I will admit that I did judge this book by its cover. The pup on the front looked so much like Seamus, my Bichon mix that I had to investigate further. The difference is however, that my rescue dog has four legs, while Baby, the dog whose story unfolds in these pages, has only three.
The author decides to purchase a dog from a breeder in Texas after the death of her beloved older dog. She is unwittingly initiated into the world of puppy mills and overbreeding. Horrified by what she sees, she adopts one of these dogs, an older, white poodle that she names “Baby”. After years of mistreatment, Baby is so happy to be in a “forever home”, uncaged and loved unconditionally. Her ebullient spirit causes her to act as a puppy, and during one of her happy frolics, she falls and breaks a leg. Her condition is precarious due to her previous maltreatment, and she needs to have her leg amputated. Her owner decides to champion her cause and speak for all the animals like Baby who have no voice. The two of them take their mission nationally and the book is filled with photos of Baby with celebrities such as James Cromwell, Bill Maher, Patti Labelle, Judge Judy Scheinlein and Martina Navratilova.
We’ve all heard of puppy mills and the horrific conditions that animals are forced to live in while their owners capitalize on breeding them. I was very surprised to learn that the Amish people are among the worst offenders of this practice. Increased public awareness is the only hope these poor animals have to be saved. “Baby” and Jana are literally on the road to accomplishing this.