Community Corner

Puppy Mill Dogs To Arrive at Suncoast Animal League

Roughly 50 puppy mill dogs being rescued from the Florida panhandle are en route or already arrived to Palm Harbor.

Roughly 50 puppy mill dogs being rescued from the Florida panhandle are en route or already arrived to Palm Harbor on Wednesday.

Suncoast Animal League alerted newsletter followers Tuesday afternoon of the need for foster families for 23 dogs arriving from Tallahassee Sept. 10. However, while the Suncoast Animal League volunteers were picking them up from an animal services facility, they learned of 66 more puppy mill poodle mixes that were overwhelming the county shelter.

"Even as we have 23 dogs en route at the moment, how can we say no to helping these sixty-six?" the Suncoast Animal League email blast said.

So Suncoast Animal League and VIP Rescue of Florida each accepted between 25 and 30 of the overflow designer breed mixes (poodle-Shih Tzus and poodle-Malteses), due to arrive in Palm Harbor late Wednesday, Sept. 11.

The first round of 23 dogs that arrived late Sept. 10 are being bathed, vetted and placed in foster homes. Suncoast Animal League hopes to have them spayed or neutered and eligible for adoption within days.

"Then comes the really tricky part," the Suncoast Animal League email blast said of the remaining 25-30 dogs on their way Wednesday.

Suncoast Animal League put an urgent call out for volunteers:

"As with other puppy mill rescues, we know a lot of the dogs will have social issues since they have likely received little or no positive interaction with people. They will need patient caretakers to help them overcome their fears and to learn to love and be happy pets.

"As you are wondering to yourself, 'Where are they going to go?' we can only answer that we are working on that now. ... Once the puppy mill dogs are stabilized, we will ask for foster homes."

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Want to Help?

  • Call: 727-786-1330 
  • Email: Info@suncoastanimalleague.org or Foster@suncoastanimalleague.org 


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