Twiggy's story...

Twiggy is the exact reason why puppy mills need to be closed down and why you should NEVER buy from a pet store. The store will say, "we didn't get him from a puppy mill". Well OK the store may not work directly with a puppy mill, instead they got it from a broker.  A broker purchases them from a puppy mill and turns around and sells them to the pet stores. So looking at it that way, the store isn't lying.

We named her Twiggy, it's not the cutest name but it's the most fitting name.  When I picked her up from transportation (March 28) the driver told me she was absolutely terrified of EVERYTHING.  As soon as I saw her my heart broke but I also got extremely ANGRY - what type of person does this to animals.

Long story short, the "mill" that threw her out stated that she had just lost a litter and was depressed and had not been eating for a few days.  This girl was starved for weeks!   Taking her out of transport she was covered in flea dirt and other disgusting stuff, her hair was sparse and in many places completely gone. You could see and feel all her large bones through her skin.  My younger kids didn't want to pet her because, as William said "I can feel her skeleton".  She is either a Havanese or Maltese, we cannot tell yet.

The pictures above are the first pictures I took of her when I got her home and she has had a bath so the fleas and filth aren't showing.  Actually these pictures make her look better than she did in person.  Naturally she was terrified of me and everything else.  However, when I opened a can of dog food and she got a whiff she was interested.  She wouldn't get up and come to the bowl, so I put the bowl in her bed and she ate some of it.  That was the first barrier we crossed.

It's almost been a month since Twiggy has been with us.  She now wags her tail when I talk to her, follows me everywhere, eats out of my hand, will allow me to hold her in my lap, and for others to touch her.  She still crouches down into a tiny ball when I'm going to pick her up, we are working on that but she will likely do that forever.  She didn't like the snow, grass, or really being outside at all, she was so scared I finally just used pee pee pads.  Having lived her whole life (2 1/2) years in a little cage does that to you. Now that it's warming up she is becoming more comfortable about going outside.  She will follow me out, but still doesn't go outside on her own.  She always sleeps with her back against something, still has trouble making eye contact and runs when I bend directly over her (then rolls in the ball when she realizes I'm going to pick her up) but these things will change with more time and her learning to trust me more.

These pictures are current as of today.  With my family she has discovered comfy beds and blankets and never sits or lays down unless she is on one.  She is learning to trust adults and kids and doesn't mind other animals.  She finally knows what it's like to be loved and have food always available.  You will notice that her tummy if full and she is fatter.  She isn't one to pose for the camera so I used the best ones I could get. 

She is going to need an extremely loving home with lots of doggy beds, blankets, and chew bones. She needs love and attention (don't we all) and a lap where she is always welcome. She isn't available for adoption just yet but will be after a little more time with us.