Four month old Shelly should have nothing to worry about. But, she began life in a puppy farm and developed a serious urinary issue. Continually leaking urine in the dirty conditions of a puppy farm would have caused Shelly many problems. In some ways, she is lucky, she was given up to rescuers at a young age, she won’t have to suffer for years as many dogs do. But, the costs of treating her condition fall not to her breeder, but to charity. This is why Schnauzerfest exists.

For a dog like Mara, from a puppy farm background, they are faced with a lot of challenges adjusting to living with humans. When the dogs are blind, this adds enormously to those challenges. Restoring Mara’s eyesight is one of the biggest gifts she can have, ready to head off to her new life with. This is what donations to Schnauzerfest achieve.

Pansy and Dennis arrived at the same time at DBARC. Both had eye problems but the extent of their vision wasn’t known for some time. While Dennis was a live wire from the start, despite years of ordeal in a puppy farm, Pansy was far more reserved, timid and wary of human interaction. Both had a long road ahead, but it was a road DBARC made as bright as possible for them both.

Buddy was born and raised at DBARC when mum Lara was saved, pregnant, from a puppy farmer. Just as he was about to head off to his new family and the rest of his life, disaster hit. It was found that he had been born with a cleft palate. If left untreated this would seriously compromise his health.

While their mum clung to life having undergone emergency surgery, Lara’s ten puppies faced an uncertain future. With no mum to feed them, it was down to Janet and her small team of volunteers to save their lives. With feeds needed every 2 hours and each feed taking that long, this was a mammoth night and day task that the Diana Brimblecombe Animal Rescue Centre faced.

When Zena was taken in by the Diana Brimblecombe Animal Rescue Centre she was a confused, broken soul. Being totally blind, and having survived years in a puppy farm, it was no surprise she found everything utterly bewildering. Special care, gentle lessons in accepting love and kindness and generous amounts of time, patience and understanding were needed for this special girl to overcome her dark past.

At the end of January an 8 year old miniature schnauzer arrived at the Diana Brimblecombe Animal Rescue Centre, having escaped life as a breeder in a puppy farm. It’s unknown how many litters in those 8 long years she would have produced before being discarded by the breeder, but judging by the poor state of her, it was many. However, unlike the other dogs who arrived with her, she seemed a good weight, if anything, plump.

With time and patience and the accumulated experience of the DBARC team, Nell gradually began to settle and shake off some of the worst terrors that she’d first displayed. Steady, consistent and kind routines helped her to understand that her new life was good.

Hansel was one of several miniature schnauzers who arrived together at DBARC having escaped the nightmare of life in a puppy farm. It was clear that he would need time, patience and complex veterinary treatment before he could be found his new home. DBARC provided the perfect place of peace and professional care for this sensitive dog while he spent a few months recovering from years of neglect.

Nova was one of several dogs, all taken into rescue at the same time. All were in various states of neglect, having spent their entire lives up to the point of rescue, being confined in the grim conditions of a puppy farm. All had a variety problems but it was clear Nova also had serious eye problems. This affected how she engaged with humans in the new world in which she found herself.

Konnie arrived at DBARC with an obvious fear of humans which brought out difficult behavioural issues. Having lived a life of neglect and abuse it was no surprise that she had problems adjusting to the kindness of humans. But, the DBARC team were sure there was something else going on.

Martha (aka Berry) arrived at DBARC with several other schnauzers who had been saved from puppy farms. They arrived a few weeks ahead of Schnauzerfest 2018 and all had multiple health needs and some were obviously blind.

Only Bronwyn will truly know the horrors she endured at the puppy farm, however the evidence of what it’s left her with are seen everyday. The resistance to walk through doorways, not approaching her family if they’re stood full height; cowering if anyone gets too close; noises we all take for granted that frighten her and make her run off to her safe place.

After a chance meeting in 2015 on a Dorset beach and hearing about Schnauzerfest, Anne and Steve adopted puppy farm survivor Bella in 2018.

River arrived at DBARC with extreme problems. At one point it looked unlikely that she would survive. It took months of specialist care, diagnostics, surgery and rehabilitation for her to be well enough to go home to her new life.

When Twinklet arrived at DBARC, nobody could have guessed that the dog who had just been saved from death after being dumped in a field with dreadful injuries would become quite the starlet she eventually did. Twinklet has become iconic for the work and dedication of the DBARC team and the successful outcomes that collaboration with Schnauzerfest brings.

Meme is described by her adoptive mum Kim as a little ray of sunshine. Despite coming from a rough life in a puppy farm where no love and little care would have been available, Meme from the moment she arrived at DBARC showed she had every intention of enjoying the life she now had to its fullest.

In the middle of Schnauzerfest 2016 we heard about a poor little schnauzer who’d clearly had a terrible life. She was blind and terrified. Through a great team effort involving a network of volunteers, Ginty arrived into the care of DBARC in the hope of having her sight restored.

Sitting there was a miniature schnauzer with a deep, gaping, badly infected hole in her throat about the size of a golfball. To have a wound that deep and infected meant she’d been neglected for a long time. Lacey was going to need some serious surgery and help to recover from this.

Ola, aka Ollie arrived blind at DBARC. She’d spent her life breeding puppies and many of those puppies will without doubt also lose their eyesight in future. We can only hope they are in safe and loving homes.

Daisy has suffered a tremendous amount of neglect and abuse in her life. This has left her with a terror of humans and behaviours which reflect this. She is highly averse to human interaction and while being cared for by the DBARC team would allow nobody by Janet, manager of DBARC, close to her.

In the lead up to the Schnauzerfest weekend we were contacted by someone in Scotland who wanted to know if she could do something special for Schnauzerfest. And so began a transformational few days for what has been an astonishing year for Schnauzerfest.