On April 27th, 2023, BARC, Inc, a 501c3 nonprofit rescue organization, rescued 30 bernese mountain dogs from a horrific commercial breeding facility (12 of which ended up being pregnant). All of the dogs have been placed in loving foster homes and have either already been evaluated by the vet or will be seeing the vet within the next few days.
One pregnant female, whom BARC has named Clover, was only a day or two away from going completely septic according to the vet that evaluated her. The vet determined the abscess was likely caused by an artificial insemination gone wrong, then subsequently left untreated. Clover is very sick and fighting for her life, while also expecting a litter of puppies in the coming days or weeks.
One pregnant female, Lilly, had to undergo an emergency c-section. She is having a hard time with the recovery since she was so malnourished. She is not producing nearly enough milk to feed her 10 puppies. Her incredible foster family is having to bottle feed the puppies every couple of hours and monitor them closely to ensure they are all getting enough to eat.
One dog has a severe eye infection and respiratory infection, one has a severe bladder infection, and many of them have skin and ear infections... all of which are being treated and the expenses covered by BARC. They will all be tested for heartworm and other diseases that are fatal if left untreated, they will all receive their recommended vaccinations, and they will all be spayed before being adopted. BARC will also be covering the costs of care for each of the 12 litters of puppies once they are born until they are old enough to be adopted. With all of that being said, the costs of care for these 30 dogs (plus the 12 litters of puppies) will be insurmountable without the help and generosity of others.
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While I cannot share specifics on where these 30 dogs came from at this time, I can provide some background information so you can get an idea of the horrendous living conditions these poor dogs had been suffering in. The Humane Society of the United States releases an annual report called "The Horrible Hundred," and this specific commercial breeder that these 30 dogs were rescued from was mentioned 5 separate times: 2016, 2017, 2020, 2021, and 2022. This commercial breeder has received multiple 21-day suspensions from the USDA for various reasons but has always gotten their license reinstated at the end of the 21 days. It is noted that in December 2015, this specific commercial breeder received a 21-day suspension after throwing a bag containing two dead puppies at a USDA inspector.
https://www.humanesociety.org/horriblehundred#:~:text=The%20Horrible%20Hundred%20report%20is,of%20dog%20breeders%20to%20avoid.
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These 30 dogs have lived their entire lives inside the small metal kennels covered in their own feces and urine. They have likely never stepped foot on grass until being rescued. Understandably so, these dogs are shut down and terrified of the world around them. It will take a lot of time and patience to rehabilitate them both physically and mentally. With that being said, they are NOT available for adoption at this time.
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BARC, Inc is a 501c3 nonprofit bernese mountain dog rescue organization that is run entirely by volunteers. 100% of donations and money made goes directly to saving the dogs and the costs associated with doing so.
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This is just one of many carloads of dogs that were rescued from the commercial breeding facility a week and a half ago. You may notice that some of them don't have a tail. Several of the 30 dogs have had their tails docked (cut off), which is not standard for a bernese mountain dog whatsoever. While we do not know exactly why their tails were cut off, I can only assume it was to ease the process of breeding and whelping puppies.
This is Lilly, the pregnant female that had to undergo an emergency c-section. She is having a hard recovery from the procedure and is not producing nearly enough milk for the 10 puppies. Her puppies are currently being bottle-fed every couple of hours by her incredible foster family.
guidestar.org/profile/48-1242683
charitynavigator.org/ein/481242683