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	Home Daily Life Education Fundraising Get Involved Legislation Newsletter Projects Rescue What's Happening Thank You Login	News BLAND COUNTY PUPPYMILL 12/15/2008 When 192 innocent dogs and puppies met their fate in a disastrous puppy mill fire last spring, VA PAWS, at the request of several local residents of Bland County, stepped in to offer assistance in preventing the mill from being rebuilt. A coalition of animal welfare activists was soon formed setting into motion a chain of events far beyond initial expectations. By working with local officials at planning commission meetings and subsequent board meetings, persistence and determination paid off. A strict Conditional Use Permit prevented rebuilding in Bland County. When mill owners attempted to move across county lines, the Giles County Board of Supervisors outright denied them permission to operate. The struggle didn’t end. Puppy millers, when forced to shut down, seek to sell their inventory to other millers, quite often at auction. Well aware of this, VA PAWS couldn’t just walk away. Seeking the financial assistance and influence of a much larger institution, Best Friends was contacted. Two other brave souls, willing to risk their careers, their reputation and yes even their lives, stepped in to pull off a secret caper. Knowing the puppy mill owners would refuse to sell to anyone with ties to an animal welfare group, these two heroes, posing as buyers, offered to purchase all the dogs. After a roller coaster ride of ups and downs and many a tense moment, continuing until shortly before the caper was to be set in motion, a contract was finally signed. A staging area had already been set up at a local farm house. Trucks sat, engines running, cargo areas loaded with empty crates of all sizes donated by Pet Smart Charities and Virginia Tech. Medical supplies and vaccines, dog and puppy food, flood lights, exam tables, legal forms, cameras and film, scales....anything deemed a possible necessity was gathered and waiting. Then came the thumbs up! At 6:30 Friday evening selected volunteers leapt into their driver’s seats and set off on their mission. After an anxious six hour wait, the dogs and pups, having been handed over a fence and into the waiting arms of volunteers and truck drivers, arrived in the wee hours of Saturday morning. Throughout the morning and continuing to mid-afternoon, a host of volunteers preformed triage. Many a furry creature was carefully and lovingly examined, then loaded onto Best Friends climate controlled trucks for transport on to a New York sanctuary.....the rest was headline news! None of this could have happened without the many, many volunteers who stepped up to participate in this history making event. Best Friends called in volunteers from all over the country. Local volunteers flooded in from three counties. Local newspapers and numerous web sites have posted news stories, but all have failed to mention the names of this host of kind hearted, generous, devoted animal lovers who took part: Christy Smith, Michelle Rinaldi, Kathy Davieds, Ann Jeffries, Lisa Tatum, Debi Smith, Tammie Lowry, April Lowry, Marilyn Holly, Dusty and Jerry Cain, Cheryl Clark, Cory Wrenn, Christine Link-Owens, Diana Puckett, Amy Roberts, Bonnie Lowe, Tom Blankenship, Erma and Jim Bogle, Melissa Lester, Nan Farris, Kathy Strouse, Stephanie Shain, CJ Gentry, DeEtta Compton, Ann Mills, Lila Borge Wills, Shelley Pittman and countless others! Local and national groups working collaboratively on this effort: Radford Pound Pals Giles County Animal Rescue Wythe Animal Rescue League Dalmatian Rescue of SW VA Best Friends Animal Society Humane Society of the United States PetSmart Charities Margaret B Mitchell Spay Neuter Clinic Assisi Clinics of Virginia The fiery death of so many of man’s best friends was tragic, but their death was not in vain. A phoenix has risen from the ashes. Over 180 tails are wagging....more than 720 happy feet patter along the corridors of a sanctuary far away from the misery of the puppy mill from whence they came. TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU WHO PLAYED AT PART IN THIS RESCUE, NO MATTER HOW LARGE OR SMALL....A THOUSAND THANK YOUS!!