Oliver

Hello Leslie,

We have given very careful thought and consideration regarding Oliver's future, and what will be best for him. We have observed him for the few months that he has been here interacting with our other babies, we have watched how they are towards him, we have seen the attachment grow between him and Justin, and even Meghan which is a miracle in itself. We have nurtured him and gained his trust, he responds to us with enthusiasm, we see a soft beautiful little soul looking out of his eyes. It seems to us that Oliver was destined to live here with us forever.

He is a very happy kid, he is always first to greet us when we come home, he loves to cuddle in bed at night when he is tired, he is very gentle in taking treats out of our hands, which is surprising considering how boisterous he can be. We have watched his gentleness with Tess, he seems to understand the need to take care around her.

We were away a weekend recently, our daughter came to take care of the pups, and she told us that Oliver became very depressed and moped about, wouldn't eat, and kept running to the door looking. She said that when it wasn't us at the door, he would walk away with his head down, and would not eat anything. This continued throughout the weekend.

Oliver entertains us daily with his antics, he is a busy boy and can always find something to get in to, we know that and understand him, and love him for who he is. One cannot look at Oliver and not smile, he is just a happy free spirited little guy, and he seems to smile himself. He lifts our spirits, he is an unexpected gift of sunshine and delight.

I was drawn to him immediately when I went to get him at the airport, I instinctively knew which one of those cages he was in, I couldn't even see who was in each cage that day, but it was Oliver that I first went too as if pulled by a magnet. He looked so dejected and sad, it was a horrible site, and it was also a horrible site to see all the other young little puppies in cages stacked everywhere in that hanger that very hot day that had came in on that flight with Oliver. I know they were coming from mills to their waiting families, knowing that these little ones parents are still in the mills, suffering, and I cried. I drilled the pilot and copilot of this flight, asking how the pups are taken care of in transit, it seems that this is something their airline does repeatedly all week, every week. Big business, how sad. I don't know what they thought of me asking a ton of questions and I really don't care what they thought.

We tried not to think of Oliver as our own, and tried not to bond to him, but he wouldn't let us get away with that, even with all of his mischief, We knew that we loved him for his joyous spontaneous ways.

We are able and very capable of taking care of Oliver forever, he will receive the best, all the love, attention, medical care, and any needs that he may have. He is a member of our family.

You could say we have failed at fostering, but I think we have won, we have won the heart of this little guy, and he has won our hearts.

I am very sorry to disappoint anyone that may be interested in Oliver, but we are doing what we feel is best for him.

We will continue to support Puppymill Rescue, and do anything that we can to help. We are passionate about the plight of these poor little ones still in the mills. Our dear little Missie started it all for us. Her life, and her death placed us on this path of rescue.

I use every opportunity to teach people about the mills, to educate them and help them understand what a mill is. I always manage to teach my nursing students on this topic, coworkers and friends, strangers, it doesn't matter. If I have an audience, I tell them about the mills, the evil horror they emit. Here in Delaware we have back yard breeder types, and we do have the Amish in our area, so they could be breeding dogs. We are also only a short driving distance to Lancaster.

With my work as a hospice nurse, I often visit homes where there are dogs sitting beside their dying Mom or Dad, from the very beginning of my career in hospice nursing, I have always asked who will be taking care of the dogs, after all they are family members also. I have been very aware of how knowing dogs are when they are loosing a loved one. What I have witnessed in this respect is incredible. We hospice nurses have at times found homes for dogs that were going to be left without anyone to care for them. My journey with rescue efforts started a long time ago in a very modest way.

We do not apologize for loving Oliver. Enid