(l-r) Alli, Dana and Aubrey Vickers with new pets Scooter, Jill and Telula. Absent is puppy Tommy. Three of the rescue dogs have severe sight issues due to inbreeding.
mailphoto by Patrick Kolafa
A Drumheller family led with their heart, and in turn was blessed four times over with a family of puppies.
Dana Vickers was looking for a family pet. They had to say goodbye to their pet because it was overly aggressive, and were working with Animal Haven Rescue League out of Stettler. They saw on the group’s Facebook page a heartbreaking story of three Chihuahua puppies recovered from a dumpster.
“I thought that would be perfect, said Vickers.
Growing up on a farm, she admittedly liked big dogs, but she thought a small dog might be good for her daughters Aubrey and Alli. She expressed her interest in the puppies.
She learned more about these small dogs' background. After the shelter had taken charge of the animals, the original owners came to reclaim the puppies that were left in the dumpster. The RCMP became involved and while no charges were laid, the animals were not returned.
Upon further investigation, it was learned the animals were being raised for sale in a basement. They discovered 28 dogs living in the house.
“There was an insane amount of in-breeding,” said Vickers. “There were eight females surrendered and all of them had eye issues, either cataracts, partial blindness, deformed eyes and vision issues.”
She intended to adopt one of the puppies and had the opportunity to meet them.
In the end, she adopted an older dog she named Scooter. She believes he may have been one of the studs because his penis had been mutilated for ease of breeding. She also picked a young female named Jill.
She explained that Jill was not her first choice because she has very little sight and deformed eyes, but she discovered a complex relationship between the two dogs.
“They are a bonded pair, like a husband and wife, he (Scooter) is her eyes. If you were to come and watch them play in our yard, you would have no idea that she was blind,” said Vickers.
The two melted her heart and she fostered them. It was not long after that, they learned they were double blessed. Vickers was to go to the vet to have the dogs fixed, but she quickly learned that wasn’t going to happen right away for Jill.
“I picked her up and she was starting to fill,” said Vickers.
Vickers suspicions were correct and a few weeks later, her dog gave birth to a male and a female pup.
These dogs too were also victims of inbreeding. The male pup Tommy has vision problems while the female, Telula, was born without eyes.
Vickers learned quickly that her concerns about all kinds of extra work with the sight impaired animals were unfounded. She and her family also learned more about themselves. She notes that when children see the dogs, they usually don’t even notice the missing eyes or any strange behavior.
“It shows the girls that your abilities don’t make you who you are, they see past it,” said Vickers.
