Gilda formerly known as Lucy comes from one of the greediest of boxer breeders in the state of South Dakota. Gilda lived in a Puppymill in Elk Point, South Dakota. She was diagnosed at the age of ONE with a prolapsed uterus, yet she was artificially inseminated not long after that in hopes of making some money off of her. We don't know if she actually carried the litter to term or what happened at that point because we can't seem to get the whole story out of Mrs. Greedy. We do know that in Feb or March of 2006 we were contacted to take her because she was no longer of any use to the puppymill operation. Mrs Greedy made it sound as if Gilda was a beloved pet, she was allegedly house trained etc etc, but no one was allowed to go to the home to visit her because of the fear of germs being brought to the kennels. We now know that she didn't want anyone to see the operation.

Mrs Greedy wanted a hundred bucks for Gilda because she had to get something out of here, and had been entertaining selling her to individuals that wanted to breed her anyway. Why she allowed rescue to buy her, I really don't know, but we were eager to get her out of there. Gilda must have went into heat either shortly before or after I paid for her and became the rightful owner. Mrs Greedy allowed her to be bred and she was impregnated. All of a sudden we can't get a hold of her to make arrangements for Gilda to come to RApid. We don't know that Gilda is pregnant, only that we haven't heard from MRs GReedy in quite some time, she won't answer calls or return them, and before that she was in such a hurry to move Gilda out of there. So we don't know what is going on.

One night, one of our devoted volunteers received a call from Mrs Greedy. She was in tears because she had had to rush Gilda in for an emergency C-Section and they took out 9 dead puppies. Gilda wouldn't be ready to transport for at least six weeks. WHAT???????? Six weeks? What is that all about? We push the issue and set up transport for two weeks later saying it was the only time it could be done. Shes allows it and Gilda comes to Rapid.

Imagine our surprise when we get Gilda and she is so full and dripping with milk it is as if some pups had been getting their fill that very morning. How odd. Her records don't give the name of a vet, only HER version of Gilda's records. They cut her open, took out nine dead pups, BUT DID NOT spay her in the process? How cheap is that? Gilda had to be cut open AGAIN to be spayed. She really cared about this dog, didn't she? Did the pups really die...or did Mrs Greedy find a way to scrape in some more money before she dumped this poor, unsocialized creature? We;ll never really know, but this we do know. Gilda was the most unsocialized boxer I have EVER met in my life. BEcause she is used to living with 40 other dogs, and having little human contact, she is most comfortable with dogs. She is terrified of most humans, and after months of working with her, she bonded deeply with her foster family, loved to go on runs, play with the children and was beginning to protect her home by barking to let them know that the squirrels were visiting the trees. Gilda was becoming a real live wigglebutt boxer girl. She adored her foster brother Cos, who is the biggest clown I have ever met. I think he helped a lot in bringing her out of her shell. Gilda truly was ready for a home of her own, but would need continued work on gaining her trust and bonding with humans first and dogs second.

On October 21, 2006 Gilda was adopted by the most wonderful couple we could have hoped for. They lost their beloved boxer girl of old age last winter and it took all of these months for their hearts to be ready to adopt a new pet.. They were touched by Gilda's story and fell in love with her pictures over the internet. When they came to Rapid City to meet her, they saw that she would need work in gaining trust, but that she acclimated herself quite well with another family, so it could be done. In fact, Gilda's foster mom said it only took a couple days after her arrival for her to settle in with them, but she did have fear of men at first. She seemed to bond deeply with her foster dad after learning to trust him.

Gilda loaded up with her new family and headed back to Woodbury, MN to begin her new life. All was well on the trip home, but when they arrived Gilda panicked. The moment the car door opened, she dashed out before they could get a leash on her and off she went. Our beloved girl has been on the run ever since. She is staying within a certain area of Woodbury and has been spotted MANY times over the past weeks. Her family has outdone themselves in putting up flyers and contacting neighbors. The word is OUT in Woodbury and people know about her. There has been food set out in various areas that she's been spotted in and many times the food has been eaten. In recent spottings people have noted that she does not appear too thin, so the food is helping. She's found a place to nestle in for warmth and I believe she's going back to that place to hole up. There is a golf course and a park right off the backyard of her owners, so she has a lot of running space. She's started branching out and widening her area. This is frightening to me because I fear that she'll get onto a busy street. If ANYONE has suggestions for tracking Gilda please reply to my email address. She has come very close to people with dogs, but the minute someone tries to approach her, she takes off like a deer. There really isn't an animal control in the area to assist, so the owners are doing this ALL on their own. The hours put in have been astronimical and I know their hearts are so heavy right now. This is not what they envisioned for Gilda and I feel so bad for them as well as Gilda. Please pray for this family and for Gilda. We need any help that can be offered at this point. We all know how cold MN gets in the winter and boxers do not have coats to withstand it. We must find her soon, so please offer up some ideas if you read this and if you've gotten this far, thank you for caring enough to read the whole thing.

One last thing, to make matter worse, Mrs Greedy is refusing to provide a Vet name so we can get certification of the records that she sent. It will be my MISSION IN LIFE to close this puppymill down if it is the last thing I do!!

UPDATE!!!! 12/06
GILDA HAS BEEN FOUND!!!!! After being on the run since late October, Gilda is finally back in the warm, loving arms of her family. A vet check up revealed very little in problems. Some scrapes on her pads and some expected weight loss. We are so thankful for the devoted family that Gilda has and all the wonderful people that have spent their valuable time looking for her. This is truly a Christmas miracle and we are finally going to have peace of mind about Gilda.

Gilda is making progress coming out of her shell, but she is in a home that is incredibly devoted to her. I shall update this story with notes from her family and information on our progress in shutting down the PUPPY MILL that she came from.