Kathy & Beth
The Pancake Farm
1032 South State Street
Ephrata, PA 17522
717-733-7118
Kathy & Beth
You guys are amazing...
The food, the donations and most of all the help in rescuing the
dogs...
The White Van

This is the story of a 7 year old Corgi rescued from a puppy mill.
Her name is Shelby and this is her story.

I have lived inside this cage for seven long years. I have given birth to more babies
than I can remember. Many of them died within hours of being born. Those that didn't
die were taken from me before I even had the chance to clean them. I often wonder
what fate had in store for them.  Were they destined to be breeders?
Were some of them sold off to the brokers and the dealers that frequented the farm?
Were some of them destined to die in the summer heat or the winter's cold?
I had seen that often enough. In my lifetime I have lost too many crate mates because
of the terrible heat and cold we are all exposed to. I have seen dogs literally freeze to
death and I have also seen the dogs that died from dehydration brought on by
excessive heat and lack of fluids. I can only hope that the babies pulled from me were
able to escape mill life. I have been in this mill for too long. I have seen more in 7
years than most people have seen in a lifetime. I have seen dogs shot to death and
drowned. I have seen dogs that are still alive as the farmer tossed their bodies onto a
burn pile. I have watched as the farmer turned his back when the screaming from
these weathered victims became too much for his ears. I have seen the paws that jut
out from the burn pile after the fire has ended and the ashes smolder. I have smelled
the acrid odor of burning flesh and hair. I have even witnessed several dogs trying to
escape from the burn pile only to be pushed back with a farmers pitchfork.
I have seen babies born with deformities that were unacceptable to the farmer and I
have watched as the farmer choked them to death with his bare hands.
I have heard their cries and I have witnessed the silence that follows. I have had a
front row seat to the infamous debarking practice implemented in these mills. I had a
metal pipe shoved down my throat and I have felt the pain and tasted the blood as the
pipe was twisted and my vocal chords were severed. I have seen agricultural chains
that were so severely embedded in the necks of the dogs that the dog eventually died
from the severe infection created by the chain. I have seen mothers die during  
botched c-sections and I have seen the babies ripped from their wombs before the
body turned cold. I have seen more than I ever wanted to. When I was born I thought
that I would eventually get off this farm. I dreamed of playing on the grass, running in
fields and chasing a ball. These are the things that all puppies want. This was not
meant to be for me. I was hand selected by the farmer to be a breeder. I remember
when he chose me I felt proud to be the one selected. I felt special. I didn't know what
I was in for.
Looking back now I realize that being chosen as a breeder meant that I was sentenced
to a lifetime of abuse and neglect. I would die in the same cage that I was born in.
Never to run on grass, never to play with a ball, never to have a family to call my own.
I was a prisoner in a puppy mill.
Yesterday the farmer came through the barn. He had his son with him. They would
look into the cages and make comments. Sometimes they would stop at a cage and
pull a dog out. These dogs were placed in a plastic crate. I watched in fear as they
came to my cage. They reached inside and yanked my crate mate from the cage. I
could tell that she was terrified. She didn't do anything to stop them. She just
trembled in fear and allowed them to place her into the plastic crate. I could hear them
talking. I knew that my friend and the other dogs were going to be destroyed. I knew
that they were chosen only because they weren't giving the farmer "good puppies"
any longer. I watched as my friend was carried out of the barn. I followed her eyes.
They seemed to tell me that she was okay. That death was a much better option than
life on this farm.
I expected to hear the all too familiar sound of gunshots and the awful sound of the
hammers that were used when the bullets missed their mark. I waited in my corner
knowing that when the farmer and his son finished with this batch they would be back
for me and others. I already knew that my time on earth was limited. The farmer had
made it all too clear that I was going to be put down. He had already stopped feeding
me and many others inside the barn. This was always an indication that we were no
longer of any use to him. We could no longer make babies. This was my last day on
earth. Part of me was thrilled to be freed from the pain of living. Part of me was sad to
have lived life without ever really living. The barn was oddly quiet as all of the
remaining dogs awaited the sound of death and the silence that followed. After
several minutes of nothing, I ventured over to the edge of my cage and looked out the
barn door. Off in the distance I could see a large white van. This was a familiar sight.
Dealers and brokers usually showed up in these vans. As the van pulled onto the dirt
slope in front of the barn I noticed a new face behind the wheel. As the door of the van
opened I watched as an older, chubby woman stepped down from the van. There was
something different about her. She didn't have that nervous energy the brokers and
dealers had.  She talked very kindly to the farmer but the whole time she talked her
eyes were on the plastic crate and the dogs inside the barn.   I saw the back door of
the van open and two more women stepped down. They were both smiling as they
held out their hands to shake the farmers hand. They introduced themselves as
Teresa and Cheryl and they told the farmer that they were thrilled to be taking some
of his dogs. I assumed they were here for the puppies. Then something happened that
I had never seen before. The farmer reached down and picked up the plastic crate that
held my cage mate and several other dogs. He handed the crate to the two women
and  they placed it gently into the back of the van. The farmer then led the ladies into
the barn. I watched in fascination as they took dog after dog from their cages  and
carried them gently to the van. I watched as they placed each dog into a clean crate
and offered it water and a blanket. I noticed Cheryl and Teresa placing new collars on
each dog before they closed the crate doors. This was really different. Normally the
dealers throw 10-15 puppies into each cage and don't bother giving them anything, not
even a second look. I watched as these 3 ladies and the farmer made their way
through the barn. Eventually they stopped at my cage. The farmer asked the driver of
the van if she would have any use for me. She assured him that her group could use
as many dogs as he was willing to give. She then reached into my cage and gathered
me in her arms. She carried me to the van. The entire time we walked she whispered
in my ear. She told me that I was free, that I would never be hungry or thirsty again.
She told me that I would never live outside in the elements again. She told me that I
was beautiful and she told me that there were a million people in the US who already
loved me. She told me that I would never be neglected or abused again. She told me
that The Freedom Van was here and it would carry me to a new life. I wondered what
this freedom van was and, as if she read my mind she told me The Freedom Van was
a gift from two of the most beautiful women she had ever met. She told me that their
names were Kathy and Beth. She told me that Kathy and Beth owned a restaurant and
that when they found out about the dogs in the puppy mills they were determined to
do something to help. They enlisted the help of all their friends and employees and
within 3 weeks they had donated this beautiful van to all the dogs living in puppy mills.
I wondered why anyone would want to give me anything. The farmer had already
made it very clear that I was not worth anything. He had never given me anything
more than a few morsels of food each day and the occasional bottle of water. Once
again it was as if the driver read my mind. She looked down at me and said: "Kathy
and Beth know that you and all the others have never had anything and now, they
want to give you everything."  "They sent us to free you and they have given us the
means to do it." I looked up into her weathered, old face and wondered why anyone
would do anything for me. Reading my mind once again she stated the following:
Their are angels in heaven and even greater angels on earth. Kathy, Beth and all their
employees and friends are Earth Angels and they did this simply because they care...

In two weeks part II of this story will be put on this site. You will be able to read all
about Shelby and her life in freedom...
A note from A Tail To Tell to all the wonderful people at the Pancake
Farm...

We love you guys. You have made our lives easier and the lives of
the dogs we rescue so much better.  We are  overwhelmed by your
generosity and kindness. Our dogs are blessed to be in your lives.
We are blessed to have you in ours...