Second Puppy Mill Survivor Dog Adopted Through Berkeley Heights Rescue

Two weeks after from an Atlanta puppy mill and put into a dog hospice in New Jersey, her daughter, Doll, was saved, too.

Doll, a 13-year Chihuahua, was brought up to Berkeley Heights today to be adopted by Joann Mullen, a Hopewell resident, who also took China in. This way the dogs could be together, she said.

Mullen has set up a dog hospice in her home, and after taking China in, she wanted to save the rest of her family.

Gail Ryan, a volunteer with Home for Good Dog Rescue, said Doll is quite active despite years of neglect in a Georgia puppy mill. Like her mother, she was forced to reproduce despite a lack of food and sanitary conditions.

If Mullen didn't take her in, Doll would have been euthanized. The rescue organized the two-day transport from Georgia to New Jersey so she could be with her mom.

"As you can see, her bottom jaw is nearly gone," Ryan said. "Unfortunately, this is the result of losing her teeth, which was caused by years of severe neglect." 

Her conditions are common in puppy mills where dogs are bred for sale, Ryan said. "There is no end to the abuse," she said at China's adoption, pointing to pictures of cramped, stacked cages with dead dogs among the live ones.

Puppy mills, which are monitored by the United States Department of Agriculture, have 70 inspectors to check 4,500 facilities in the country.

The regulation is that a cage needs to be six inches longer and six inches heigher than the dog so he or she can move. In some mills, cages are stacked so urine drips down from the top cages to the bottom, Ryan said.

The rescue has a network of 40 foster homes throughout the area who take dogs into their home until an adopter can bring them home. This way, the dogs get out of their cage and interact with people.

The rescuse gets a shipment of dogs from across the country - many from puppy mills - every few weeks.