We went into adopting Gracie solely based on our knowledge of adopting our first Sheltie from our local dog shelter. Our first dog, Lady, had a name and a family that cared for her until they took her to the Denver Animal Shelter and relinquished her at the age of six. Gracie never had a name. Gracie never had people pet her. Gracie was basically livestock. It was only after we had her in our house and started searching for more information about taking care of puppy mill dogs that we realized the extra challenges we could face.
It was probably a blessing to not have read about the many issues a puppy mill dog may have, because we might have been too freaked out by the information to have taken Gracie.
The Wisconsin Puppy Mill Project has a wealth of information on "Caring for Unsocialized Mill Dogs". They make the case that puppy mill dogs suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Reading the articles on their site helped us to understand the mind set of our new little sheltie.
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