Lamb Chop was forced to give birth to multiple litters at a puppy mill and suffered debilitating anxiety. Now she’s a canine beauty queen.
Far away from her cruel treatment at the puppy mill, Lamb Chop went up against over 10,000 other cute canines to snag first place in PEOPLE’s third annual World’s Cutest Rescue Dog Contest Presented by PEDIGREE®.
The pooch has won a year’s supply of dog food, $1,000 (£771) to donate to the animal rescue of her owner’s choice, and is due to appear on Good Morning America.
The shy 12-pound Maltese was adopted by Christin Schubert in December 2014.
Christin told reporters she was always a ‘cat person’ before she saw little Lamb Chop at an animal shelter in Wisconsin.
‘I hadn’t planned on getting a dog but she was so small. She struck my heart,’ Christin said.
‘When she was rescued, local vets had to remove all of her teeth because they were rotten.’
Lamb Chop, whose tongue hangs out of her mouth due to the loss of her teeth, also had to have several tumours removed and needed treatment for a bad case of cauliflower ear due to the medical neglect she suffered at the puppy mill.
‘I couldn’t bring her home right away, because she had to have all of those surgeries, and Washington County used a significant portion of their medical fund to take care of her,’ said Christin.
Sadly her time at the puppy mill left Lamb Chop with emotional wounds too – for a time she was scared of people and was not sure how to be around other dogs.
Eventually, her time spent in a loving home helped her overcome her anxiety. Christin also enrolled Lamb Chop in shy dog classes and worked with a trainer to help her learn to trust again.
‘I can go grocery shopping and come home, and she’s just sitting there happy and waiting, unlike when I first would leave her,’ Christin said.
Now Lamb Chop and her owner work with a nonprofit called Bailing Out Benji, which is dedicated to educating people on the importance of adopting pets and to exposing connections between pet stores and puppy mills.
‘We always say that in order for puppy mills to close, the public needs to stop funding them through their purchases,’ Christin said.
Even though Lamb Chop is still shy around people, Christin is incredibly proud of how far her four-legged friend has come, saying: ‘I always tell people that I think she is super brave and resilient, given what she has gone through.
‘She has an amazing joy for life.’
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source https://metro.co.uk/2020/10/03/puppy-mill-survivor-who-suffered-debilitating-anxiety-crowned-worlds-cutest-rescue-dog-13365767/
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