Soon, they will be up for adoption.
For the 156 pooches, Tuesday was welcome to the sunshine, welcome to exploration and affection.
Overnight, the dogs were driven halfway across the country.
Up until then, they'd lived their lives in a so-called /*puppy mill*/, a large scale breeding operation.
The living conditions inside these breeding businesses horrify animal lovers like Michele Forrester, who has visited them undercover.
"There you are in a barn with the snow coming through holes in the wall, hundreds of dogs, puppies, waiting to be sold," said Michele Forrester, of /*The Animal Rescue Fund*/.
A dog named Ellie Mae has lived inside a cage for five years, and it's taken its toll on her; there's dirt in her coat, in her eye, and Ellie Mae is pregnant.
Ellie Mae and the others are all adults with medical problems, and that means they're no longer money-makers.
They would have all been euthanized if not for these rescue groups.
From the parking lot in /*Armonk*/, rescuers will take the dogs to shelters, then spirit them away to vets and groomers for check-up's and clean-up's.
In a few weeks, they'll try to adopt them out.
That's why I go to work, because I'm saving the life of an animal," Forrester said.
The dogs will be available for adoption after they are spayed/neutered and medically cleared by ARF.
Check the website www.arfhamptons.org to see adoptable dogs, as they become available.
For more information please email adoptions@arfhamptons.org.
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