An Innovative Approach to Animal Welfare

An innovative, cutting-edge movement in animal rescue and welfare is taking place in the Midwest. For nearly twenty years Julie Lavin and Kay Kieso have been on the ground rescuing thousands of dogs from puppy mills and taking in special needs dogs to personally nurse them back to health, and Lori Hook has rescued thousands of puppy mill and special needs dogs, worked to expose puppy mills and focused on animal welfare legislation to stop the national tragedy of puppy mills and animal abuse. Today, we announce that these three fearless, dedicated leaders are joining forces to create a comprehensive state-of-the-art concept in animal welfare. Midwest Puppy Mill Rescue is a new high-standard blended concept of care developed to help dogs in need while they recover from illness, injury and emotional trauma. A new acreage has been purchased in Sioux Falls, South Dakota where Julie, with the help of volunteers, is caring for dogs in need. The focus moves away from a traditional animal shelter model and provides in-home care. The new property has a large home with multiple rooms for segregation of animals by size, temperament and health as well as a nursery for expectant and nursing mothers. It has large fenced in grass areas for dogs to run and play, with a separate isolated yard area for recreation of dogs recovering from illness and disease. The home also serves as a comfortable, compassionate hospice center for dogs with terminal illness. There is a large outbuilding that will provide temporary housing and isolation for large numbers of dogs coming in from puppy mill rescues, reservation rescues and hoarding situations. Once their veterinary work is done, those dogs will be quickly moved into the home on the property, into a network of foster homes, or on to other trusted no-kill rescues within a carefully cultivated fourteen state team of rescue partners. The new concept provides a perfect blend of ability to rescue large numbers of dogs in need while providing home environments with the highest level of one-on-one personal love and care. It is a shelter model meets foster care model that meets and exceeds physical and emotional needs on a personal level - human soul to canine soul - for each precious life rescued. No more cages, just happy carefree hearts learning to love and enjoy life. Focus areas:

Puppy mill rescue
Rescue of dogs from the reservations of South Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska
Rescue from situations of hoarding, neglect or abuse
Rescue of dogs who do not meet the criteria for placement in a traditional shelter environment and would otherwise be euthanized due to age, medical or behavioral conditions
Providing alternatives to shelter/rescue intake by housing dogs temporarily for victims of domestic violence, those in acute mental illness crisis and those experiencing temporary homelessness
Hospice care for dogs with terminal illnesses
Education in schools and at community events regarding animal care, overpopulation and puppy mills
Legislation to stop the sale of puppies in pet stores and shut down puppy mills
Spay/Neuter initiatives