted hair," and all were in poor health, with "issues ranging from staph infections to broken bones to cancer," according to Star Local News.

A video released later detailed those injuries, which included such horrors as a dislocated jaw, mammary tumors, tooth decay from eating urine-soaked food, a broken and dead tail, cauliflower ears, a deformed leg, nails grown into pads of their feet, and so on. The level of neglect surprised even veteran rescuers, according to the video. 

Who would dump 51 ailing and neglected Maltese? There's only one theory: a puppy mill operator. Though there is no specific breeder in mind, police suspect the dogs were abandoned due to a new Texas law requiring minimum care standards, inspection, and licensing of commercial breeders. There's a $6,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.

Thanks to the efforts of Flower Mound Animal Services, who rescued the dogs with police, all of the dogs were placed in local rescue groups.

"It is always gratifying to see how the rescue community pulls together in these situations," said Stacy Smith of Flower Mound Animal Services. "It would have been difficult for any one group to provide the level of care and attention that these dogs required."

Smith said that nearly every dog needed extensive medical treatment, and most suffered from anxiety and fear issues. 

"The organizations who took these dogs on committed to a great deal of expense and rehabilitation," Smith said. "These are not dogs that were ready to be adopted out immediately. They needed a lot of work."

The rescue groups did that work, however, and yesterday Flower Mound Animal Services was happy to report that many of the Maltese have already been adopted. Others are still rehabilitating in foster homes. One Maltese, Audrey, gave birth the day she was rescued. Her puppies will never know the horrors of the puppy mill.

Smith wants people to think about these dogs when they consider buying a puppy from a store.

"These dogs spent their lives as the mothers and fathers of puppies you purchase in pet stores, online, or at trade days," she said. "They live their entire lives in filthy cages. A puppy purchased from one of those sources supports the puppy mill industry and this kind of cruelty. If you want to make sure you aren't contributing to it, adopt your next pet from a shelter."

We couldn't agree more.

Via Star Local News

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Heartbreaking Video Shows Starving Dog Being Abandoned at Shelter

The following is from a press release issued by Wood Green Animal Shelters, in Great Britain. If you want to have a good morning, don’t read on. If you want to see what it looks like when a scared, emaciated dog is abandoned, keep going. But be forewarned: This will break your heart. I’ve put the video at the bottom of this post so you have time to change your mind or to get a hanky. What’s most heartbreaking is that this is no isolated incident. Most people who abandon their pets like this don’t do so near shelters.

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Shocking CCTV images which show a dog being dumped at Wood Green Animal Shelters has been released by the Charity in a bid to highlight the increasing number of animals being abandoned.

Honey, a four-year-old Staffordshire Bull Terrier cross was taken to the London Shelter in Lordship Lane by her former owner, tied up to a drain pipe and abandoned. Distressing CCTV footage shows the man walk through the gate to the Shelter; tie the dog up before walking away, briefly glancing back at the dog.

Honey is then seen attempting to follow the man and spinning and pulling trying to get away, until a member of staff arriving for work discovers her and takes her inside. When Shelter staff untied her they were shocked to discover Honey emaciated, shivering and terrified.

Honey, as named by staff at the Shelter, was taken inside and assessed. At just 10kgs she was almost half her ideal weight and had extremely painful sores on her back legs, suggesting she was kept outside.
Honey was transferred to the Godmanchester Shelter where she was given a warm kennel and some comfy blankets to lay on. She has been put on a special diet which will see her consume four to five meals a day to help her reach an ideal weight of approximately 17kgs.

Manager of the London Shelter, Katie Wickins said: “It is disappointing that this individual not only dumped this dog on our doorstep without providing us with a full history which proves invaluable to the Charity when it comes to assessing the dog for rehoming, but more importantly, that this dog was allowed to get in such an horrific state.

“Honey’s extreme weight loss and pressure sores have not developed over night. It is unacceptable for anyone to allow their pet to suffer in this way.

“Honey is a very sweet but also very nervous dog and was clearly very distressed by being left outside. When the man who tied her up left, Honey tried to follow him, when she realised she couldn’t go anywhere she became very distressed and was pulling and spinning trying to get away.”

In January the Charity took in 354 animals.

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