Last Thursday night an email arrived in my inbox with a triumphant subject line:
"Ben was adopted!"
Ben was one of more than 300 dogs removed from an Arkansas puppy mill in March. He
was the biggest of the pack, but also blind and very elderly, and he stole the heart
of field responders, who dubbed him “Gentle Ben.” Until our intervention, it seems,
he'd been confined to a wire run with a concrete floor, isolated from other dogs
and denied any stimulation. So you can imagine that Ben's adoption was a happy moment
for me and for so many others across the country who were touched by his hardship
Weeks of coordination between The HSUS, local law enforcement and other animal welfare
groups had set the Arkansas puppy mill raid into motion. Our team immediately recognized
Gentle Ben as a special needs dog requiring costly medical care. Degenerative ocular
disease had claimed his eyes (despite the best efforts of veterinary specialists
after his rescue, Ben's eyes had to be removed) and he'd been diagnosed with several
tick-borne illnesses and a thyroid condition. Akita Rescue of Western New York was
up for the task though, so Ben headed north, traveling 1,200 miles with an HSUS staff
member and a United Animal Nations volunteer. Within a short time a perfect adoption
candidate emerged and, for more than a week now, Ben has been in his new home in
Vermont.
Ben will now receive the loving care he deserves. You should take pride in this moment
as well, for it's your support that gave Ben and so many other animals rescued from
our interventions a rebirth on life and an opportunity to relax and enjoy life.
Ben now has a loving home.
Posted by Wayne Pacelle on 11 June 2009
