We watched the Oprah show on puppy mills last night - - did you?

The show was hard to watch and every pup reminded me of Maggie. Seeing the filthy conditions brought back memories of how bad Maggie smelled when we first got her. Because she was spayed the day before we adopted her we couldn't bathe Maggie for over a week. We jokingly referred to her as "Stinky Magee" at the time, but it went beyond that. After touching Maggie you had to wash your hands because they would be covered in her stinky-goo. I had to use warm towels and a comb to get the caked on "crud" off her legs (I'll let you define "crud" in your own head).

There was a moment in the show when the rescue group attempted to walk a lab on leash, but he doesn't move - - because he's never been outside his cage and doesn't know how to walk on another surface. That's when I lost it. That was Maggie two months ago.

In the blog we've focused a lot on Maggie's milestones, but the truth is that Maggie is still learning how to be a dog. She doesn't know how to play with toys. She never gets up and just walks around the house. If the door bell rings she gets anxious, not excited. She still struggles with doorways. Nightmares are still common. We've never heard her bark. Maggie's puppy mill days still haunt her.

Pet stores are like any other business - - where there's demand they'll create supply. PLEASE DON'T PURCHASE YOUR PET FROM A PET STORE. The experts on Oprah's show estimated that 99% of pets in stores are from mills.

If you're considering a pet check out Animal Education & Rescue (http://www.aear.org/). You can find Maggie under their adoptions page :-)

As of today Maggie has been with us for two months. To celebrate she's going to root for the Jayhawks in the Final Four!