The rescued dogs are between the ages of 3 and 7, and the Anti-Cruelty Society is coordinating efforts to find them new homes. The dogs will eventually be available for adoption through several local organizations.
On Sunday afternoon, the Best Friends Animal Society from Utah brought 44 dogs and puppies to Chicago. The animals had been relinquished from puppy mills around the Midwest when those puppy mills couldn't make money from the animals.
"It is so important to treat animals and all living beings with respect and compassion, and puppy mills do none of those things. There are a lot of organizations that have been working hard to put these people out of business. Every now and again, we get lucky and get some of the animals from those situations," said Nadine Walmsley, with the Anti-Cruelty Society.
In most of these cases, the dogs are females who were bred every time they went into heat, about three times a year. A 7-year-old dog may have had as many as 21 litters.
In other cases, dogs who were not perfect were given up-- like one that did not have enough fur around his neck.
Animal advocates urge families and individuals considering adopting a pet to also carefully consider the source.
"There is a connection between pet stores and puppy mills, and all of these dogs that we have here today are the retired breeding dogs. So these are dogs that have lived their entire lives in cages. They're only sole purpose is to produce puppies," said Arianna Pittman with the Best Friends Animal Society.
For more information about how you can help or adopt one of the dogs, visit www.anticruelty.org
