After the update on the woman from Tarpon Springs, FL getting 60 of her dogs back I received a moving letter from my friend Paddy Boy. He, along with mom Nancy, are fostering one of the dogs that were removed. Cinnamon, their foster girl, is a two year old Pomeranian who was used and abused at the puppy mill. She was bred too many times and as a result is dealing with many medical issues. Under the loving care of her foster family, and with proper medical attention, she was finally starting to get well and now she may be handed back to the person that hurt her.

Paddy sent me an entry from his diary that’s a tribute to Cinnamon and all her companions that were removed from the deplorable conditions in Tarpon Springs.

Missing Blue
July 30th 2008 11:55am

For my friend, Cinnamon and all her pals; Imagine this if- you can….

You are living in a cage; small crowded space. You have been there your entire life. You have never been outside; you have no concept of the world except for your imprisonment.

You have no place to relieve yourself except for that cage; neither does anyone else. It smells rotten in there but you have no other choice. The food comes and you fight to get some but when you start to chew, it hurts because your teeth are rotting. You give up; you go lay down if you can find room. You try and sleep on your side but that is agony because of the lumps on your right side. You try and lay on your left but it makes your painful ear worse.

You have it bad but others have it worse. The two-year old female next to you can barely walk with her bloody paws. The one next to her can’t breathe from a collapsed trachea. Is this what life is really like? Do you want to exist anymore.

Can you imagine living like this????

One day you wake up and these people come. You are really scared and become more frightened when they start to take you away. You can’t help wondering if you are going to another place as bad as the one you are leaving.
You arrive at your new destination. They speak softly to you as they bathe the horrible smells away. They give you your own bowl of food and it is soft so that you can eat it. They tend to your hurts. They take you outside to this wonderful place and you sniff the grass for the first time. You want to thank them but you are still scared. You approach and they touch you lovingly. God, this is wonderful, you think. You slink up to the first person and she whispers “good dog”. You don’t really know what that means but the tone of her voice is so pleasing. You lick her hand and she begins to cry. I think she knows what you have endured. You are lucky you have survived.

IMAGINE LIVING LIKE THIS???? Imagine this as if it were your life and tell me truthfully if you can ever let this happen again.

STOP THE FLORIDA PUPPY MILL BREEDER NOW….Stop Theresita Hughes from getting these 121 puppies back; they deserve so much better!!!

Thank you Paddy for the insight into the life of a puppy mill dog. Thank you Nancy for putting action behind your words, for taking in a foster dog that needed your help. We commend you both.