Saturday a plane landed in Grand Rapids with more the 130 dogs aboard, rescued from overstocked commercial breeders in Missouri, Kansas and Ohio by the National Mill Dog Rescue and the BISSELL Pet Foundation.
“We did get a mix of male and female dogs. Some of them were definitely used as breeders – mama dogs – but I would say mostly small to medium dogs. Some are purebred and some are mixed breed.”
Winni Walsh is with the Humane Society of West Michigan, one of 5 shelters in West Michigan caring for the dogs, many of which she says are severely under socialized, with behavioral and medical issues.
The BISSELL Pet Foundation has rescued 1000 dogs this year alone, says founder Cathy Bissell, adding it may seem counter-productive to bring more dogs into already crowded shelters, but:
“These are highly adoptable pets. They are puppy mill pets. They’re very expensive if you’re buying them at the pet store but they’re not going to be expensive at the shelter.”
And often people who come in thinking they want a specific dog surprise themselves by taking home a different one.
“These little cuties that are highly adoptable bring you in and they help relieve the population of the shelter. This happens all the time. We know this.”
Eleven organizations across Michigan are helping BISSELL with the mission.
