Dog Saved From Puppy Mill Didn't Ever Learn How To Sleep Lying Down

Mar 25, 2019

We often hear about the horrors of puppy mills, but what does life look like for dogs that have been rescued from these awful situations? One little poodle got his second chance at a happy life after being saved from this terrible environment along with seven hundred other dogs of various breeds. Thankfully, this dog will now know just how kind and loving humans can be after an upbringing of neglect.

 The rescued puppy was named Jordan Knight. He began his life belonging to a licensed breeder that operated out of Georgia, but once the breeder was reported for inhumane conditions the police stepped in and rescued all of the dogs.

But how would Jordan’s past living conditions affect his behavior after the rescue?

Melissa Lentz, the woman who stepped up to foster Jordan, saw that the dog was terrified and traumatized from what he had been through. She knew that she couldn’t overwhelm him, so she gave him some time to have his own space in order to adjust to his new surroundings.

But Melissa was heartbroken when she saw how Jordan was used to sleeping at night. When he was tired, he didn’t lay in the dog bed he was provided.

He simply stood up and went to sleep with just his head rested on the pillow. Before he was rescued, Jordan was kept in a cage so small that he never learned how to lie down and relax. Because he had to learn how to sleep standing up due to the close quarters, during his first night at his foster home he repeated the only behavior he was used to.

"He was so used to standing to sleep due to his cramped cage," Releash Atlanta, the organization that helped rescue Jordan and place him in foster care, explained. "He did the same thing on his first night in his foster home." 

However, Jordan soon learned that things had changed for him and his behavior started to change. He quickly learned the joys of lying down to sleep rather than standing, and it became his new favorite past time- next to eating dinner, of course! He began getting along with the other dogs around him, and soon could be found lying down next to them on the couch and snuggling.

Once he received a bath, he realized how comforting the warm water and towel felt. Although Jordan still has a long way to go behaviorally after his rough start at life, he even began resting in his foster mother’s lap.

Melissa is teaching him that humans aren’t so bad after all and are capable of giving him the attention, love, respect, and affection that he deserves.

Although Jordan is still recovering from his past, he will eventually be up for adoption at Releash Atlanta. What do you think about Jordan’s story and the horrors of puppy mills? Let us know in the comments and pass this along to all the animal lovers you know!