From mid-December through the end of March, 1 Love 4 Animals rescued over 200 dogs from Pennsylvania’s puppy mills. Our staff and volunteers worked diligently/tirelessly to process all the animals coming into our facility, refugees from the brutal cold.

After arriving at our sanctuary in Chester County, it’s as if the dogs were placed on fast moving conveyor belts traveling to grooming shops, veterinarian offices, emergency rooms, our rescue partners in South Carolina and Martha’s Vineyard, and finally to homes up and down the East Coast. The cost of helping these animals was great, but the cost of not helping these animals would have been greater.

An anonymous donor has pledged $100K to cover half the cost of caring for and processing the 200 dogs, IF we can raise matching funds.

The average cost of helping one of the dogs we rescued was approximately $1K. This included grooming, spaying/neutering, blood work, vaccines, a microchip for identification, testing for Lyme Disease and Heartworm, mass removals, hernia repairs, treating ear and skin infections. Several of the dogs suffering with serious but treatable injuries and life threatening illnesses required emergency surgeries or the care of specialists which was considerably more.  

1 Love 4 Animals made every effort to help every dog we received a call about. We are now asking our friends to answer the call and help us raise the matching funds to coverthe expenses incurred saving these animals. It was an exceptionally harsh winter and we rescued twice the number of dogs than we did in the same time period for 2025. Please help us raise the funds necessary to secure the grant of $100K. This is a great opportunity to double your contribution to 1 Love 4 Animals.

The actual rescues were often quite dramatic in nature - our team members carrying terrified dogs down the icy mountainous terrain of Belleville to the warmth of our waiting cars below or trudging across the snowy fields of Christiana in minus four degree weather, the wind burning our hands and faces. But more than dramatic, our efforts mark another milestone in 1 Love’s now almost decade long history of helping animals. 

Living in outside hutches with a wind chill below freezing, the short-haired breeds (Bostons, Dachshunds, French Bulldogs, Pugs) suffered from frostbite with sores covering their bodies, while the longer-haired Shih Tzus, Poodles, Yorkies, and Doodles were all badly matted and often their eyes were sealed closed by layers of soiled hair. Pregnant dogs and the puppies the breeders failed to sell were particularly vulnerable to the elements and once at 1 Love they required around the clock monitoring, or in the case of the newborn puppies, bottle feeding if the mothers were too weak to nurse. 

Many of the 200 dogs have either been placed in carefully screened families or have been adopted through our rescue partners in Charleston SC or Marta's Vineyard. Others wait at our facility, The Blaine Holt Finkbiner Sanctuary in Chester County, PA, for their forever homes. Please consider adopting a dog from 1 Love, or make a donation today. Many extraordinary cats and kittens are available as well. 

Winter Brochure 2025-2026

Winter Brochure 2024-2025

Puppy Mill Rescues

When we appeared on Oprah in 2008, we made it very clear that not all Mennonite and Amish families operate puppy mills (wrong the generalize about a specific group of people). That said, the overwhelming number of puppy mill operators we rescue dogs from are members of the Amish or Mennonite communities.

We are told repeatedly by Amish and Mennonite breeders surrendering dogs that there is no justification for keeping, or even feeding, a dog if she cannot produce saleable puppies. 1 Love has rescued dogs that have been caged in barns for more than ten years, all the while providing income for the Amishman and his family, but were never given names or received any veterinary care? The breeder will ask us to wait as he removes the collar or chain around the dog’s neck, to use on the neck of the next dog coming up. Greasy pieces of leather with rusted buckles and frayed ropes: family heirlooms passed from one dog to the next.

Why would a breeder give up a breeding dog to a rescue? Several reasons: If the dog gives birth to stillborn puppies, or grows too old, or the breeder is switching to a more popular breed, or a mother dog is being replaced by one of her daughters, or the dog is suffering from an obvious injury or untreated illness that may lead state inspectors to levy a fine or citation. Why would a breeder give a puppy to 1 Love volunteers? If the puppy has a physical defect and is unsalable or has simply grown too old to command the asking price, a breeder will often pass the dog along to 1 Love.