A New Family Member!

We received a new family member Sunday evening--a sweet, sweet 7-year old Welsh Corgi named Maizie. We had begun to think about getting a new dog (our Tillie passed on 5 or 6 months ago) but felt that this time we would like to get a rescue dog. One of our neighbors told me about www.petfinder.com and I began looking there. The closest YOUNG corgi I found was in Alabama. So, I started looking at ADULT corgis. This led me to a woman on Edisto Island. And my whole perception of what is going on in the "puppy mill" community was dramatically altered.
This woman, Walton Salley, and several others like her in the Carolina/Atlanta area (and I'm sure in many, many other places) are true angels. They rescue dogs that have spent the best years of their lives confined to a small cage (their feet NEVER touch grass). In that cage, they eat, sleep and give birth to puppies. Their food is subnormal; they don't receive heartworm treatments and they receive no care or love.
We were supposed to get one of these dogs, Reba, on Sunday; however, shortly before the transport was to take place, it was learned that she had severe heart worms and her weight was too low to withstand the treatment--so she is staying in Atlanta and we are hoping and praying that she gets strong enough to get better. Oh, and by the way, she had lost most of one ear from severe bites from flies--in her LUXURY accomodations. We were heartbroken that we weren't going to get her.
The next day we had a surprise. Walton emailed us that she had found us another dog--Maizie, a 7-year old dog that had been turned over by her family. It was sad, also, because her family is one of those that had been hit hard by the financial chaos many of us are experiencing and had to leave their home. In doing that, they could no longer care for Maizie.
And, boy, are we the LUCKY ones! Maizie is a dream. And, dare I say, a Couch Potato. She is so sweet and it is obvious that she came from a home where she was loved. She has manners and she understands a lot of what we say. I know she must miss her previous family but she has decided that we are o.k. And I hope we have many years with her.
But, you know, I still think about Reba--and all the other dogs out there who are being mistreated beyond what most of us can think of. When we went to pick up Maizie in Goose Creek, we met Wilma, another rescue dog from a puppy mill. She was a sweet one, too, but SO downtrodden. You could tell that she was afraid and, yes, part of one of her ears was missing, too. Thankfully, her new owner sent out a photo this evening and Wilma is settling in.
I am so grateful to have learned about Petfinder.com.