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Blind Shih Tzu, Puppy Mill Survivor Overcomes Rough Start

Thursday, January 24, 2013 - 12:15pm
Blind Shih Tzu, Puppy Mill Survivor Overcomes Rough Start

If ever there was a dog whose prospects looked grim, it was Carson the Shih Tzu. Two years ago, when the three-year-old breeding dog was rescued from a puppy mill in central Minnesota, Carson’s face and underweight body were completely overwhelmed by huge mats of hair, urine and feces. When his rescuers bathed him, they discovered that his eyes had been eaten away by infection. There was nothing left to save: His eye sockets were cleaned out and his lids sewn shut.

Jessica Danielson was on Petfinder.com seeking a companion for her senior pooch Diesel, and although she wasn’t looking for a challenge, she was drawn to Carson’s posting. “I knew I could give him everything he needed. God put him right there and said ‘This is the one. He needs you.’ When I called the rescue to set up a meeting, Carson’s foster mom almost started crying because she thought he’d never find a home.”

“It took almost a year before he would trust me enough to cuddle me, kiss my face, and just feel safe enough to wander the house,” remembers Jessica. In spite of his rough start, Carson is now a very loving and affectionate boy who has taught his new mom, in her words, about “survival, trust, and the real meaning of love!”

Carson’s impact on Jessica doesn’t end there. Now in love with the breed, she went on to adopt two more rescued Shih Tzus—Ernie and Mr. Wiggles—and became a volunteer foster mom for special-needs dogs through Ruff Start Rescue.

Did you adopt a puppy mill dog? Tell us your story by emailing dogstory@aspca.org. And remember, never buy a puppy in a pet store or online—they almost always come from puppy mills. While a pet store puppy may be hard to resist, purchasing one dooms his parents, dogs like Carson, to lives of cruelty, filth and neglect.

Visit NoPetStorePuppies.com to learn more and take the pledge not to buy anything at pet stores or on websites that sell puppies.

Comments

This is so amazing to read! Carson is an excellent example of the destruction and pain that puppy mills bring to this world. Although it took patience and persistence on my part to show Carson not all humans are bad;it was worth it to see him play with his new brothers, run across the yard, and kiss my face. He deserved to be saved, loved, happy, and healthy!

I think God placed you in the right place at the right time. Continue to let Carson know and feel how much you love him and you'll be blessed tenfold.

God bless you and that sweet baby! I don't understand how people can do that to Lil animals! Makes me so irate ! I am so glad in my heart to really know there are Angels out there like you ! May God always bless you for helping the innocent loving creatures he made For us to love & care for! We have 2 Shih Tzu' s lost 1 of ours a yr ago that was 18 yrs old and had dementia the last 6-7 yrs of his life, he gave me strength And everything I needed to survive cancer, chemo, & radiation! He was my baby boy, we still have a 12 yr old reg size one, we love him then we had a friend that needed us to Take one she had and she is a imperial Shih Tzu! They are the light of mine & my husbands lives! Thank you for being such a caring and loving person!

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Why is there not 1 Shelter in this challenge from New York? Makes absolutely no sense. These People work hard and take in hundreds of thousands of animals - it is disgraceful that not one rescue organization has been included from NYC or even NY State

Why is there not 1 Shelter in this challenge from New York? Makes absolutely no sense. These People work hard and take in hundreds of thousands of animals - it is disgraceful that not one rescue organization has been included from NYC or even NY State

Why is there not 1 Shelter in this challenge from New York? Makes absolutely no sense. These People work hard and take in hundreds of thousands of animals - it is disgraceful that not one rescue organization has been included from NYC or even NY State

What a wonderful story about Carson. You are to be commended for the generous love you have given him. I was very touched to find someone who would rescue this darling dog and give him the love he had been deprived of. You are a wonderful person. Years ago, my mother's neighbor had 2 Poodles. This neighbor never had these Poodles groomed, nor et them in the house. They were left out in the cold in the winter. One night they came home and accidentally hit the black Poodle and instead of taking him to the vet, they threw him alive in my mother's garbage can where he suffocated and died. My mother thought the white Poodle would eventually come to the same fate, so my sister dognapped him and I took him into my home, even though I had 3 other dogs. We named him Pierre. I took him to the vet and had him groomed and felt so sorry for that darling dog because he had cockle burrs on every part of his body and his fur was so long that it covered his eyes, nose and mouth. He was terribly malnourished too. The vet said he had never seen anything like it. It took several months before he would sit on our lap and let us pet him. When you would try to love him, he would run under the kitchen table and shake like he was petrified of anyone. He was such a lovable dog. I'm glad to learn that there are people in this world who, like me, will rescue these neglected animals. They deserve all the love they can get. Again, you are a wonderful person for rescuing Carson and other animals. God bless you for your many kindnesses.

You are a tremendous hero to animals.... and to me! I was paralyzed reading your story and my heart broken for the poor black poodle... The poodle you adopted (and many hurrahs for taking him!!!!!) is soooo blessed to have you and your family! You are amazing and wonderful... thanks so much! Give your baby a huge hug from me!!

Just wondering why no one reported these people to someone that could have stopped the abuse? And dumping a dog like they did would surely have meant criminal charges against them! While I commend your rescue (even though it was illegal), I wonder why no one did anything before it got to this action.

This woman who ran the mill was a USDA licensed breeding facility. She was sighted by them, but canceled her licence so they could not do anything about it. It is not against the law to rescue a dog either when that dog is willingly given up by the owner.

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Oh now that is something that is worth doing. There are always kids who need their bikes fixes and they are right, most of them don't have dads at home to fix the bikes for them. Great story.

Did Pierre ever open up and become happy? I was just wondering. Your mother should have called the police because it is against the law to treat animals like this. Those people belong in jail.

THANK YOU FOR BEING WHO YOU ARE AND ALL THAT YOU HAVE DONE !!!

I hope you told the authorities about what they did to that poor poodle.

why didnt you or your mom get the dog out of the garbage to take them to the vet.,and call the police.

I mean before the black poodle died.

I will never understand why people take on animals only to abuse or neglect them. If they want to keep them outside and never care for them, what is the point? Why don't they just avoid having "pets"!

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Let me tell you, as soon as I started reading the story about Carson I started crying. My heart just breaks to read things like this. My first schitzu, Sasha, I had for almost 16 yrs and had to put her down. Schitzu's are the most loving, sweet-tempered, playful dogs you could ask for...and how ANYONE could do something like this is beyond me. I was ready to find out if Carson needed a home and would have taken him in a second..but reading further saw that a wonderful person like you Jessica took him and gave him the loving home he deserved. God put you there at the right time Jessica. Thank you for your compassion, and going further in adopting more. I pray you and Carson have many good years together. God bless you. P.S. - I do have another schitzu now name Jaycee....and have adopted two other dogs from animal shelters. Everyone should look there...so many beautiful, loving dogs need good homes.

God bless you for seeing the value of this little guy. I volunteer at the Humane Society and so often witness the abuse of puppy mills, dog fighting kennels and hoarding situations. It's so wonderful when we see the happy outcome of a person's devotion to giving a second chance to one of these special dogs knowing how much work and love it took.

I have a male shih tzu and I am so very impressed with the story about carson.If there is anything I could do to help, I would

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What wonderful work for Jessica to be involved in! It breaks my heart to read these stories because I want all puppy mills to be shut down and made illegal, but at least there are people out there to help the victims!

This story brought tears to my eyes. Very sweet. I applaud Carson's Mom...and am so relieved for Carson.

I just want to echo all the comments made about this precious dog. I am happy that there are loving people out there who rescue these poor animals.

We need more people like you in the world, Carson's mom. I'm tearing up writing this. My mother recently lost her dog, one whom I know came from a puppy mill and I told her, as did her bf - DON'T get a dog from the puppy shop! They are puppy mill dogs, and there are plenty of dogs in shelters who are looking for loving homes. Althought I do feel bad for the dogs in the shops - they will be bought at a point, I just won't be the one to do it! Yay for Carson and his new family - what a little angel :)

We all say don't buy a puppy from a pet store. But let's go further. What do you think happens to the "puppies" that grow up in the pet store and are not adopted by 12 wks, 16 wks, 6 months?

I would imagine they would go to the local rescue,or reduced in price. The petstore, in turn, may decide not to purchase dogs in the future as they are not profittable. The puppymills would eventually be put out of business. What an ideal world that would be :) Most pet stores around here work with the humane society and other rescues to adopt out dogs and cats. I support them wholeheartedly with all food/supplies needed for my 6 furry babies. I will not buy anything from a pet store that sells animals other than rescue.

pity he did not expected the mini ateroide which went on russia doing all that damage! By the way: great!

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