Many well-meaning people today still go to a pet store to get puppies, but one thing I wish I could tell all of them is that those puppies are usually from puppy mills: disgusting places that only focus on money and not on the safety of the breeding dogs or their offspring. According to the Humane Society, it's hard to regulate or even outlaw puppy mills because it's not always easy to tell if breeders are mistreating their dogs from the outside. The only way to truly do away with the practice is for people to only get their puppies from shelters or from breeders who are known to have a safe and loving environment.
Dogs like Moxie, who was finally saved after 12 years at a puppy mill, typically need some time to rehabilitate themselves to the outside world and to people after they're rescued. Years of abuse make it hard for them to trust, even if their natural instinct is to reach out for a loving touch.
In the video below, little Harleigh is petrified of the people who have come to rescue her, but after only an hour with a male volunteer, her entire demeanor changes. Initially terrified and cowering in her cage, by the end of the video, Harleigh makes her way cautiously to the volunteer, her fear overridden by a natural need to connect.
As they say in the video, it will take some time for Harleigh to fully regain her trust in humans, but if there are those kinds of changes in only an hour, imagine what could happen after a day or even a week in a loving home!
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