More Than 100 Dogs Were Rescued from Baja Breeder in Terrible State

LA MESA, Calif.: A San Diego-based dog rescue warns people to know where they get their pets from. The message comes after more than 100 dogs were rescued from a famous breeder in Mexico.

Lauren Botticelli, Executive Director of The Animal Pad Dog Rescue, said, “I only wish we would’ve known sooner and done something then.”

A total of 111 canines are now getting a second chance at life. Unfortunately, the dogs are mostly doodles, living in filth, fighting for water and food, and sometimes even killing each other. Most of them were found underweight and sick.

Some were so scared they refused to let rescuers take them in, so the team had to wrangle them to get them to safety.

“It was awful; we didn’t want to traumatize these dogs any further, but there was really no other way to get them out,” she added.

Botticelli says the conditions the dogs lived in were unlike anything she’s seen before.

Botticelli said, “It was just a sad sight. A week later, they’re all realizing that this was for the best, and they’re all excited and happy to be here for the most part, there are still some that are working through a lot of trauma, and they will be working through these things for a really long time.”

The rescue picked up all types of dog breeds during the rescue, but the majority are different doodle mixes – an increasingly popular breed.

“It’s much more than just a cute dog. We said, ‘we were lucky that these dogs were doodles because if they were pit bulls, who would be adopting these dogs?’,” she said.

The dogs were rescued after the breeder was arrested in Mexico. Many of the breeder’s clients lived in San Diego and Orange counties.

Now Botticelli is calling on anyone to think twice before getting a pet.

She added, “A transport across the border…so much is left unknown there. Do your due diligence regardless of where you’re getting your animals from. If you’re going to go the breeder route, just make sure you see the spot your dog is coming from, meet the people, and interact.”

The rescue said many of the dogs are pregnant, so the number of the dogs in their care will quickly multiply in the coming weeks.