Report #1
Printed with Permission

Well guys, It's been a long, long day.  No words could possibly convey the emotions that have manifested into my soul.  Though I am completely exausted, I am going to try to the best of my ability to describe what happened today.  It will most likely be long, but please read, I feel EVERYONE needs to hear this.

A friend (one of my rescue partners) and I headed out early this morning.  We arrived at the store where a table was set up by the H.S. to take applications from people who wanted to "adopt" a dog.  They were allowing 4 cars at a time, who were escorted by a wonderful volunteer, to go to the puppy mill site.  They allowed us at the front of the line which saved us possibly hours of waiting for our turn to go.  The ladies from HS were very nice, very tired, and very, very sad about the whole ordeal.

We followed the escort to the site where the dogs were.  The house is hidden, in the middle of nowhere....a cowpath through creeks and mud and rock about 2 miles long was the road to their house.  There were no other houses around.  We pulled into the driveway.  The first thing I saw were dozens and dozens of starving horses in a "pasture' off to the left.  When we approached the house, I noticed about 15 dogs tied to trees with chains in the front yard.  They all seemed to have a litter of puppies beside them.  To the left of the house were rows and rows of cages of small breeds cramed 2,3, or 4 dogs per cage....sitting in their own waste, scared to death.   Behind the house was a least 30 dog houses or huts that were set up to house even more of the little dogs.   They were nasty.  There was also an old broken down trailor...I was told NOT to look in there if I cared anything at all about my own sanity.  As I scanned the property for the labs and goldens I was told to follow the escort, he would take us to them.  We followed a path behind the house, up a huge hill of mud for about 1/2 mile...out into the woods (thank God for 4 wheel drive). There at the top of the hill, completely out of site from the house, were more "kennels"...about 30 or more 5 x 5.  All the dogs were all standing in about 5 inches of mud mixed in with their own waste.  It stunk to the high heavens.  The dogs were hard to catch because they were so afraid.  None of them looked too thin, but none of them had water, and to be honest, I don't know how water could have ever been given to them seeing as how they were on top of a mountain, 1/2 mile away from the house.  The escort then pointed us in the direction of MORE dogs and he headed back down the hill.  We ventured about a thousand yards even futher from the house and found about another 30 dogs.  We were warned NOT to look down into the valleys and ditches..dead animals lay everywhere....horses, dogs, puppies...coyotes had also had their feast on several of the puppies on the hill and we were told that bones and animal parts were everywhere.  The smell was outrageous.  These dogs were so timid that we had to actually carry them to the car to put them in crates.  The dogs were covered in mud and waste, and so were we.  There were several moments when I honestly thought I was going to lose it....last nights dinner and this morning's cereal.

On our first trip we brought back 3 Golden Retrievers and the only Labrador who was there.  A yellow male, about 6 months old.   I am waiting for Golden Retriever rescue to come back and take the goldens..one of who is pregnant. I cannot even give an estimate on all the dogs I saw who were pregnant, and I certainly couldn't guess on how many litters of puppies I saw.  They took pictures of all the dogs with I.D. cards and sent us on our way.

We had to ride home with all the windows down to air out the car and keep us from gagging.  When we got home, we took the dogs out of the crates one at a time.  We bathed them in Tide, actually had to scrub the mud and waste off of them and dried them off.  One of the goldens had hair matted down so badly that I had to give him a "haircut".  The dogs were so sweet.   They just sat there, still as could be while we bathed them.  They were scared to death.   After they were all bathed, I moved my rescues out of the big kennel and put them in the smaller ones.  My rescues are crammed in kennels now, but they'll get over it.   The puppy mill dogs did not know what to think of  the big area set for them to walk around...with nice, small, clean rock under their feet rather than mud and poop.  We gave them buckets full of fresh water and all the food they could stand to eat.  We changed our shoes, scrubbed out the crates, changed our clothes, and headed back out again.  On our second trip back to the mill, we were allowed to go there without an escort.  We went back because there was one more golden retriever who we could not catch on our first trip.  We also got out 7 Skipperkees and a friend took them back to Knoxville with her to the Skipperkee rescue.  The animal control officers had to catch the other golden with a live trap.  It was then that we also found her one remaining puppy.  Who knows what happened to the remainder of her litter.....they were part of the ones who were on the hill.

So, off we went again...with an 8 week old golden pup, the puppy's mother, and 7 Skipperkees.

The lady who was running the puppy mill came out briefly to watch.  She totally gave me the creeps.  She was probably in her 40's, had short dark hair, a mean look on her face, and a patch on her right eye.  She is being forced to bring back the 150 dogs that she had moved off the property before inspection could occur.  She was tipped off that the HS had a warrent to search her property, so she took out as many dogs as she could.  Since they had refused to feed the dogs, the HS was doing all the feeding and slowly getting cages cleaned out.  They finally got all the dogs that were on top of the hill down to the bottom where they could be observed and "adopted".

People came from all over this weekend to help out with the dogs.  Many came to take home a dog and some came just to help.  The placement of dogs will not be considered permanant until the court case is settled. 

What you have read is only a small sample of all the things that happened.  There is no possible way I could ever truly describe it to you.  The disgust, the filth, the abuse and neglect...it is all much more than I myself have even absorbed at this point.   That woman's face will forever haunt me...her smirkish grin as if to say.."you idiots, I'm just gonna do it again."

Please. Everyone.  Make an effort to educate just one person today or tomorrow or the next day.  Encourage that person to tell one person.  Until everyone stops buying the puppies at pet stores, it will never end.  Until everyone passes by the pet stores who sell these puppies it will never end. Don't buy dog toys there, don't buy food there, don't even buy a collar or leash there.  Until they are boy cotted, this will never, ever end....for the one puppy mill  raided today is only proof that many, many more still stand.

I know we offer prayers to many dogs on this board, so if all of you don't mind, say a prayer for the 350 or more dogs whose lives are at great risk...due to human greed.   Now, I think I'll retire for the night.

Report #2
Printed with Permission

I appreciate all the thank you's and the thoughts from all over the country.  We are back, and although we are tired and sore from yesterday, we are SO glad we went.   Name, Name, Name and I would love it if you could post this so that people who are interested can get a full picture of what is going on in Lyles, TN.  Dara has some pictures as well and I will forward them when I get them developed later today.

We arrived at about 9:00 am and the Hickman Humane Society was on site.  These people are amazing!  With no experience with puppy mills, they pulled together a way to get these animals out of the appalling conditions, and get them somewhere clean and safe.   The Hickman Humane Society has a handful of foster homes and volunteers.  They really had no where to put these animals, but determined not to leave them in the filth they were living, they put out a call to arms to their community.  I have never seen such a large response from the general public in a rescue situation.  I commend all those folks who braved the cold, wet weather to drive out in the middle of nowhere to take unsocialized, terrified, filthy animals.  

Contrary to what I have read on the internet, most these people knew that they were not getting the perfect family pet.  A 14 year old girl was standing there holding a Pomerainian that was doing everything it could to bite her.
She had leather gloves on (she came prepared).  She scruffed the little thing and when a volunteer asked her if she still wanted her, the girl replied "He's just scared, he'll be ok, of course I still want him." 

All of the dogs were placed on a foster basis.  Each are assigned a number, they were photographed, and the new fosters are required to fill out an application form.  In addition, the foster assume all financial responsibility for these animals while in their care (there may be some reimbursement available once the case is settled).  We had one Schipperke go into labor as she was being processed.

The conditions in this place were disgusting.  We all came in old clothes and boots, and by the end of the day had dog poop up to our necks, literally!  We had to stop on the way home to buy new clothes!  We had stopped on the way and brought Dog food, a first aid kit, bleach, and anything else we thought would be needed.  Good thing.   The owner stopped feeding and watering the dogs.  That is what we did first.   Then we started catching loose dogs (we caught most of them).  Then we went to feed the dogs that were hidden in the woods.

There was a female golden retreiver running loose, no way to catch her (turns out she had puppies and we eventually got her and the remaining pup).  There were 2 pens of huskys, 2 pens of schnauzers, a pen of Samoyeds, a pen with a non-descript white dog, a pen of collies, and about 4 or 5 empty pens.  This is in addition to pen after pen of pomeranian, schipperke, and other small dogs about halfway up to see the larger breeds.

We also found numerous dog skulls, horse skeletons in various state of decay, goat skulls, and general filth and carnage.  There were an unknown number of cats in the barn (where we were not allowed to go).  A horse had died that morning in the pasture, and the vultures were circling when we got there.

Overall, this place was a disgusting mess.  Dogs were covered in their own feces, and so were we.  Some were unsocialized, terrified fear biters.  Others were just as filthy and terrified, but somewhere in their life had had human contact and remembered what a kind hand felt like.  This is just my opinion, but I think many of these dogs were stolen and then brought to this place to breed.  I went into the chow pen (she only had 2 chows).  The little red female, although scared to death, came up to me and wagged her tail.  I was able to pick her up (she is pregnant by the way) and get her into a crate. Later I had her out and was working with her, and she layed her head in my lap.  I cried.  That dog knew love once, and this was the closet thing she had to it in years.

I think I can speak for all of us  when I say that this was the single most heart- wrenching experience in my life.  BUT, aside from being tired, stinky, and filthy; I came away form there knowing that these people who volunteered their time, vehicles, homes, and love do care about the dogs. And, the dogs were out of the horrors of that place and somewhere were they would at least have room to move, good food and water, and a soft place to sleep.

My heartfelt thanks to all the people we met yesterday.  Your kindness has forever touched me, and I will never forget the brief time I knew you.  And to all the animals, good luck, you will forever have a place in my heart.

A Special Thank You

On behalf of the Hickman Humane Society(HHS) Board of Directors and all
the animals that are benefiting directly and indirectly-from our hard
work and your letters, comments, donations and love-I thank you. Your
kind and unselfish giving of your voices, or should I say finger tips,
has made dealing with this atrocious matter easier for the 5-7 people
who are working directly-every day since Dec. 17th- with the raid,
investigation, placing of animals in foster care, numerous trips to the
vets office, returning thousands of phone calls and the following-up on
the 255 placed in foster care.

I am just now getting around to reading the comments on the internet and
I can honestly say my heart is touched by your genuine kindness. This
has been a very difficult situation for everyone involved. Personally,
last night was the first night that I haven't had nightmares about that
horrible place and the deplorable conditions these precious animals were
subjected to. The HHS thanks you for your involvement and for getting
the word out to the public, which is something we haven't had enough
hands to completely do. I apologize for not saying thank you earlier
but, I hope you'll understand about our delay due to the amount of all-
consuming work that goes into breaking up and fighting to put out of
business a puppy mill/collector.

All monies sent to HHS will be used to provide treatment, medical care,
purchase supplies and maintain foster care for many rescued animals,
unless specofied otherwise. We are touched by the generous giving we are
witnessing. Even $1 can make a difference. I almost cried today when I
opened the mail and a lady had sent a coupon for a free bag of dog food
that she had received because she didn't have the money to send a
donation. It is that type of sincerity that keeps us going.
---Paragraph edited for legal reasons---
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! 

I am so proud to be a part of this all volunteer organization called the
Hickman Humane Society. We really have a great group of dedicated
people. They never cease to amaze me because we always seem to get so
much done with so few people. Not only are they my associates but they
have become very dear friends. We are equally as proud to have people
like you supporting us and our work. And we are thankful for the work
that all of you are doing.

Your various gifts and efforts are an affirmation of the kindness and
humanity that still exists in our society today. God Bless.

Sincerely,
Mary Sexton
HHS president

Read on if you would like to know a little bit about us:

The Hickman Humane Society, Inc. is a not for profit organization and is
dedicated to helping aniamls in Hickamn County (population about 16,000
county wide). HHS was formed by a group of concerned animal lovers in
1996. Since it's inception we have accomplished a great deal. We were
incorporated by the state of TN, we are registered in the county and are
approved for donation solicitation by the state. The IRS officially
granted our 501(c3) nonprofit status in December of 1996. We have been
diligently working toward raising money to help the animals in the
county and to build a much needed shelter. 35% of all funds raised from
fundraisers goes directly into our shelter account (we had about $17,000
saved and need about $50,000) and the remaining 65% is divided among or
low cost spay/neuter program, foster care program, animal emergency
care, education in the schools and for the county and other animal
related projects. We have helped over 250 aniamls get spayed/neutered at
a lower cost since November 1996. We have also helped close to 100
abandoned animals find permanent loving homes and get medical
treatment-not counting the 255 taken from the puppy mill.

As you can read we have accomplished a great deal, but so much more must
be done. To continue our work we need help from people who care about
animals, as you do, who are willing to support us and even join us in
our struggle. Thank you for for your support and time. You have the
power to make all the difference in the world for the animals.

Sincerely, HHS Board of Directors
P.O. Box 183 Centerville , TN 37033

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