Twas the Night Before Christmas ...

By Robin Pressnall, Executive Director, Small Paws® Rescue

Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the mills,
not a puppy was stirring, it was strangely quite still.

While back at the pole, Santa readied the sleigh
to pick up these mill dogs, it was such a long way!

The reindeer were dressing all quick in a hurry
They were headed for RESCUE, and straight for MISSOURI!

On Dasher on Dancer on Comet and Cupid.
Those pups go to Pet Shops! We know! We're not stupid!

As his sleigh did approach, the mill gates opened wide,
Santa called to them all, and they all jumped inside!

On Poodles, on Bichons, on Golden Retrievers!
Grab up the babies, we save those for grievers!

On Westies, on Lhasas, on cute Weenie Boogers,
On Shih Tzus and Scotties, they're all sweet as sugar!

On Schnauzers, and Maltese, on Kerry Blue Terriers!
We've got room for ALL, the more now, the merrier!

And the sleigh just grew bigger as they all made more room,
These pups lives were changing! No more gloom and doom!

While out on the lawns there arose such a clatter
The millers ran out to see what was the matter!

When they found their "stock" gone, how the millers did sob,
while a Voice from above boomed, "GO GET A REAL JOB!"

As it seemed it could not get much better than this,
I started to wake, did I dream all of this???

There was no red sleigh, no reindeer with wings.
I guess it was sadly, just one of those things,

That you dream and you dream, till one day 'twill be.
That glorious day, when the mills are history!

And I think as we tell them, and tell them again,
Soon it will be that we all know that when,

One buys from a pet shop, there are pups you don't see.
The Mama and Daddy, who are longing to be,

loved by a family, and scratched on the heads.
Not sleeping on wire, that they now call their beds.

One day it will be, oh how that will feel!
We won't mill our puppies like paper and steel!

And I heard it exclaimed as I woke up that night,
We won't stand for this, we'll stand up and fight!

With each breath we do have and each word we do say,
we'll tell about the mills, till that glorious day,

when the mills are all outlawed, and all over Missouri,
The occupation of milling, will be but a memory.

"Please don't buy my babies from a pet store." - From Puppy Mill Moms

Dr. Mitchell, from Knollwood Hospital for Pets, recently wrote a wonderful article in her Pawprints newsletter featuring one of Col. Potter's foster dogs, Jaymee, and her Foster Mom, Terri. Please read it and share the link with others as Dr. Mitchell focuses on Puppy Mills and the treatment of the animals there.

Click here to read the article "Please Don't Buy My Babies From a Pet Store."

Did You Miss Oprah's Puppy Mill Episode?

Thanks to investigator Lisa Ling, who went undercover into a handful of Pennsylvania puppy mills, the April 4 episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show revealed to millions of viewers what goes on in these large-scale breeding facilities. This important episode will be re-aired Thursday, May 29, 4:00 P.M. EST. Raising awareness is one of the most important ways to effect change, so please don't miss your chance to see the realities of this industry.

Ways You Can Help Fight Puppy Mills (ASPCA):

1. Do not buy your puppy from a Pet Store. That puppy who charmed you through the pet shop window has most likely come from a large-scale, substandard commercial breeding facility, commonly known as a puppy mill. In these facilities, parent dogs are caged and bred as often as possible, and give birth to puppies who could have costly medical problems you might not become aware of until after you bring your new pet home.


2. Make adoption your first option. If you’re looking to make a puppy part of your family, check your local shelters or breed specific rescues. Not only will you be saving a life, but you will ensure that your money is not going to support a puppy mill.


3. Know how to recognize a responsible breeder. If you choose to buy from a breeder, remember that responsible breeders have their dogs’ interests in mind. They are not simply interested in making a sale, but in placing their pups in good homes. A responsible breeder should screen you as thoroughly as you screen them!


4. See where your puppy was born and bred. One sign that you are speaking to an unscrupulous breeder is that they will not let you see the facility in which your puppy was born. Always ask to see the breeding premises and to meet both parents (or at least the mother) of the puppy you want to take home.


5. Internet buyers beware! Buying a puppy from the Internet is as risky as buying from a pet store. If you buy a puppy based on a picture and a phone call, you have no way of seeing the puppy’s breeding premises or meeting his parents.

Today's Hidden Holocaust

During the final years of WWII, a large group of governments and individuals, when faced with the reality of what was happening to Europe's Jews, in the words of artist and politician Arthur Szyk "treated[ed it] as a pornographical subject--you cannot discuss it in polite society." People didn't want to know. It was too unpleasant. It might make them uncomfortable. So it was left unspoken.

Today, there is another holocaust, hidden in plain sight, which is rarely brought to light for mostly the same reasons. It makes people very uncomfortable. Today, though, the parties keeping this in the shadows are mostly the popular media. It is this media, who, rightly or wrongly, are responsible for illuminating much of what is happening in the underbelly of society. And, if it makes people uncomfortable, it most likely will not sell. And if it will not sell, it is, at best, reported on only in a short segment when something terrible has come to light. Then it is dropped like a hot potato.

This is a holocaust where babies are prematurely ripped from their mothers, where adults are forced to live their whole lives, as slaves, in near starvation, in housing often filled with feces and urine. This is a world where families are routinely torn apart with members being sold off to the highest bidders. It is a world where pain, suffering, deformity and deep rooted genetic abnormalities are ignored and medical care is virtually non-existent. In this world profit is king. Those adults who no longer are profitable for their master are shot, if they are lucky, and, if not so lucky, their sick, tired old bodies might be thrown onto a garbage heap to slowly die amongst the filth. And this holocaust is going on right here in the United States!

Many of you who are reading this are accompanied, at this very moment, by a product of this horror. You had no idea. You have no idea. You were innocent. You are innocent! Unlike so many WWII Europeans, you did not ever so quietly refrain from speaking of this while all the time knowing it existed. You would never have supported this if you knew. But you didn't know. And so, in your innocence, you unknowingly helped perpetuate this holocaust. But it is your soon to be former innocence that should now empower you to help to put an end to this current day abomination.

Once you know, you will NEVER AGAIN permit yourself, or anyone you know, to support this. NEVER AGAIN. You will not refrain from speaking of this. You will shout it to the world when you can. For now you shall know that the sweet puppy that you got from that seemingly wonderful pet shop was bred in a facility that is akin to Auschwitz for dogs. No matter what they told you in the puppy store, your pup originated in a place like this. NO REPUTABLE BREEDER EVER SELLS TO PET STORES. NOT ONE. ANYWHERE. NO MATTER WHAT THE STORE TELLS YOU OR TELLS THEIR EMPLOYEES. NO MATTER HOW FANCY THE STORE IS, VIRTUALLY ALL PET STORE PUPS COME FROM PLACES LIKE THESE. Rescue a dog from a shelter or a breed rescue organization. There are fantastic puppies and dogs just waiting for you.

Most likely the mother and father of your wonderful dog, if they are still alive, are, at this very moment, existing in a chicken wire cage – even the floor is chicken wire, often barely large enough to lie down in, more often than not exposed to the elements - freezing in the winter, sweltering in the summer, being fed barely enough food to sustain life, drinking filthy water, most likely having many untreated, festering wounds, some of them years old, just waiting there to be bred again and again and again for another cash crop of puppies. Many have gone completely mad and spin endlessly in their cage, hour after hour, day after day. It is a terrible sight to behold.

They will never feel the loving touch of a human hand or hear sweet words whispered into their soft fuzzy ear. They will never be held close and comforted when sick or scared. And, when they are finally spent with no more to give, they will be discarded, onto the trash, thought of as useless, like an empty milk carton. This is the life of your beloved dog’s parents.

From this day forward, you can decide to NEVER AGAIN buy anything from a store or a web site that sells puppies. Nothing. Not a ball. Not fish food. Not a tag, a collar or a leash. Nothing. By "rescuing" that cute pup you are dooming its parents to a never ending life of misery. The pup is but a commodity to the pet store. If you "rescue" that puppy its place will be quickly filled with another, only to doom yet other parents to a continuing life of unfathomable misery.

A picture is worth a 1000 words. Go to the Internet and search for Puppy Mills. Search You Tube. Be careful. Do not show your children. You will be forever changed. It will hurt. But if you refrain from looking you will be like those WWII Europeans who turned away and permitted the holocaust to be.

Submitted by: Kathie R.

Welcome the American Revolutionaries!

On April 19, 1775, a shot was fired that was heard 'round the world. It was the beginning of the American Revolution. On this same date, in 2008, Col. Potter with the help of Deb and Jim fought for the freedom of 7 Cairns from oppression and won their right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." To honor those original freedom fighters, who played key roles in the Battles of Lexington and Concord; our new Col. Potter recruits are thus named:

LEXINGTON - 2 yr old female
BURKE - 2 yr old female
LAURIE - 2 yr old female
ADAIR - 5 yr old female
BOSTON - 3 month old male wheaten
BARRETT - 3 month old male red wheaten
REVERE - 7 yr old male

Deb and Jim not only spent a long grueling day winning these kids freedom, but also came up with this perfect theme and names for these kids. Thank you Deb and Jim!

There are many more Cairns that need our help right now, but unless we have more foster homes, we will have to turn them away. Besides these mill kids and others like them, we have owner surrenders and Cairns in danger at kill shelters. Saying no to a Cairn in danger is one of the hardest parts of doing Intakes and breaks our heart, but without foster homes, we can't help them. Please consider fostering, so we don't have to turn any away.

Check out our Foster FAQs for more information on how YOU can become a foster home!

Too Late ...

The following video is about the commercial dog breeding industry, often referred to as puppy mills. Many people do not know this "invisible" industry even exists but it does and it leads to the death of millions of animals in shelters every year.

Remember to tune in to Oprah Winfrey today for Lisa Ling's special investigative report on puppy mills.

Set Your DVRs!

Winfrey Dedicates Show To Her Late Dog

CHICAGO - Oprah Winfrey plans to dedicate a show investigating abuses at puppy mills to her cocker spaniel, Sophie, who died last month from kidney failure.

"Sophie gave me 13 years of unconditional love. She was a true love in my life," Winfrey says on the broadcast scheduled to air Friday. (Advance remarks from the show were released Tuesday by Harpo Productions.)

The show features special correspondent Lisa Ling investigating puppy mills, which Ling calls "horrific" and "haunting."

Winfrey says the show is "for anybody anywhere who loves a dog, has ever loved a dog, or just cares about their basic right to humane treatment."

While Sophie was not a product of a puppy mill, and Winfrey's three current dogs were adopted from breeders, Winfrey says in the future she would look to adopt from an animal shelter.

"I would never, ever adopt another pet now without going to a shelter to do it. I am a changed woman after seeing this show," she says.

"The Joy of Fostering" by Carole Raphaelle Davis

Carole Raphaelle Davis is a passionate animal welfare advocate and author of “The Diary of Jinky, Dog of a Hollywood Wife”. She has worked closely with numerous animal welfare groups and wants people to get smart about cruelty to animals and to start making ethical choices when it comes to bringing a companion animal into their lives. She lives in Hollywood with her rescue mutt Jinky, her rescue Cairn, Finley, and foster flunkee, Lamby. Finley's mom donates the proceeds of her book to animal welfare charities.

To introduce Finley to the CPCRN group Carole wrote the following:

She was a pet store/puppy mill dog for sure. She's absolutely gorgeous, with her perfect black tips. She's also got the "Terriorist" character! Stubborn, mind of her own, only does what she wants when she wants. She gives the sweetest kisses in the world.

She was bought by a senior care facility and it didn't work out at all. She ended up tied outside in the sun, on a short chain with no human contact for two years. She was rescued by the Amanda Foundation in Beverly Hills and I fell in love with her while I was volunteering there, walking dogs for them. I took her home and she is the Queen of the house, loved and adored, pampered like she deserves, like all dogs deserve. She is Jinky's wife, and like all Hollywood wives, she indulges herself. And after her awful beginning, she should!

Carole recently wrote the following article featured on Fetchdog.com:

The Joy of Fostering

Willing to turn your home into a halfway house for a homeless dog? Shelters need more people like you!

by Carole Raphaelle Davis

Are you missing the company of a dog but reluctant to take on the full responsibility? Maybe you live in a smallish apartment or are worried about the burden of unexpected veterinary bills. Or perhaps you recently lost your dog but aren’t ready for a full-time dog. Well, there is a way to enjoy doggie companionship and help a dog in need on a temporary basis; it’s called fostering. Fostering a dog is one of the most rewarding ways to get that sublime dog love without having the full responsibility of life-long guardianship.

Click here to read the entire article on Fetchdog.com and leave comments for Carole.

CPCRN is always in need of foster homes, if you would like to learn more please visit our Foster FAQs!

Introducing January's History Kids!

Saturday, four little Cairns made it to the loving arms of Col. Potter thanks to a rescue angel who attended an auction in Ohio. The four spent the night with the rescue angel and then headed to Oz Project bright and early Sunday morning.

There are many historical events that took place in the month of January. These four precious babies are named after some of those events:

#1943 Galileo: Male, DOB 1/14/05 - On January 7, 1610, Galileo Galilei sighted four of Jupiter's moons - Let's hope our Galileo has a life that is simply over the moon!

#1944 Edison: Male, DOB 8/25/07 - On January 27, 1880, Thomas Edison received a patent for his electric incandescent lamp - May our little Edison's life be as bright!

#1945 Ross: Male, DOB 9/16/07 - On January 1, 1752, Flag maker Betsy Ross was born in Philadelphia - Our little Ross is a true symbol of freedom!

#1946 Pearl: Female, DOB 9/16/07 - On January 20, 1887, Pearl Harbor was leased by the United States from Hawaii for a naval station - Little Pearl will only have smooth sailing from now on!

The PM kids keep flooding in to Col. Potter this month. We have several more groups of PM kids still scheduled to come in before the end of January. This is their chance at freedom, at living happily ever after ... and we don't want to turn any away! But we really could use more foster homes, please APPLY TODAY!