Faces of a Puppy Mill

"Polar Bear"

Hello, my name is "Polar Bear" and I'm one of the puppies which was rescued from the Tarpon Springs puppy mill back in April. My foster family named me Polar Bear because of my white fur and my little black eyes and black nose. I'm very adorable looking, don't you think? I may be cute on the outside, but the inside doesn't look so good. Apparently I was for sale at the time of the rescue, but I'm really sick with a bad heart so the puppy mill owner was not able to get a travel certificate, and she wasn't able to ship me to a lady in California. That's why I was still at the puppy mill when Suncoast Animal League came to rescue all my doggie friends.

The vet who examined me after the rescue said I have a "grade 5" heart murmur (5 out of 5...the worst possible), which means my heart valves have some thickening and the blood isn't flowing properly. My heart condition is a birth defect I was born with, and is due to improper breeding by a person who is motivated only by money. She didn't care about the health of my parents or that they were sick and shouldn't have been bred. She just wanted my parents to have lots of babies that she could sell. As I grow older, I will probably need daily medication to take the strain off my heart, as well as periodic testing to monitor the progression of my heart disease.

The vet said they don't know how much time I have, but I'm making the most of every day. At my foster parents' house they're teaching me "the ropes." I'm learning how to walk on a leash and we are working on my potty training. I get along with everyone in the house and love playing with the other dogs and cats. My favorite friend is a cat named Bumble. We chase each other around the house, and play hide and seek. She hides and I seek. But our game never lasts very long because I get tired easily, and then I have to take a long nap to regain my energy.

Taking proper care of me is a lot of work, but lucky for me, my foster mom works for a vet and she makes sure I get the care I really need. She gets me to all my vet appointments and I'm doing much better than I ever would have in that puppy mill I came from. My foster parents are really awesome!

Thanks to the good people at Suncoast Animal League, I have a second chance at a dog's life, even if it's only for a short time.

"Polar Bear"
Tarpon Springs Rescue Puppy