Tools

Local Author Exposes The Abuse and Suffering at Puppy Mills in New Book

By KFBB News Team

Story Created: Mar 6, 2010 at 5:25 PM MST

Story Updated: Mar 6, 2010 at 11:32 PM MST

Imagine forcing your dog to live his or her entire life in a small wire cage, with no toys or comfort and little hope of survival. Believe it or not, that is what life is like for dogs that live in puppy mills across our nation and right here in Montana.

It is the topic of a new book written by one local woman. Dozens of people gathered at the Barnes and Noble Bookstore in Great Falls Saturday, to attend a book signing with local author, Carol Bradley. Her new book, "Saving Gracie" is a true story about her dog's rescue from a puppy mill in Pennsylvania.

The book follows Gracie, a cavalier king charles spaniel, who is worn out from bearing puppies at a puppy mill and her journey into a loving new family. Gracie's story explores the disturbing world of large volume kennels but also takes a look at the generous people who helped her along with way.

Bradley says, "The book kind of peels back the curtain on puppy mills. These dogs suffer from a variety of diseases. They often live in dark barns filled with rats and venom. They sometimes are starved. It's incredible the ways the dogs are treated considering how expensive the puppies wind up being."

The book was inspired by the Camp Collie case that took place in Montana back in 2002. That is when a tractor trailer packed with neglected collies was discovered as it passed through the border station near Shelby. Local residents ended up caring for close to 200 collies until their owners were convicted of multiple counts of animal cruelty and the dogs were finally free to be adopted.

Saving Gracie is available on Amazon, at Barnes & Noble, or any web site where books are sold.

Carol Bradley is an award-winning former newspaper reporter who studied Animal Law as a 2004 Nieman Fellow at Harvard. She spent 26 years covering the U.S. Congress and state legislatures in Tennessee and New York, and writing features and investigative stories for the Great Falls Tribune.

Bradley has written about many aspects of animal welfare, including horse slaughtering, rodeos, animal hoarding, and animal cruelty. She grew up in Kingsport, Tennessee and lived in Nashville, Knoxville, New York and Washington D.C. before moving to Great Falls, where she now lives with her husband, Steve L’Heureux, and their two dogs. Saving Gracie is her first book.

You have indicated this comment should be removed.

Close

The comment has been submitted for review. Thank you .

Concerned said on Monday, Mar 8 at 3:15 PM

Talk about puppy mills someone needs to look at the one here in Great Falls. JacksPetCenter is such a sad place for puppies they end up sick and the breeders are the ones who own the shop. They inbreed these poor puppies over and over and treat the animals so poorly it is disgusting!

Add a comment

Name:

Comment: 1000 Characters Left

News, Sports, Weather for Great Falls, Helena, and all of Montana and its affiliated companies are not responsible for the content of comments posted or for anything arising out of use of the above comments or other interaction among the users. We reserve the right to screen, refuse to post, remove or edit user-generated content at any time and for any or no reason in our absolute and sole discretion without prior notice, although we have no duty to do so or to monitor any Public Forum.

Great Falls & Helena Weather

Icon
Great Falls Great Falls Intl Airport, MT
Current Temp 37.0 °F
Overcast
Wind : North at 11.5 MPH (10 KT)
Pressure : 1023.6 mb
Humidity : 59 %
Icon
Helena Helena Regional, MT
Current Temp 27.0 °F
Mostly Cloudy
Wind : Calm
Pressure : 1027.8 mb
Humidity : 81 %
Click here for our video forecast
More Weather
This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.

AP Video