Grace Ann's journey started almost 10 years ago, and although she was with us for only a few years, people still remember her. She was blessed with her name courtesy of a friend who said "she was rescued by the grace of God", so we decided that Grace Ann was the perfect name. Grace Ann was picked up from volunteers from Kentucky who rescued her and her two other puppy mill captive mothers, Jessie and Ruby, from a puppy mill near Lexington.

These were Grace Ann's stats when she was rescued: She was 20 pounds underweight; she had fleas, worms, bad teeth, bad breath and bad hair. Puppy mills are not focused on grooming and health care. She was a train wreck and she had so many issues that she needed her own magazine rack! The years of neglect, abuse and repeated litters of puppies had left Grace Ann with very poor health and no social skills; she was afraid of everyone and everything.

In the beginning stages of her life in the free world, Grace Ann's life at our house was based on finding a good hiding place in a dark area (under tables, behind doors and in the basement) and staying there. She would venture out only to get her breakfast and dinner and to go potty outside with her adoptive brothers, Mr. Bo and Rocky Edward. Both of these boys were rescued from a no-kill animal shelter on North Michigan Road in Indianapolis.

Grace Ann made a fantastic recovery thanks to Bo and Rocky's efforts at teaching her how to be a real, pampered and spoiled dog and a cherished member of the family. Miss Grace Ann learned little unwritten dog rules like being excited at the mention of a car ride, the hatred of baths, begging for food, trips to Ritter's for frozen treats and chasing the evil squirrels. She was stubborn too. One time on a leisurely stroll on the Monon trail with some friends, she sat down and refused to walk another step. We had to fetch her car and driver so she could go home to her air-conditioned comforts.

After several years, Grace Ann experienced a total Mary Kay makeover under our care. She had a beautiful, black, shiny coat. Worms, fleas, bad teeth and bad breath were a thing of the past and she almost became an outgoing girl. Her eyes sparkled, her tail wagged and she had a warm laid-back, yet wise beyond her years, personality.

Due to Grace Ann's years of torture as a brood bitch in the puppy mill, her life was cut short due to multiple health issues. As we tearfully took her for her last car ride to the Vet's office to put her to sleep and ease her pain and suffering, we were comforted to know that she was able to live the last few years of her life as a fabulous Diva dog, in style and comfort with lots of love and attention. We know if she could talk, she would say thank you for the love and patience, for the warm bed, for the copious amounts of treats, and thank you for giving me my dignity. Without the hundreds of dedicated rescue group volunteers, Grace Ann would be just another sad statistic from the nightmare of the puppy mills and pet stores.

As a volunteer working to stop the euthanasia of Labrador retrievers for the past 10 years, I have noticed over and over again that Miss Grace Ann's story is not unusual. Her story is typical of most puppy mills and many "back yard" breeders. I am constantly trying to educate people to not adopt from a "Pet Store" since the dogs they have for sale are products of environments like the one that Grace Ann came from. Why would someone want to pay for an unsocialized, overpriced and sick dog from a puppy mill/pet store when they have a wonderful alternative of adopting from a rescue group or the Humane Society?

In addition to literally saving the life of a homeless dog, you can benefit when it comes time for tax season. When you rescue/adopt you can write off this purchase as a donation to a non-profit group, as opposed to paying hundreds of dollars for a sick puppy mill dog.

Once a Labrador goes into rescue, we go to work assessing the behavior and training level of that dog. A good foster home can let the potential adopter know if the dog enjoys the company of other dogs and cats and if the dog would be good with children. Each Lab is spayed or neutered and receives a heartworm check, rabies shot, DHPP and Bordetella vaccines, saving time, energy and money for the adoptive owner. If there are other problems, such as ear infections, orthopedic problems, or heartworm disease, they are treated by a team of vets. The rescued Lab is then assigned to a foster home for a minimum of 2 weeks, however many Labs are fostered for a much longer period. During that time, each Lab is worked with on house manners, house-training, crate-training and obedience. The foster family provides recommendations on what type of home situation they feel would be best for their foster Lab, and often our foster talks directly with the prospective adopters. Our adoptive families go through a screening process that can involve interviews, reference checks and/or home visits.

The most rewarding thing about rescuing a dog is to watch how relieved they are to finally be in a safe and loving environment. You can see the peace and contentment by the expressions on a dog's face and by the lazy and comfortable way that they wag their tails. We have fostered dogs from puppy mills, street dogs, humane society dogs and owner-surrender dogs and no matter what their previous situation was like, they all seem very appreciative and delighted to be given a 2nd chance in a loving home.

To quote the old saying, "We do not have to wait for Heaven to be surrounded by hope, love and joyfulness. It is here on earth and has four legs."