Monday morning joy: Puppy mill rescues safe
Earlier this month, 16 dogs, including 1 puppy, arrived at the Naples shelter needing more love and joy than they were capable of returning.
A chestnut-colored bloodhound mix vaulted into Matt Miller’s lap. Some people would wince at the sloppy tongue of a 3-month-old pup, but Miller smiled through the slobber.
“Cats don’t do this,” Miller said, between licks.
There are dog people and then there is Matt Miller, who has a reputation of inhabiting canine traits. As a kid, he’d eat his Cheerios as if slurping from a dish. He’d tie himself to the fence and bark. His grandpa called him "Mad Dog."
Miller is a dog trainer at The Humane Society Naples. Last week, he soaked up puppy love before the bloodhound mix left the shelter for his new home. Puppies are reliable joy-givers.
“I’ve never seen anybody in a room with puppies that looks upset or thought about anything else other than being in the moment and living there with those puppies,” Miller said. “All the worries kind of go away.”
When the humane society takes puppies to nursing homes, residents' faces brighten.
“People don’t know what day it is or who their family is but they know that Thursday at 11 o’clock, they know there’s supposed to be a puppy there,” Miller said.
But becoming a puppy's parent is a full-time gig. The good news is you can volunteer to be a puppy lover, or cat fan for that matter, at the humane society.
Earlier this month, 16 dogs, including 1 puppy, arrived at the Naples shelter needing more love and joy than they were capable of returning. The arrivals were among nearly 300 dogs, mostly of small breeds, rescued from filthy, deplorable conditions in an Arkansas puppy mill. Conditions were so cramped some dogs lost use of their limbs, staff said.
(The Humane Society of the United States, which received a tip that led to the rescue, said Arkansas is a hotbed for puppy mills because of lax regulations.)
Some of the rescued dogs are available for adoption or soon will be.
“Some of them have not been touched by people and cringe when you touch them. They are starting to warm up very quickly,” Miller said. “It’s very rewarding to see people come and accept those dog’s faults and see that they aren’t your normal every day dog that jumps into your lap and gives you kisses. With enough time, [the dogs] will love them just like any other dog.”