She was from a puppy mill (a breeder whose sole purpose is to breed dogs for profit - there are also "kitty mills" as well) in Taiwan and lived her life in a cage. In 2013, she was taken to a shelter with three other small dogs. At the time, I volunteered for a local animal welfare group, Taichung PAWS, and we helped take care of the shelter and its dogs once a month. Originally, I was to foster a
Yorkie whom I lovingly named ZuZu (after the character from "It's a Wonderful Life", but she was quickly adopted. The two Maltese dogs were also quickly taken and only the little Schnauzer was left. Being a poor grad student who was on the verge of presenting her thesis defense and starting a full-time job at a university, I agreed to foster her but was in need of donations to make sure that we would be OK. A friend helped me take her out of the shelter and when we got her to the vet, they said she had Scabies (mange), teeth issues, ear issues, and countless other health issues. In addition, they warned me of other possible diseases that she was prone to. The first couple of months were extremely difficult with either visiting her at the vet or keeping her at home but quarantined in a TINY studio apartment all the while working and preparing for my thesis defense. She had also never learned to walk while on a leash before and I also had to positively train her. At this time, she had learned to hate living in a cage, and refused to to stay in her quarantine cage while I was at work. That was the ONLY time I ever heard her make noise and her noise was howling. I only ever put her in a cage when we were on the flight from Taiwan to Europe. In September 2013, the three of us moved to the country side where I started my full-time job. Things got a little easier until she started having thyroid issues. I had to give her medicine twice a day for three months. Also, she was still quite scared of people (especially the high-pitched neighbour ladies in groups) and the Taiwan heat was not her friend. I ended up becoming a "foster failure" and adopted her as she actually calmed my stress-monkey Xiao Mai down. In 2015, I moved to Berlin with Xiao Mai and Edie in tow. We met up with people and their dogs at a park and would all walk together. She was still incredibly slow, but LOVED being with the people and dogs. She has learned to not be scared of neighbours and actually stares at them out of curiosity instead of fear. The neighbour ladies in Germany also have lower-pitched voices and that has also made her much more approachable (not to mention the pets and cooing they give her). She is even best friends with a huge but extremely lovable pit bull (don't blame the breed!) and they get so excited when they see each other. It is now 2017, and Edie is deathly sick. She has lymphoma and it has completely taken over. She is about 9-10 years old but has only been with me for four years. Her time is almost up, but I am keeping this page running to make everyone aware of why buying from breeders is a terribly bad idea. Although my dog Xiao Mai is a mix from the streets of Taiwan, she is about 13 and is so much healthier than Edie ever was. All I ask is that you look at Edie's photos, do your research on breeding, ESPECIALLY on puppy/kitty mills, and ADOPT! Help those animals in shelters have a better life somehow!
