For an extended period, Ruthie appeared to be a dejected, small, brown-colored dog due to being kept in an unclean outdoor pen amid varying weather conditions. The animal was neglected and frequently used for breeding, with its young taken away by a backyard breeder based in Michigan. However, the present situation is quite different as Ruthie is now clean, healthy, and cherished, living indoors with a new family that has vowed to safeguard her.
Ruthie was among 39 dogs that the authorities seized and put up for adoption subsequent to a PETA covert inquiry into John D. Jones’ unsavory breeding enterprise, JRT John’s Jack Russell Terriers. During the investigation, PETA’s investigator documented that many dogs were kept in cramped and bare kennels with limited protection from the freezing weather and snow all day long. The situation was so dire that PETA supporters staged a four-day sit-in at the Missaukee County Sheriff’s Office until it enforced laws against animal cruelty.
Ruthie had gone through significant trauma, and it took her some time to adjust to life indoors with her new guardians, Nikki and Kenny Carney, as well as her new “grandmother,” Eleanor. According to Kenny’s explanation in the video, Ruthie had lived for “five or six years without having a name or a toy.” Initially, Ruthie used to run away or avoid eye contact, but her new family and the two other dogs in the household quickly taught her how to feel secure. Kenny remarked, “They pretty much taught her the ins and outs of everything here” regarding her new canine companions.
Daphna Nachminovitch, PETA’s Senior Vice President, said, “Ruthie found love, but other fantastic dogs will continue to be confined or penned in puppy mills and deprived of the affection and care they require as long as people buy from breeders instead of adopting from shelters. Breeders regard dogs as breeding machines, merely existing to produce offspring for them to sell.”
Kenny tearfully stated, “Ruthie is the first of many rescues, and I hope that her experience can somehow help others bridge the gap.”
