Dear Friends,
Last fall, when I lost my Bullmastiff Canuke, I wrote about how hard it was to have had him for such a short time before losing him to cancer. I concluded by saying:
"And yes. I'd do it all over again. There are too many adult and senior dogs and cats in the world who need homes, and they can add so much to our lives. If the spirit moves you to add a companion animal to your home and life, I hope that you will consider someone who isn't a puppy or a kitten. Someone who isn't from a pet store or a "broker," or a "nice lady who met me halfway in a truck." Because 99% of pet stores and 100% of brokers and nice ladies in trucks are cover-ups for puppy and kitten mills. If you insist on a pure-bred cat or dog, be aware that most breeders have adults to place, not just babies. And most breeds are represented by rescue groups, who take in adult pets whose owners have died or are no longer able to care for them. There is someone out there right now, looking for a home. Looking for you. Maybe someone who has seen a few years and yet has never received any real attention or love. Maybe someone who has never felt the touch of a kind hand, or heard a loving word directed only to them. You'll never regret connecting with a senior pet. "
Not too long after adopting Canuke, I welcomed Jack into my life, from Col. Potter Cairn Rescue Network (CPCRN). He wasn't old, just recovering from a terrible hit-by-car injury that had left him unclaimed by the side of the road, with a crushed pelvis, massive internal injuries, spinal injuries, and a smashed hind leg that eventually had to be amputated. He was probably having the time of his life running loose and chasing cars, until he was hit. He joined Canuke, who had lived as a breeding dog in a kennel until he was seven. And Hebert, who had been rescued from a horrible puppy mill in Wisconsin by Cairn Rescue U.S.A. (CRUSA) in 2007. And Emmett, rescued by PACT at the age of 8 from a Persian breeder in Peoria who had let her cats continue breeding until they were living two to a cage, neglected and unfed. And the Queen of them all? That was Lizzie.
Everyone got along, because Lizzie said they had to! Lizzie, the only dog I've ever had from the time she was a puppy, came from a reputable Cairn breeder. I adopted her after being charmed by her scruffy little face (the breeder later told me that she had started grooming the best-looking puppy first, then the next and then the next - finally, Lizzie was the only puppy left ungroomed). But I always thought that she was a beautiful little dog - although certainly not the best-looking Cairn in the world! And, she was smart enough to have her own column on the website for many years. I never knew how popular her column was, until people started telling me how much they would miss it, now that she's gone.
The dogs miss her, too. Certainly not as much as do I, but they are affected by her passing in ways I didn't understand at first. Lizzie truly ruled the roost and everyone from Canuke to Jack knew it. Now, I've got a crew of "boys" at home who are a little puzzled by who should do what, and when. Because Lizzie always told them. There's a lot of aimless meandering going on at home now, and only Emmett the cat is a happy camper, since no one chases him anymore.
So. We've heard from all the Cairn rescue people, and have started looking at who might fit into our little family and restore some order among the "boys" - Cairns Hebert and Jack, plus Emmett the cat I can't think of a better way to honor Lizzie's memory, than to give another rescued Cairn a chance for a good life. We met Apricot from CPCRN this week. She was a little overcome by Jack, and she ignored Hebert and me. Maybe it was that attitude, or maybe it was that she was just so - well, so not Lizzie. Either way, it was unfair to Apricot to even think of adopting her when all I could see was "not-Lizzie", so we said we'd keep looking. We looked online at Winfrey in St. Louis and Rook from Carpentersville, both on the CPCRN website and both puppy mill rescues. But Winfrey needed to be adopted with a companion dog, and Rook was already pending adoption. We looked online at Sarah in Milwaukee, Carri (called CarriOneEye by her foster family - sadly, her name is descriptive) in Kenosha, and Jill in Michigan, all Cairns looking for a home on the CRUSA website. All of these girls are Cairns rescued from either inhumane living situations or puppy mills and range in age from under 2 (Jill) to 10 (CarriOneEye). I've talked to Jill's foster Mom, and we may all go and see her, as soon as we can find the time to drive almost to Detroit and back on a rare day off.
Both CPCRN and CRUSA have many more Cairns and Cairn mixes looking for homes. And more come in every day! Right now, CPCRN is getting ready to receive almost 30 Cairns from a recent puppy mill rescue, and CRUSA is working hard to find foster homes for their incoming Cairns, too. Many of these dogs will need months of rehabilitation before they learn that a hand reaching towards them isn't cause for fear and won't bring pain. That being outside of a cage so small that they can't turn around can be fun and not terrifying. They'll eventually learn what toys are for, and how to play with them. Can you imagine working with dogs who don't know how to play, who have no idea what being housetrained means, who cower in fear when they see furniture, who have horrifying wounds and scars and chronic infections, and who eat every meal as if food may never appear again? The dedicated foster homes of CRUSA and CPCRN deal with dogs like this every day, and amazingly, they turn most of these frightened little waifs into happy and confident Cairns who are eventually ready to be placed into forever homes. Still, some Cairns die in their temporary foster homes, either because they are so ill when they are rescued or because no one ever adopts them.
What's my point in telling you this? Well, it's not just a sad Cairn story - it's a heart-breaking "pick your breed" story! You could go to ANY website for ANY cat or dog breed rescue and read histories just as sad (and stomach-turning) as those of Winfrey and Rook, or Jill and CarriOneEye. Or even Jack or Hebert or Emmett or Canuke. Because there will always be people who insist on buying their pets from pet stores or brokers, which are almost always supplied by midwestern puppy and kitten mills. Did that cute pet come from a "farm?" Ninety percent-plus chance it was a puppy mill. That "nice lady" who brought the puppy to you to meet, rather than you having to drive "all the way out to her home in the country?" She was a broker, and she bought those puppies at auction from a puppy mill. I guarantee it. The guy in the next suburb who sells multiple breeds of pets and won't let you in the house to look at where they are kept? The suburban version of a puppy mill.
Did you think you were "rescuing" that pet from the pet store, from the suburban home, from the broker? Maybe you did - but you were also condemning that puppy or kitten's mother and father to a few more agonizing years spent in tiny cages with no affection or even much human contact - just so that they could churn out more cute pets for the pet store, the broker, the backyard breeder. It's wrong, and it needs to stop. But it will only stop if YOU stop buying from pet stores, and brokers, and fronts for puppy and kitten mills. Take just a few minutes and check out the rescue sites for any breed that interests you. If you don't know the name of a specific breed rescue group, Google the breed and add the word "rescue" - you'll almost certainly come up with some places to start looking for a pet that's right for you. Don't forget to check with breeders, too - many have older pets to place, and often these will be the best examples of the breed that interests you. Retired breeding pets are often well adjusted, calm, trained animals that can be a wonderful additional to your home.
Check with your local humane society too - there's hundreds of wonderful pets of all breeds and ages available for adoption. Most are house-trained and many nowadays have been given up because their owners simply can't afford to care for them any longer. Don't forget about the rescue groups for smaller pets, such as bunnies, guinea pigs, and other "pocket pets." The House Rabbit Society is a good place to start looking for these smaller pets. (And if you think that a bunny can't be an absolutely enchanting pet, you've never seen the "bunny happy dance," or been welcomed home by a rabbit who is absolutely delighted to see you!)
In the next few months: I promise to have cheerier news - news from our hospital as we grow and change, news from the most recent veterinary meetings I've attended and lectured at, and more. There's some GREAT new news for canine cancer patients, and emerging new vaccine recommendations for cats. And, perhaps we'll have news about how we've decided to best honor Lizzie's memory.
In the meantime, I hope you will become a Knollwood Fan on Facebook. You can follow us on Twitter, also! Right now, there's a "Cutest February Pet Picture" contest running on our Facebook site, and you have just a few weeks to get your pet's picture posted and to start voting. We're using Chicago Voting Rules, meaning that you can vote as often as you like, you may beg or coerce your friends to become Knollwood fans so that they can vote for your pet's picture as many times as you can pay them to do so, and - well, you can read the rest of the rules on the Knollwood Hospital for Pets Facebook page. On Twitter, we'll run limited duration specials for free services on occasion, and you'll get the latest Knollwood news. Join us!
Dr. Mitchell
