Investigating Puppy Mills

One of Oprah's favorite Christmas gifts last year came from a neighbor who made a donation in Oprah's name to a no-kill shelter called The Lange Foundation. Oprah says she wasn't aware of the gift until she opened a very special Christmas card—"written" by the dog saved by that specific donation. That dog was Salina, a blind cocker spaniel who was close to being put down at an overcrowded animal shelter in Los Angeles.

Here is an excerpt of Salina's letter:
"One morning last week there was great excitement. ... One of the dogs had heard an officer say that someone from Lange Foundation was coming to choose a dog in your honor. I shared in the excitement, even though I knew the dog chosen would not be me. I was old and I was blind. I'd lived for many years in the yard of my owner's home. They never paid much attention to me. I did have my own doghouse, and that is where I spent most of my life, especially when I could no longer see.

"When the foundation arrived, I tried to look my best as I knew it was my fifth day at the pound—my final day. The lady slowly walked up and down the aisles. I could sense that she was sad, and I heard her say to the kennel man, 'I wish I could take all of them.' She passed by my crowded dog run for the third time, and then she stopped and said, 'I think I'll take that one ... I'll take the blind one.'"

"What a great gift, and I was so moved by it," Oprah says. "I got this card, I went and wrote this [organization] a $10,000 check immediately."