# Rescued Jack Russell



## MooMoosMommy (May 23, 2010)

Hi. Last Sunday night I adopted a little female Jack Russell from in front of a pet store here. This little girl was a dirty, scarred up, scared mess. Once I laid eyes on her I had to take her away. I had not idea what laid ahead of me or what she would tell me in her own way.
This little one is (supposedly nearly 2) and has had 3 litters of puppies in her short life. That in itself is disgusting to me. 
She has quite a few scars and scabbed over sores/wounds where their larger dogs had attacked her over the food. They explained this to me while I was getting the money together.
She was a flea ridden, shy mess and needed a little cleaning up so I thought. Over the past week she has told me her story and I am absolutely sickened by what she has went through. 
She was a 'cash cow', a (dare I say it) puppy mill dog. She is terrified of men, cowers and wets herself when they attempt to touch her or even move toward her. She did this once when I first handled her but now seems to mostly know that I am not out to hurt her. She shies away from hands and will give little cries if she feels too nervous. 
She will potty in her crate so crate training isn't working great but she is catching on that I desire her to potty outside. 
I also found out something that I am still praying isn't true but I do believe is with all my heart... She makes warbling, moaning noises when she tries to bark. She will lift her head up as if to howl and the god awfullest noises come out. She sounds like she has really bad laryngitis. I was told this is often the case with these 'breeder' dogs, that she was probably debarked.... 

What more did these people want? They took away everything from her- her need for love, for security, for kind hands, for companionship, and they took away her voice too? 
My heart is broken for her and I often sit and cry for her and all the others whom have and still are enduring this treatment.... God, how could they?

MooMoo (named by my little daughter) will never have to worry about this again. I have promised her, that no matter what, she will NEVER go back to that life.
She ate for the first time last night since being here. I was so very proud and excited! I have cried for the smallest accomplishments but I know for this little girl these are huge steps.
My youngest son came out while I had her out to potty earlier and he ran around the hedges straight at us. I tried to motion for him to stop and slow down but he rushed at us. MooMoo actually ran to him and jumped up on his legs and wagged her nub like crazy! It was so beautiful to see! When he reached to pet her though, she sunk to the ground and immediately did the 'apologetic' stance. For a moment though we saw the dog she yearns to be!
I want to help her 'heal'. I want her to know what the meaning of 'home' is and for her to know love, real love. Any suggestions/wisdom anyone has to give I would love to hear. I have never had a dog whom was so scared of my hands as mine thought they were the grandest things. I want MooMoo to have that feeling also. 
Thanks for reading my novel. I do apologize for the length but I am having a difficult time here with knowing what she has went through, wanting desperately to help her, and not knowing how to go about doing that.


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## luvmymuts (Apr 23, 2010)

You are already giving her the best care you can by loving her. I have had many rescue dogs similar to yours and the constant love, providing a safe retreat, and patience is what pays off. Just make sure she gets to the vet and always has what she needs. Keep us updated on her progress!


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## cavaliermom (May 28, 2008)

Seveal years ago I rescued a Persian Cat, with an awful background. She had been thrown by the tail - which broke her tail and ripped the flesh on her spine - and she was not taken to the vet. She had ear infections, eye infections and upper respitory infections.

She would scream in terror if you picked her up.

After 2 yers, she finally purred and it has been up hill since then. She is well adjusted, sassy and very happy.

One thing to remember is NOT feel sorry for her - she has you know. And you will make her life better. Work with her daily and show her that her new world is a great place - the people in it are terrific and she need not be afraid.

If you are anything like me, you will find this journey memorable - there are moments with "Zoey" that bring me to tears, even now. She is my heart kitty.

D


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## Papilove (May 20, 2010)

that made me cry, I pray she learns to experience a full life as that 'dog she yearns to be', and bless your heart for trying to give her the place to do so.


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## tgif (Dec 10, 2009)

Oh wow, I know how hard it is to take in and help badly abused Puppy Mill parents. I myself recently adopted one about a year ago. She was 7 (now 8) when we got her she’s a Jack Rat. She had a bad case of ear mites, scars/scabs on her teats and belly. Like she got scraped on something, those took a long time to heal. Several teeth had to be removed because they we rotten and no good to her. She also has a bad hernia from all the litters. We think she’s had about 14 litters of pups. She was very thin and she just had a litter when we got her. She did not like people at all, especially men. She will cower and bite if you were to continue to try and touch her. She does not like her rump touched, she used to be so bad that if you tried to touch her there she would turn and bite you. She doesn’t like her feet handled at all there were cuts and scabs between the paws. And she is very odd about her food. If someone is watching her she wont eat unless its me watching. I can now touch her while she eats and sit next to her. She loves her kennel and hardly ever comes out of it when I’m not there. Though she has learned quickly to go outside she still has some house training issues. She has SA, though not as bad as it used to be. She still has trouble accepting new people, even those she’s lived with for a year now. But she absolutely loves children and puppies. I think she thinks they are puppies. 

Puppy mill dogs are not quick fixes, they take A LOT of time and commitment especially if you wish to truly reverse all the mental damage they have. It took me a year to get her to come around to me, and accept new things without shutting down, which she still does. And she still has issues to overcome. The trick I think is to go slow, don’t force her to do anything if you can. Sometimes I do force my dog to do things because I know for a fact she won’t but that’s my last resort after trying everything I can think of. Good luck with her. They say it takes a special person to rescue and help a mill dog, when I first heard it I didn’t think so, but now I completely believe it. 

Also if you need help check out the national mill dog rescue forum www.milldogrescue.org click on forum. This is where I got my girl from. Feel free to ask me anything. And I also agree do NOT feel sorry for her.


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## Dog_Shrink (Sep 29, 2009)

You have some good advice here but I'd like to add my 2 cents. Taking it slow and exposing her to EVERYTHING in yur house and responding with positive reinforcement is going to be key in getting over her people fears. Having strange and known men just walk by and drop a yummy treat for her will/should help ease her fear of all men, but NO INTERACTION with men. They don't look at her, talk to her (unless it's to utter a VERY soft "good Girl"), and certainly don't try to touch her. Having a guy sit on the floor and toss treats to her is also an option once she starts to feel more comfortable around them.

BUILD HER CONFIDENCE! This one is HUGE. Things like constructive games, instructional play and short session of her control elements (sit, come, down, leave it, give it, stay) in obedience will help her feel more confident in a home environment. Right now she's like an alien who's landed from Mars and is on a new planet. ALL this is new to her and I'm sure scares the heck out of her. All the noises and smells... she's over whelmed and in sensory overload. This is once instance where I would say make sure she has a safe place to retreat to, but not a crate. She will likely not handle being crated well if she was a mill dog and caged her whole life. All you'll do by crating her is set your training back to square one. Situational triggers are one of the the biggest triggers for memory (next to scent). She is definitely a candidate for confinement training in an x-pen or dog safe room. She is also a great candidate for PAPER TRAINING since she WILL NOT hold her bladder givin her past circumstances. She learned to go wherever whenever regardless of suffering or discomfort. This training has to be all about making the RIGHT choices. Paper train her and gradually move them closer to the door, then out the door and you'll be set I bet with in a week. This success will be a HUGE ego booster for her. Trick training is also good. Low pressure high reward situations where she can't fail but only please. 

I like that she responded happily to your son running and playing. See if you can get him to do it again but in a low key manner. No attempts to touch, no yelling, but just giggling, and prancing arund being happy. I bet she'll join in. Having had 3 litters, I'm not surprised that she likes kids. They smell similar to puppies and that was likely the only joy and love she got out of life. Last think I would suggest is lots and lots of walks. She gets familliar with her world, can blow off anxiety and stress, can satisfy her ranging/verminating instincts, and it builds a bond of trust between dog and handler. 

Good Luck.


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