Saving Gracie: How One Dog Escaped the Shadowy World of American Puppy Mills

by Carol Bradley

Overview

A compelling true story of one dog's rescue from a Pennsylvania puppy mill

This touching narrative uses the poignant makeover of Gracie, a sickly Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, to tell the story of America's hidden puppy mills-commercial kennels that breed dogs in horrific living conditions and churn out often-diseased and emotionally damaged puppies for sale.

Saving Gracie chronicles how one little dog is transformed from a bedraggled animal worn out from bearing puppies into a loving, healthy member of her new family; and how her owner, Linda Jackson, is changed from a person who barely tolerated dogs to a woman passionately determined not only to save Gracie's life, but also to get the word out about the millions of American puppy mill dogs who need our help.

• A touching story of survival and redemption
• Written by award-winning journalist Carol Bradley
• Newsworthy issues call animal lovers to action

Join journalist Carol Bradley as she draws back the curtain on the world of illegal puppy production in Saving Gracie.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780470447581
Publisher:	Turner Publishing Company
Publication date:	03/01/2010
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	243
Sales rank:	835,273
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Carol Bradley is a former newspaper reporter who studied Animal Law as a 2004 Nieman Fellow at Harvard. She spent twenty-six years covering the U.S. Congress and state legislatures in Tennessee and New York and writing features and investigative stories in Montana.

Table of Contents

Preface.

1 Caged for Life.

2 "Check Out That Place".

3 A Breeder’s Rise and Fall.

4 Orchestrating the Raid.

5 Filth and Fear.

6 Sorting the Dogs.

7 A Safe Place for Dog 132.

8 The Case Goes to Court.

9 Proving Cruelty.

10 The Breeder Appeals.

11 The Soft, Cool Feel of Grass.

12 Deciding on a Dog.

13 Overwhelmed.

14 Too Scared to Play.

15 Learning to Trust.

16 Tackling the Puppy Mills.

17 A Bond Develops.

18 The Crackdown Begins.

19 Elsewhere, Suffering.

20 Two Lives Changed.

Epilogue.

Acknowledgments.

Appendix: Finding the Right Dog.

Notes.

Photo Credits.

Index.

Editorial Reviews

* "...a scorching investigation of puppy mills… this book is an impassioned call to action." (People Magazine, March 8, 2010)

"Bradley's compelling account propels readers on a roller-coaster ride of emotion as they follow Gracie's journey from a squalid puppy mill to a loving home. But this is also an excellent exposé of a shady industry—it describes legislative attempts to control the large-scale breeding of dogs and evaluates the effectiveness of those efforts." (Library Journal, February 1, 2010)

Journalist Bradley exposes the hidden world of puppy mills, where dogs are caged like chickens and forced to repeatedly breed until they die. Unlike most factory farm animals that endure painful confinement and are slaughtered within six months of birth, mill breeding dogs are sentenced to many years of existence in deplorable conditions; many don't learn to walk because their cages don't give them enough room to stand. Bradley details the raid of one such mill, Mike-Mar Kennel in Oxford, Pa., which led to the seizure of more than 300 dogs, mostly adults that had languished for years with broken limbs and untreated diseases. Dog 132, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel later named Gracie, was rescued during the raid. Nearly blind, with decayed teeth and a strong aversion to human contact, Gracie flourished under the love and patience of her adoptive owner, Linda Jackson. Bradley's powerful narrative will tug at heartstrings, raise public awareness, and, hopefully, help put an end to puppy mills. (Feb.) (Publishers Weekly, January 4th, 2010)

From the Publisher

Journalist Bradley exposes the hidden world of puppy mills, where dogs are caged like chickens and forced to repeatedly breed until they die. Unlike most factory farm animals that endure painful confinement and are slaughtered within six months of birth, mill breeding dogs are sentenced to many years of existence in deplorable conditions; many don't learn to walk because their cages don't give them enough room to stand. Bradley details the raid of one such mill, Mike-Mar Kennel in Oxford, Pa., which led to the seizure of more than 300 dogs, mostly adults that had languished for years with broken limbs and untreated diseases. Dog 132, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel later named Gracie, was rescued during the raid. Nearly blind, with decayed teeth and a strong aversion to human contact, Gracie flourished under the love and patience of her adoptive owner, Linda Jackson. Bradley's powerful narrative will tug at heartstrings, raise public awareness, and, hopefully, help put an end to puppy mills. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

To reveal the horrors of the puppy mill industry, award-winning journalist Bradley chronicles the rescue of a small Cavalier King Charles spaniel named Gracie. Many heroes are profiled here, from the people who investigated and shut down a Pennsylvania kennel to those who rescued, treated, and eventually adopted the canine survivors. Last but not least are the dogs, which despite their inhumane treatment were still able to form strong attachments to their new owners. VERDICT Bradley's compelling account propels readers on a roller-coaster ride of emotion as they follow Gracie's journey from a squalid puppy mill to a loving home. But this is also an excellent exposé of a shady industry—it describes legislative attempts to control the large-scale breeding of dogs and evaluates the effectiveness of those efforts.—Edell Marie Schaefer, Brookfield P.L., WI

Library Journal