Yahoo Lifestyle Puppy mill survivor went from ‘death sentence’ to therapy dog
Rosebud, a 5-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, spent most of her life locked in a commercial breeding facility in Ohio. When Sue Gibson brought Rosebud home in July 2023, she had never eaten from a bowl or placed her paws on grass.
“The farmer had her in this little metal cage out on the side of the barn, and it was just pitiful,” said Gibson. “The conditions were terrible.”
Gibson is a longtime volunteer of Furever Friends Dog Rescue of Western New York, an organization that rescues dogs from puppy mills - notorious for mistreating and abusing animals.
She drove about five hours from her home in Orchard Park, N.Y., to Millersburg, Ohio, to rescue Rosebud. Furever Friends regularly rescues dogs from this puppy mill, so Gibson jumped in her car as soon as she heard a female dog was being released - meaning she was no longer valuable to the farm, likely because she had stopped producing puppies.
Gibson saw the appalling conditions Rosebud and other animals lived in.
“They don’t have any names,” Gibson said. “They’re not socialized; they don’t have human contact.”
When Gibson brought Rosebud home, “she was pretty sick; she kept throwing up,” Gibson said, explaining that she took her to the veterinarian, and was told the dog had heart problems. The medication she was prescribed wasn’t working.
“I didn’t think she was going to make it,” said Gibson.
She got a second opinion from another vet, who told her the initial diagnosis was wrong.
“He said it was digestive-related and not heart-related,” Gibson said.
Rosebud was prescribed a new medication, and since starting it, she’s been completely fine. Since the day she picked Rosebud up, Gibson said, she has had a warm and gentle personality - even when she was sick.
Many puppy mill survivors have enduring psychological trauma and behavioral issues after leaving the breeding facilities. But Rosebud is an unusual case, Gibson said.
“She’s very tender and sweet and calm,” said Gibson, who has adopted two other puppy mill survivors in the past. “She’s like an old soul.”
Given Rosebud’s tranquil and outgoing nature, Gibson decided she would be a perfect therapy dog. She signed her up as a volunteer visiting nursing homes, group homes, hospices, schools and other places as part of the Paws for Love program run by the SPCA Serving Erie County, N.Y.
“She never lost her spirit from being in the puppy mill,” Gibson said. “That’s why I wanted her to spread her love to others.”
Since the program started more than two decades ago, it's been a big success.
“You see instant feedback,” said Gina Lattuca, communications officer for the organization. “You see those moments of healing and those moments of comfort instantly.”
Rosebud enrolled in the program - which has hundreds of human and animal volunteers (including a duck and a bird) - about five months ago.
Given Rosebud’s difficult beginning, Gibson said, her dog’s participation in the program felt full circle.
“She went from a death sentence to being a therapy dog for the SPCA,” said Gibson. “Her story, from what she was to what she is now, it’s pretty incredible.”
Every few weeks, Rosebud visits a different facility. She’s been to the local YMCA to visit patients with dementia, an elementary school, several nursing homes and offices. Gibson said people can’t get enough of Rosebud and the other pups in the program.
“You can just see it on their faces when the dogs come in. Their bodies just relax, they smile. It’s very calming for the person - no matter if it’s a senior citizen or a child or a business professional that’s taking time out of their workday to just sit and take a break,” she said. “To pet her is so therapeutic. She is so soft; she just melts in your lap.”
Plus, in addition to providing comfort to people, Rosebud and other pets in the program have their resilience on display.
“She is a role model for forgiveness,” said Lattuca. “This dog was able to forgive human beings for whatever she experienced.”
Rosebud seems to enjoy herself at the visits as much as the people she’s seeing.
“She loves to be touched and loves the attention,” Gibson said. “Her tail just keeps wagging.”
Pets go through an approval process to join the program, Lattuca said, explaining that they look for animals who are on the calmer side. They’ll consider a pet’s personality when deciding which assignments they’ll get.
“It’s very specific to the animal,” said Lattuca, adding that there are about 350 human volunteers in the program, many of whom have more than one pet. There are Paws for Love visits every day.
“When you can throw your arms around a dog in the middle of some of the saddest moments of your life, I don’t think we can even begin to understand the healing properties of that,” Lattuca said.
Animal owners also reap the benefits.
“Watching how their animals are enhancing other lives is enhancing their lives,” Lattuca said.
Gibson knows this firsthand.
“There is nothing better,” she said.
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