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Lucy is the last remaining Schnauzer puppy mill pup who came into Toronto Animal Services South a couple of weeks ago. She's the one who was sitting the water bowl for protection.

When I went to take her out for a walk and take her photo, she was frightened out of her wits probably now even more so with her siblings gone and being left all alone in her kennel.

I put the leash on her but she wouldn't walk out of her kennel so I picked her up and carried her out into the hallway. I set her down to see if maybe she'd take a few steps but it was like her feet were stuck to the floor. She dared not take a step and stood there trembling.



I picked her up, carried her outside where she went poop and then her legs froze up again and the trembling resumed.



After a few minutes of this anxiety, I picked her up and brought her back in. We sat on a couch for a while and I could feel her relaxing a bit but then the slightest new noise would set her off trembling again.

So here we are with another unwanted victim of a puppy miller who didn't bother to take the time to properly socialize his dogs. This pup is lucky to have been rescued as most millers would just kill the ones they can't sell.




This very gentle girl will eventually come out of her shell but she needs a quiet home with perhaps a calm, friendly older dog to show her how not to be afraid of life.

For adoption information on this dog and other dogs (and cats and other animals), please visit Toronto Animal Services.



7 Comments to “Lucy - Schnauzer Pup”

  1. Anonymous says:

    Little angel. Her new life is ahead of her. She's far too sweet.

  2. Anonymous says:

    Hi Fred - Do you happen to know if they would consider allowing someone to foster this dog so that she can get used to a home environment and perhaps ease her fears until she is adopted?

  3. Fred says:

    Anon, not sure. She's in adoption right now so they might leave her there for a while longer and see if anyone adopts her or if she comes out of her shell with more human contact.

  4. Anonymous says:

    Thanks for your quick response - Was just curious as although I don't live right in Toronto (I'm in Burlington) I would consider it as I have a quiet home and a friendly calm four year old dog that may help her out. Maybe I will keep an eye to see if she gets adopted and if not contact TAS :)

  5. Anonymous says:

    She's not showing up anymore - did someone take her?

  6. Mel says:

    How heartbreaking.

    Hopefully TAS-S can take Anon up on his/her offer. This monkey would flourish in a foster home.

  7. Fred says:

    Anon, looks like it.

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A request

The reason for this blog is to help get specific dogs adopted from TAS but equally important is to try to normalize the idea of shelter dogs being just as good and just as desirable as any other dogs including those which are regularly merchandised by backyard breeders, puppy millers and those few remaining pet store owners who still feel a need to sell live animals. The single greatest stigma shelter animals still face is the belief that shelter animals are substandard animals. Anyone who has had enough experience with shelter animals knows this is untrue but the general public hasn't had the same experiences you've had. They see a nice dog photo in a glossy magazine and too many of them would never think of associating that dog with a dog from a shelter. After all, no one abandons perfectly good dogs, right? Unfortunately, as we all know, perfectly good dogs are abandoned all the time.

The public still too often associates shelter dogs with images of beat up, sick, dirty, severely traumatized animals and while we definitely sometimes see victims such as these, they are certainly not the majority and, regardless, even the most abused animals can very often be saved and made whole again.

Pound Dogs sometimes discusses the sad histories some of the dogs have suffered. For the most part, though, it tries to present the dogs not as victims but as great potential family members. The goal is to raise the profiles of animals in adoption centers so that a potential pet owner sees them as the best choice, not just as the charity choice.

So, here's the favour I'm asking. Whenever you see a dog picture on these pages you think is decent enough, I'd like you to consider sharing it on Facebook or any other social media sites you're using (I know many of you do this already and thank you for that). And when you share it, please mention that the dog in the photo is a shelter dog like so many other shelter dogs waiting for a home. If we can get even five percent of the pet buying public to see shelter dogs differently, to see how beautiful they are and how wonderful they are, and to consider shelter dogs as their first choice for a new family member, we can end the suffering of homeless pets in this country.
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