Angela [Dog in the Back room]

Dear Angela:

This is Tasha here….

I am now on the outside, but I can hear you and I pray that your wishes come true like mine have. I, too, spent long years in a cage having puppies that they always took away. I was named Natasha because I was rescued by an angel on Christmas Eve exactly three years ago, but my forever family calls me Tasha.

I was let go because I didn’t have puppies the last time. It turns out that I had a tumor that prevented this from happening. But I also had multiple breast tumors from having so many puppies, which are very common when dogs are bred too much. My lumps turned out to be breast cancer and I ended up having extensive operations to remove these and the surrounding skin. I lost so much skin on my tummy that it made it hard for me to walk. They said that I had congenital problems with my knees, which I almost certainly passed on to my puppies. My right back leg was almost lame, from arthritis, muscle and nerve damage. They later determined that I had rickets from poor nutrition and suffered a traumatic tendon rupture of my right knee, which was painful and required another operation.

My Mama says that all of these problems are the direct result of inappropriate breeding practices and lack of responsible care. It has taken me a long time to recover physically and to trust again, and sometimes I still have bad nightmares about the way it used to be. But I now have a family and home, where I am loved and safe. I do so hope you will find this too. Mama says that lots more people need to know about the problems of puppy mills and become involved in the solution. I sure hope that anyone reading this will join us at the 2nd annual Bark Heard Around The World www.barkaroundtheworld.com.

Love,

Tasha