10 dogs rescued from Midwest puppy mills now in Arizona

PHOENIX (FOX 10) -- Their long journey is almost over for 10 dogs rescued from puppy mills in other states.

The dogs have arrived in Arizona, and they are being cared for by the Arizona Animal Welfare League, and will soon go up for adoption.

AAWL took in the pups, in hopes of giving them a better home.

"These are dogs that have spent years trapped in kennels that are barely larger than their bodies," said Michael Morefield with the Arizona Animal Welfare League. "They may have never walked on the ground."

The dogs came to Arizona from puppy mills in Missouri and Kansas, and the "National Mill Dog Rescue" helped to make this happen.

"We took in Great Danes, Kerry Blue Terriers, Yorkies, a beautiful dappled Dachshund who was bred for multiple years just to have her fancy color," said Morefield.

While the dogs have already received immediate medical care, many of them still have a long way to go before they can be adopted.

"Some of our dogs are socially a lot better than what we've seen in the past through some of our mill dog rescues, but medically, they still need a lot of care because they don't receive medical care in puppy mills," said Morefield.

AAWL staff will also train the dogs and socialize them before they can go to their forever homes. They say adopting a dog that came from a puppy mill takes a lot of love and patience. Currently, three dogs are ready for adoption.