Dawn Kairns and Maggie the Dog: Honoring Main Line Animal Rescue During Puppy Mill Action Week

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Honoring Main Line Animal Rescue During Puppy Mill Action Week

In honor of Puppy Mill Action week, I'd like to place Mainline Animal Rescue (MLAR) in Pennsylvania in the spotlight. Both puppy mill awareness/rescue and Mainline Animal Rescue are near and dear to my heart. I donate 10% of my book royalties to MLAR. Why to MLAR? It was MLAR who posted a billboard where Oprah Winfrey and her producers couldn't miss it. It said, "Oprah, please do a show on puppy mills; the dogs need you!" And Oprah did! (Thank you, Oprah!)

There are so many worthwhile and wonderful organizations dedicated to puppy mill awareness, and I want to thank each and every one of you for your incredible labor of love. I am particularly grateful to Mainline Animal Rescue for creatively making sure that what happens to dogs in puppy mills was brought to millions of us in our living rooms on the Oprah show, making more people aware, including myself, of the deplorable conditions and treatment of puppy mill dogs. It was the most watched Oprah show ever!

The following is taken & re-arranged from the Main Line Animal Rescue website

Who is MLAR?

About Us

"We are leading the fight to improve conditions for thousands of dogs in Pennsylvania's Puppy Mills by educating the public to the horrors of our state's puppy factories. Our Anti-Puppy Mill Billboards are now educating drivers along the Pennsylvania Turnpike and we also placed one outside St. Louis in Missouri, a state that harbors more Puppy Mills than any other state in the country. By raising public awareness to the plight of Puppy Mill dogs, we hope to inspire the changes needed to end their suffering.

It is also true that MLAR rescues and places many dogs from some of the worst Puppy Mills in Pennsylvania. We also accept pets from private surrenders and re-home strays. But the majority of our animals come to us from other Rescues or SPCA’s. We take them when other shelters become too overcrowded or if they have a dog or cat that requires special veterinary care and cannot afford their treatment.

... Every year, our organization rescues and finds homes for hundreds of unwanted companion animals. All of our dogs and cats are spayed or neutered prior to placement and receive any and all necessary medical care. MLAR is also proud to be able to help so many animals with special needs. And once an animal passes through our adoption programs, we are responsible for them for life. In fact, we insist that if for any reason the adoptive family cannot keep their pet, he or she must be returned to us for re-homing."

As Main Line Animal Rescue approaches its twelve year anniversary, we look back with warm remembrances of the thousands of animals we have been able to help, both in our shelters and ones whose lives we have touched through advocacy. And we look ahead with excitement to the many opportunities offered to our volunteers. The work is difficult but MLAR can't help but renew it's commitment to our four-legged (and some three-legged) friends every time we look into their eyes."

Links on MLAR site to learn more about puppy mills:

Puppy Mills: http://www.mainlinerescue.com/puppy-mills/factory-farming-dogs