On February 4th, 2016, sixty-six animals, including 34 puppies, were seized in what British Columbia's SPCA said was one of the largest puppy mill seizures in the province's history. I watched the news in horror as images and video of abused dogs played across the TV screen. Their injuries ranged from broken limbs, missing eyes or ears, malnourishment, infections, abscesses, and psychological issues. My heart broke to think of the horrendous cruelty these poor dogs had endured. I called the SPCA that day to see how I might adopt one of them and followed the news and progress of the dogs with avid interest.

On March 2nd, 2016, I went to a mandatory information session, the first of three, planned to educate potential adopters of the special care required to deal with the behavioural and psychological needs of the dogs. I was sickened to see the deplorable condition, both physical and emotional, that the dogs had been in when they came to the SPCA. What a tremendous and incredible commitment the staff and volunteers provided to turn the lives of these dogs around. The countless hours they put in towards health care, cleaning, love and attention, just to get the dogs to trust people so they could be adopted.