From Foster: Izzy is such a sweet and loving girl, not to mention smart and beautiful. We have been fostering her for only two days since her arrival and she has already learned the dog door and stairs. She stayed in a closed crate on the first night with a dog bed and did not have an accident and I did not hear a peep. On the second night, I left the crate open and put up gates so she could not get to the carpeted areas. I let her roam my kitchen and front room area. To my surprise, no accidents! She may have used the dog door in the night. On night 3, I let her outside at 11pm and let her roam the house during the night. She slept next to my bed on a dog bed. No accidents! 

She loves to be outside basking in the sun during the day. 

She get along great with my 4 dogs. They are ages 2-8 and we have 3 males and one female. If they do not want her near, they let her know and she takes the hint. She has learned alot from following their lead and will do what they do. She has played with and chased my 2 outgoing male dogs. She is small enough that she walks under 2 of my dogs. She will learn boundaries over time. 

She loves to lean in to her humans for head scratches and pets. She can be shy with her humans but that doesnt stop her from resting her head on you and getting attention and love. She loves her 9 and 12 year old foster sisters. She gets wiggle butts when they come home from school. 

She has some hair loss around her neck so we have not ventured out for walks. I do not want to leave a collar on for long while her hair is growing back. However, she didnt do too bad with some coaxing the small amount of time she did have a collar and leash on. She is still getting used to car rides and will foam at the mouth when in the car. 

If I didnt know, I would have never thought Izzy was a mill dog. From what I have experienced with her in a couple of days, she is a gem! 

Izzy was part of a puppy mill rescue. Her adoption fee goes towards her veterinary costs as well as help cover the costs of some of the older dogs rescued as well.

This brave little survivor has endured unpleasantries we can only imagine, and has emerged a very unique individual who is now counting on you for help in overcoming that horrible experience. It takes a very special person to do this and if youre ready and willing to take on this challenge, it will be life-changing for both you and your new companion. So many of the people who have undertaken this journey before you have reported that it was the most rewarding thing they have ever done and the odds are that it will be for you, too.

In the coming months, you will watch a dog who has been deprived of virtually every known pleasure begin to first explore, then enjoy, a life that offers her these pleasures. The words that adopters before you have used most often to describe their dogs change include, blossom, bloom and coming out of her shell. Youre almost certain to be seeing your dogs changes in the same light.

This guide provides you with some specific methods for helping your puppy mill survivor. It is meant to supplement our larger report entitled Understanding and Caring for Rescued Puppy Mill Dogs, which is a comprehensive summary of the findings of our study of over 1,100 breeding dogs who were rescued from lives in puppy mills and adopted into human households. In obtaining full psychological and behavioral profiles of them, we were able to gain a wealth of information about these incredible dogs.

Some basic facts:

Puppy mills. Puppy mills are puppy-making factories. They are large-scale commercial dog-breeding operations where the happiness of the dogs is all but ignored in order to make a monetary profit from selling the puppies. To maximize profits, the dogs are housed in very small enclosures, live in unsanitary living quarters, are fed inferior-quality food, are denied decent medical care, and, most important, are severely deprived of positive human social contact.

Psychological functioning. Because puppy mill dogs are born and raised in an impoverished environment and endure severe stress throughout life, their psychological functioning is not like that of normally raised pet dogs. This shows itself in how they interact with people, their desire to make eye contact, their social skills with other dogs, their desire to play, their ability to focus attention and learn in short, their ability to function like a typical dog.

Fortunately, the dogs have a remarkable capacity to recover from their psychological impairments. Many recover to the point where they appear to be completely rid of their psychological difficulties, others recover partially but not completely, and others are so severely troubled that they continue to struggle emotionally. Every puppy mill dog has a different capacity to adapt and recover, and we almost never know at the outset what this limit will be or when the dog will reach it. What this means is that adopters must accept up-front that the dog they are taking into their home may retain some psychological impairment throughout his or her life and may always be a special-needs companion. It is imperative that puppy mill dog adopters commit themselves to unconditional acceptance of what their dog is, what he becomes, and what his limitations may be.

Rehabilitation. Rehabilitation of puppy mill dogs is often difficult and fraught with frustration. It may take weeks, months, or even years for the dogs to be free of their fears and other emotional struggles. For some, rehabilitation continues for the dogs remaining lifetime. Just like the terminology used for alcoholism in people (i.e., those who overcome their troubles are referred to as recovering alcoholics rather than former alcoholics), some puppy mill dogs will always be recovering puppy mill dogs. And even with the finest human efforts, some of the dogs coming out of puppy mills are just too emotionally scarred to completely overcome the harm that befell them. But, as our studies have shown, the adopters who open their arms and hearts to these little survivors are all but assured an immensely rewarding experience.

Course of recovery. No two puppy mill dogs course of recovery is exactly the same. For some it is fast, but for most it is slow. It can be fast, and then slow, and then fast again. Steps forward are often interspersed with steps backward. Improvement can stop at some point, stay unchanged for a time, then start showing progress again.

All puppy mill dogs are affected by their puppy mill experience in their own way, and their needs for healing are very unique when they escape that life. Methods of rehabilitation will also vary in their effectiveness from dog to dog. Methods that are beneficial for one dog may be ineffective and even counterproductive in another. Rehabilitation can involve some trial and error until you see what works best for your dog.

Normal dog behavior. We know that there are many aspects of normal dog behavior that dogs who have spent their entire lives in puppy mills cannot be expected to show at first, among them:


\tShowing any control or discrimination over when and where they urinate and defecate
\tTrusting humans
\tDesiring petting or being picked up, held or hugged
\tPlaying with humans, other dogs or toys
\tUnderstanding any cues
\tWalking on a leash


Eight words to live by. These eight words will characterize your life with your puppy mill dog: patience, love, understanding, compassion, forgiveness, calmness, empathy and perseverance. Write them on a piece of paper and post it on your refrigerator so you will see it every day.

Learn more about puppy mills at bestfriends.org (The above was borrowed from bestfriends.org)

 This is all the information we have currently.


\tApproved Applicants may make the adoption fee payment by clicking donate above. Partial adoption fees will not hold a dog.
\tDogs adopted with our rescue come with FREE training from #GoodPup to help you build strong bonds from the start!
\tIf upon meeting the dog of your choosing at your scheduled pickup time you find that you arent a good match, your deposit will be fully refunded.
\tAdoption fees include vaccines up until time of adoption, microchip, spay/neuter and 1st 30 days of free Pet insurance. We are not affiliated with Pet First pet insurance. (you have to sign up for the insurance or it will not go into effect). 
\tThe dogs in our care are fostered in Colorado, Texas, and New Mexico. While all dogs are picked up during our scheduled times, sometimes transport dates change due to unforeseen circumstances. 
\tMore questions? Read our FAQs here: https://4p4l.org/faqs/