The wife and I decided to get my 8 year old daughter a puppy for Christmas. After trying to decide on which breed to get her, we finally decided on a Shih Tsu and found someone who was selling them for a price within our budget. The wife and I went to look at the newborn pup on the 27th of Nov and decided that it was the one we wanted. The lady wanted $500 so we put a $250 deposit down to secure the pup and signed a contract with the owner complete with a health guarantee and an agreement that the seller would also pay for the 1st set of shots and we would pick her up on 24th (Christmas Eve). Sounded like a great deal to me because I was basically going to get a healthy dog with $60 shot package for $440. The lady was sending us updated pictures of the dogs progress and keeping us informed about how she was doing which I thought was pretty cool. A couple weeks before the 24th she starts hassling my wife over text about how she took the pup to the vet and the vet would not give the dog the shots because she was too young and underweight (normally dogs have to be atleast 6 weeks old and atleast 2 pounds) this is what SHE said. So to me, it sounded like she was making excuses so she didn't have to pay for the shots. I was kind of upset because she wasn't upholding the conditions of the contract but I was still getting the dog for $500 so it was still a good deal. Yesterday, she starts texting my wife again saying that she doesn't want to sell us the dog and she can't give us a refund because she already spent the money lol. After some sweet talking we convinced her to let us come get the dog on the 23rd and we will give the remaining $250 for the dog. At this point I just want the dog to surprise my daughter with it. When we got there to get the dog we looked her over, she seemed in good health and was walking around. They printed out a receipt for us and I gave her the $250. When we left we took her straight to the vet to get checked out. The vet looked her over and did a full exam. They couldn't get a stool sample from the pup to check for parasites and whatnot. The first piece of bad news was the pup had a SERIOUS flea infection. So they were just going to give her medication to kill the fleas and send us on our way until we got a stool sample to bring back for testing. They offered us the option of atleast getting a PCV test done at a $25 cost to check the oxygenation of her blood and make sure she was ok. I thought "What the Hey, I just want to do everything possible to make sure she was healthy" so I had them run it. They came back in and said "We have some really bad news for you".......the dog was extremely anemic because of not only the fleas feasting on her blood, but she had hookworms and parasites (they eventually swabbed enough stool to run a test). Poor thing was severely neglected and they said she needed to go to the ER IMMEDIATELY. Long story short we opted to bring the pup home and nurse it back to health with $154 worth of medications (I was tempted to return the dog but it would have certainly died without our help and the seller had already spent my final $250....go figure) So now my daughter can not get her Christmas Day because she's not healthy enough. She's getting better and should be ok by Monday maybe Tuesday. The only good part is that if the dog ends up not responding to treatment and dies, my daughter doesn't even know she was getting it. She asked Santa for one so she's hoping to see it on Sunday. FML
Wow! That poor pup! I know this sounds like a horrible thing to do to someone on Christmas Eve, but consider contacting your local SPCA/police/animal cruelty investigator. If she has other animals that have been similarly neglected (which she must, or else your poor puppy wouldn't have had such a bad case of fleas), they need to be removed and treated ASAP. I'd also look into enforcing that health guarantee. Good luck! Hope the pup pulls through!
Thanks a lot for the support. It's really a sad situation because this lady had more pups than just this one. She even sold one to a guy who picked it up today and took it home. I don't know who it is or I would definitely let him know of the situation. It just fascinates me that she's selling them to people who are giving them to their kids on Christmas. We have already contacted the seller and she has agreed to atleast pay the vet bills. If she doesn't I plan on taking her to small claims court. Yeah the ER vet told us that we should contact SPCA also which I will for sure do come Monday. I would do it sooner but they're closed for the holidays.
I went thru a similar experience with a dog breeder ( puppy mill ). Did everything you did and vet said she was sorry, but it had a heart problem and won't be good around children. It was for my girlfriends daughter. I felt bad, but I returned it, as I wasn't taking a chance on it biting her young daughter. You are a better man than me. It was hard to do. I admire your courage to care for and love the dog. I respect what you did.
I'm really sorry about your experience. You did what you thought was best but I understand when you say it was hard. Thanks for the nice compliment. I know if it wasn't a risk to the little girl you would've done the same.
What should happen to that individual I cannot write here for fear of gettin' slapped with a suspension. However if you factor in I was a LEO for 29 yrs you can probably figure it out for yourself. You're doing right by that poor pup, which is all that matters.
Yeah I totally relate to your feelings 100%. Thanks for the encouragement and reassurance. It means a lot.
I really appreciate your prayers. It's all in Gods hands right now. If at the very least I can make her more comfortable than she was. Thanks a lot.
You did the right thing. I hope the pup gets better soon (sounds like you have a plan) Merry Christmas.
That's the genie I was hoping would stay in the bottle today. I guess it was too large an elephant in the room. Cliché metaphor aside; as long as we continue to throw money at backyard breeders and the equally evil puppy mills, these stories will happen. If we're going to purchase puppies folks, the onus is on us to thoroughly research the breeder. I said thoroughly. SWMBO and I have spent years involved with a rescue org and these stories are still too commonplace. If you're about to do business with a breeder...GTS! If they're reputable, you'll know it. If you want a specific breed, hook up with a rescue organization that specializes in said breed. They will have a list of reputable breeders. Don't depend on your own sense of people either. One of the worst Weimaraner puppy mills ever was run by the sweetest old lady ever. She just happened to be an evil being who is certainly experiencing that special place in Hell for her ilk. Don't interpret this as an attack on the OP, is isn't. Y'all touched one of my few nerves.
I feel for you and hope the pup comes through to be a wonderful new family member. We bought a pup once (not a pure breed so it cost only $30) and it, too had worms, fleas...the whole deal. We got her fixed up and she was happy and loved for years. This could be a great learning experience for you daughter. Now she'll see that someone (pup) relies on her like she relies on you. Good luck! HERM
