Another enterprise in Richland Center

Gotta love Richland Center....they come up with good enterprises!




A 3-year-old poodle had such long and matted hair that her rescuers at first didn't realize she had only two legs.

Having dealt with three-legged dogs in the past - "tripods" - rescuers had to come up with a new term for the poodle in their care.
"She's a duplex," said Karen Sparapani, community outreach director at the Elmbrook Humane Society.
Acting on a tip, the Elmbrook Humane Society rescued 20 dogs from what they said was a puppy mill in western Wisconsin last week. The poodle, now named China, lost two of her legs when her mother chewed them off, a sign of stress often seen in puppy mills, Sparapani said.
A week later, China is learning to walk for the first time and learning how to behave like a dog, she said.
The dogs were kept in wire pens in a barn in rural western Wisconsin by an Amish farmer.
Elmbrook staff declined to disclose the farmer's name because they want to establish a relationship with him. They are expecting four more dogs as soon as those dogs are done nursing.
The shelter staff is hoping that the farmer turns over all his "cold stock" - dogs too old to breed or deemed unsuitable by the farmer.
The rescuers had to leave behind 150 dogs still being bred twice a year.
Unwitting customers end up buying the product of puppy mills, she said.
"It's never going to end until people stop buying dogs from pet stores and through ads," Sparapani said.
Puppy mills - places where multiple breeds of dogs are frequently bred - are controversial but not illegal in Wisconsin.
The Richland Center puppy mill was cleaner than expected, and the farmer, who gave each dog a number, seemed generally to care about the dogs, said Carol Sumbry, the shelter's volunteer coordinator and humane educator.
Sumbry, who took part in the rescue, said she couldn't look back as she was leaving. She had to concentrate on the ones they could save.
One of those removed was a 4-month-old male Boston terrier. The dog, dubbed Boston by the shelter, severely cut his front paw while the rescuers were in the barn and the farmer didn't want to have to pay the veterinarian bill. Boston is recovering at a Madison hospital and might still lose his leg.
The shelter also rescued a 2-year-old Chihuahua and poodle mix that the farmer said wouldn't breed. Likely under stress at the puppy mill, she has already gone into heat at the shelter.
Two fox terrier and beagle mix puppies were given up because the farmer thought they were ugly.
Some of the dogs have already been adopted, but others remain and are making progress. The first day the dogs were in the shelter, they cowered in the back of their pens, Sparapani said. One week later, they are approaching people and begging for attention.
Anyone adopting the animals will face challenges. The dogs never left their cages, never walked on solid ground and never wore a collar or leash. They will likely be protective of their food, and most are not housebroken. All the dogs will be sterilized before leaving the shelter.
The dogs will learn dog behavior better in a home with another dog, shelter staff say.

Is it cold?

I have decided the midwest has become inhabited by a bunch of pussys. I see most of the schools were closed today to cold wether. In the old days, when I lived there, we kept workig outside until it was at LEAST 20 below zero. Then we only stopped because the instruments froze up. Today, it was around 0 this morning and they closed te schools....


I remember one year, it never got above 0 for 32 days or something. Out working each day...then we moved to Arizona.....


WIMPS!