My Adoption Story With A Dog’s Dream and What It Revealed About Breeder Dog “Rehoming”
A Testimonial for Stop Online Puppy Mills
I thought I was rescuing dogs. I thought I was doing something good—giving retired breeding dogs a loving home where they could finally experience life as pets. I drove across state lines twice, paid $1,000 in “adoption fees,” and opened my heart and home to two dogs that were used at commercial dog breeding facilities, who desperately needed help.
What I didn’t know was that I was giving money to the very system that destroyed them.
It Started With Good Intentions
I scrolled through my phone looking for a Wheaten within driving distance. That evening, I found what seemed like my perfect match on A Dog’s Dream’s website. A Wheaten Terrier available in Missouri. Even though their policy stated they didn’t adopt out of state, they contacted me and said I was cleared to pick up the dog.
I was so excited I left Iowa and stayed overnight in Missouri so I could pick her up first thing in the morning. Driving home in the dark with a new dog seemed risky, and they agreed to move up my appointment. Everything seemed perfect.
The First Red Flags I Ignored
A Dog’s Dream was very far out in the country. When I arrived, the dog was in what looked like a staged home setting. They said she’d been bathed, but she didn’t smell clean. I expected that from a rescue dog, so I didn’t think much of it.
What struck me as odd was how quickly they let me leave. They just handed her over, took my money, and sent me on my way. Looking back, I think they knew that anyone willing to drive from out of state was already committed. They weren’t wrong about that—but they were counting on it for all the wrong reasons.
I renamed my girl Vala, meaning “Chosen One.” I thought I had chosen her to give her a better life. I didn’t realize she had actually chosen me—chosen to trust me despite everything that had been done to her.
The Truth Started Revealing Itself Immediately
At her first vet visit, my vet found that Vala had a severe ear infection—so bad the vet recommended treating it while she was under sedation for a necessary dental cleaning. But what broke my heart was watching her terror when they put her in a pre-surgery cage. She defecated all over herself trying to escape. The vet had to clean her up and move her to a larger area.
In that moment, I knew cages meant something terrible to this dog. I vowed never to let anyone stress her like that again.
Then I discovered feces and mud embedded so deeply between her foot pads that I initially thought she just had unusually large pads. The filth had literally hardened and become part of her. It was too dangerous to cut away—I had to wait for it to grow out naturally. I cannot imagine how long she had suffered with that, combined with no dental care and a severe ear infection.
The medication records I was given didn’t match up either. The paperwork from A Dog’s Dream stated one date, but they explained to me they “always gave medications at the end of the month.” I adopted her on the 11th, so I had to sort out her flea, tick, and heartworm prevention immediately—something I feel a reputable rescue would have already handled properly.
The Trauma
At home, Vala wanted nothing to do with me. I tried everything—personal training, group classes at the Zoom Room (where she cowered in a corner the entire time), and finally a highly recommended trainer who specialized in dogs like Vala.
Nothing worked. The trainer eventually suggested anti-anxiety medication. So far, we’ve tried four different prescriptions. Vala can detect medication in her food no matter how well I hide it, and she’ll go days without eating if she smells anything suspicious so medicating her is not going well.
Even after more than a year, Vala:
- Runs and hides from loud noises
- Has accidents in the house
- Will not take food from my hand
- Won’t come downstairs when people visit
- Hides in the far corners when I take her to other homes
- Is terrified of larger dogs
- Stares at ceiling fixtures as if seeing them for the first time
- Still won’t eat near me
She walks the same route every day because anything unfamiliar terrifies her. This isn’t a dog who needed a “retirement home.” This is a trauma survivor who needed rescue from years of abuse.
I Went Back
Since Vala didn’t want to be around me, I thought getting her a companion might help. I went back to A Dog’s Dream. I saw an adorable blue merle mini poodle on TikTok—a breed I couldn’t afford and couldn’t find in rescue anywhere nearby. Then one appeared on A Dog’s Dream website.
So I made a second 10+ hour round trip to Neosho, Missouri, this time with Vala along for the adventure. I was in and out in maybe 20 minutes. No one seemed concerned about why I was back for another dog so soon—they just took my money. I remember Phoenix being fed lunch meat repeatedly while I was there, like they were trying to keep her occupied and calm.
Phoenix had eye discharge when I picked her up and smelled even worse than Vala had. When I asked about the discharge, they dismissed it as being irritated by the “wind.” That eye condition has never gone away—it’s just how her eyes are now. I rinse them with saline daily and use a tiny comb to clean the hair below her eyes.
Phoenix runs from me in the house, shakes when I hold her, and is only affectionate during walks or at the dog park.
They’re Healing Each Other—Despite What Was Done to Them
The heartbreaking and beautiful truth is that Vala and Phoenix are improving together. Phoenix taught Vala how to go potty outside. Yes, there are still accidents, and Phoenix has peed on my bed twice, but we’re all works in progress.
Vala no longer hides in the upper spare room all day—she comes downstairs independently now. This took six months of patient work. The two of them sleep together on the catwalk, guarding the house at night. Vala literally jumps in the air when I come home, and Phoenix sticks her head out of the dog door to check that it’s me. They wake me at 4 a.m. every morning for our walk, and when I get home, they’re together, tails wagging, wanting to give me frantic “hello” licks.
They’re bonded to each other in a way that breaks and heals my heart simultaneously. They needed each other to feel safe enough to even begin trusting a human.
I Almost Gave Up—And That’s When I Learned the Truth
The cost and difficulty of caring for Vala and Phoenix became overwhelming. I put Vala up for adoption, with Phoenix to follow. That’s when The National Wheaten Rescue reached out, asking why.
I tried to justify my decision—Vala was the most difficult dog I have ever had to socialize and train, the expenses were beyond anything I’d expected, and surely someone else could do better for her. The Wheaton rescue offered to take Vala and rehome her through their rescue.
But as we discussed the process, I realized Vala was not spayed was entering her second heat cycle. I’d have to wait months for her to be spayed first. And in those conversations with the Wheaton rescue I had a horrifying realization: I had “rescued” dogs for a reason. Surrendering them would undo all our work and potentially put them right back into danger.
Her Spay Records
Here’s where it gets truly disturbing. One of Vala’s papers states she was spayed by Pinnacle Vet Clinic on 11/01/2023. Another paper states she was spayed on the same date by a vet at Pawsitive Care Veterinary Clinic in Joplin, Missouri. She was supposedly 19 months old and weighed 31.80 pounds at the time.
But Vala was never spayed.
She has clearly had multiple litters of puppies. She has no spay scar or tattoo. As I write this, she’s recovering from her real spay, which finally happened on February 19, 2025—after I discovered the truth when she went into heat twice.
I found out the hard way. Dogs at her daycare were mounting her. The next day at the dog park, male dogs wouldn’t leave her alone. At the vet, they weren’t sure if she was actually in heat or if she’d had a botched spay—after all, she had paperwork stating she was already spayed.
We had to wait six months to see if she’d have another heat cycle. She did. I adopted a dog from the rescue A Dog’s Dream and she was not spayed, the records they sent with her were not correct.
My dogs missed six months of daycare and dog park visits because of this deception. But more importantly, Vala was at risk for continued exploitation—she could have been stolen and used for breeding again because she wasn’t actually sterilized.
Profiting From Commercial Dog Breeding
During my conversations with the Wheaton rescue, she sent me to Stop Online Puppy Mills, where I learned details how breeder dogs are being “rehomed” and “retired” by breeders and puppy brokers via rescue organizations.
I didn’t know that puppy brokers existed until I reached out to Janie Jenkins, president of Stop Online Puppy Mills, and she educated me. It all made sense.
After bringing Vala home, I had checked their website and noticed a complaint about a dog needing professional teeth cleaning. I’d had the exact same experience—regular dental cleanings are now recommended for Vala for the rest of her life due to the damage done before I got her.
A Dog’s Dream has since added a video to their website showing “happy” dogs being socialized. If my dogs had truly been socialized, they would be sitting with me as I write this. Instead, they’re upstairs hiding because that’s what trauma looks like—even after more than a year of patient, loving care.
Why I’m Sharing This Story
Both of my dogs show clear signs of having lived in filthy, cramped conditions with no human interaction beyond what was necessary for breeding and basic survival. They weren’t pets being “retired”—they were breeding machines being discarded and sold for profit one last time.
I may get exasperated some days after a long day of teaching when I come home to messes, but it’s quickly forgotten as it’s cleaned up. I chose these dogs. I purposefully sought them out, which means I accept them where they are and wherever we go from here.
What I cannot and will not accept is the system that made them this way. These dogs don’t need “rehoming”—they need rescue, rehabilitation, and justice.
But now I do know better. And now, so do you.
I am grateful to the team at The National Wheaten Rescue, who helped me understand that I was doing everything I could for Vala and that giving up on her would only traumatize her further. They are the ones that sent me to Janie Jenkins and Stop Online Puppy Mills, the organization that finally gave me the education I needed to understand what had really happened.
