The day started out sunny and 70 degrees and by 4PM, it was down to 50, raining and very windy.  I had the window open in the room that the dogs and I were hanging in, (Ok, napping), and Honey was terrified by the blowing curtain.  She’s afraid of so many things and it’s so sad that after almost two years with her, we haven’t been able to calm her fears.  We’ve tried all kinds of things, including a collar that has a pheromone that mother dogs secrete that is supposed to calm the dog that wears it.  Apparently, Honey had to fight her mother for food, because she went crazy when we put it on her.  Needless to say, it lasted less than a minute and had us more frustrated than before.  We bought Honey from a farm that we didn’t realize was a puppy mill, but was.  She had never heard a man’s voice, as Rich scared her silly for the first couple of weeks.  She’d had to fight every other dog for food, so ate like she was never going to see another meal, had mites from cats being in her box, had a parasite that took literally months to get rid of, fleas, it was sad and horrible.  Sadly, we couldn’t find anyone who cared about the state of her breeders and when I called the breeder to complain, they acted like this was all new to them.  It’s sad that in this day and age, we still have such cruel breeding practices for animals.  One breeder told me that it was partially our fault for buying Honey, but if we hadn’t and had left her there, she would have been bred to death.  i know you should buy dogs from puppy mills, but the puppies are already here, and saving them from that life seems like the right thing to do.  Unfortunately, it also perpetuates the problem.  The more puppies we buy, the more they breed them.   We’ve really worked hard with Honey, but she still eats like she won’t get another meal (even though we bought a special dish that slows down her eating), and she’s never had to fight another dog for food.  It took us a year to train her to go outside to pee and still she’s afraid.  Sounds are especially frightening to her.

I know I should be writing about things other than Honey, but some days are sadder for us than others and today with the wind, she jumped on top of me and shook.  I just resent it, that people can and do profit from treating animals cruelly.  My hope is that someday Honey will hear thunder and not hide, or see the wind blow something and not jump on my lap.  I’m not sure what it will take, but I really hope it’s in our future.

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