Dogs rescued from puppy mills and death

Stratford (WTNH) - It's known as a mission of mercy. Dogs were rescued from Georgia, arriving in Connecticut, where they'll be put up for adoption instead of being put to death.

Walter Harris arrives back in Stratford after flying all day long. He is with Pilots n' Paws, a non-profit organization that transports dogs from the South to Connecticut.

He is delivering eight dogs from Georgia that were scheduled to be destroyed.

Wilson: "How did the dogs do?"
Walter: "They were really calm; about halfway I heard a yelp and I looked back and they were calm again and they were good passengers."

These are the first of 200 dogs that have been rescued from the South. They were all saved from a puppy mill or shelter and their days were numbered.

"So you might have a shelter that takes in 7,000 dogs and kills 5,000. They may have lab euthanasia, puppy euthanasia just to keep track of the dogs and the paperwork," said Dorrie Harris of ' The Alliance in Limiting Strays' (T.A.I.L.S.). "This is the dark side of the business; these are the dogs that are continuously bred and they are over bred and it not only affects the mother dog but the puppies."

Over the next couple of weeks, the dogs will be transported to Connecticut and put up for adoption by the SPCA. Last month, the SPCA found homes for more than 200 dogs and says it's easy in to find a good home in Connecticut.

"You can't find puppies in the North East, in the animal shelters in the North East," said Frederick Acker of the SPCA of CT. "Down South, they are disposing of puppies wholesale; it's never ending."

The dogs have not been named, that will come later; right now they are going to be taken to a foster home before they are put up for adoption.

"We'll really give these dogs lots of love that these dogs have never seen before," said Dorrie. "These dogs have been in cages all their lives."

They will be given any medical attention they need and assessments to determine the history and temperament of the animals.

"So there is somebody to explain that this dog is better with older children, or younger children; are acceptable that kind of a thing, so there is somebody that will know the dog and know the temperament of the dog," said Dorrie.