Well, I *had* a new puppy....

[highsider]

....and I was awarded the dubious choice of putting him to sleep this morning or spending $3000, only to have him die anyway.

AS some of you might remember, my wife and I really wanted a White German Shepard pup. Dianne on this site posted a link to breeder in Ohio, and we went ahead and ordered a pup from their next litter, which was born on May 15th. Little Cyrus came into Burlington on Monday, right around his 8 week point.

He was an absolute *champ* when I got him - he came to work in my office for two days straight, had no "accidents", chewed only on his toys, and generally charmed the pants off everyone in the office. I elected to leave him at home with my wife and daughter on Thursday (I was "hogging" the puppy ), and he suddenly became very, very ill - watery diarrhea, puking, the whole messy bit.

Long story short - last night at about 10PM he was basically a rag doll, after we went to the vet's in the afternoon. I ended up in the [very pricey] emergency vet's office, where they discovered he had a "very positive" test for Parvo, and that he was far enough gone where he likely wouldn't make it even if we treated him.

RIP Cyrus, and the ripe old age of 9 fucking weeks.

I'm going to start drinking now, its noon somewhere.

[KillBill]

Aw man, i'm sorry to hear that.

[mikeb]

oh man that is just so sad. rip cyrus.

[lady flyin' low]

aww :-( rest in peace little guy...i'm sorry

[rg500]

wow that is very sad. I am very sorry to hear about it.

[Onlypastrana199]

it takes 7-10 days from the time of exposure for dogs and puppies to start showing symptoms and to test positive for parvo which means he was infected before he got to you..either at the breeders, or in transit..someone else is responsible and its not fair that 1) you had to go through the trauma of losing your new puppy or 2) That you had to pay for a sick puppy

If its the breeder, I certainly wouldn't want anyone else to go through what you just have. Have you contact them?

[Degsy]

Chris, I'm so sorry. That is a sickening thing to have happened. I KNOW you will be talking to the breeder and "leaning on them". If they are a good breeder, they should be VERY concerned about this and put the situation right. If not the breeder, then the transit company should pay for a new puppy (not much consolation I know) AND restitution.

derek

[Nikon]

Let's go kick the breeders ass

sorry chris

[highsider]

Thanks everyone.

The vet said that the pup definitely had this when I got him, and furthermore it is likely that all of his littermates have it as well. This makes me angry because I spoke with the breeder last night, and she acted all confused, as though she hadn't a clue what was going on; yet if all of his littermates have it, (and I am sure she still has a couple of them) she must know.

I signed a contract with the breeder that states pretty clearly that the only thing I am entitled to is a replacement puppy, which I have no interest in. I am quite certain that if I fought hard enough, I could at least get the cash for the puppy back, and maybe some of the vet bills (just shy of $1000), but the breeder was also smart enough to put a clause in her contract that the venue for any lawsuits would be the shitheel county in Ohio where she lives. I signed the contract against my better judgment, thinking none of it would matter anyway - that was *my* mistake, so I own that one.

I am going to send the breeder a letter with photocopies of the medical records and vet bills, and the little note the vet wrote up basically stating that there is no way the dog was infected here in Vermont, and politely request the money I paid for the puppy ($750) back. If she can't be stand up and give that back, I will go into full-on highsider mode and start scheming up ways to make her life miserable.

Lesson learned - get blood tests on puppies the day you get them. If we had caught this Tuesday morning, I at least could have saved him, albeit at a great financial expense. My wife and I are animal lovers, and we'd have spent the money to give the poor little guy a shot at life; now he's dead because someone was too stupid/ignorant/lazy to properly care for him and his mother.

[wylee]

Sorry to hear man.

That fuggin sucks!

Pretty much all breeders make you sign a contract limitting their liability to a replacement pup. Hopefully she'll at least return the money you paid for the pup.

[duey]

wow that really sucks. Hope your little one isn't taking it too badly.

I myself plan on picking up a puppy soon, so when/if i do have to sign that pile of paperwork i'll read all the fine print and definately have the pup's bloodwork done.

[patricia929]

it breaks my heart to read this. i'm so sorry that you and your family had to go through all this.

[Josephd14]

awful story, sorry for your loss.. hope it works out in the end..

[highsider]

I just got off the phone with the breeder.

She was very, very insistent that the puppy didn't get parvo at her place. She runs a boarding and training kennel, and explained that they have bleach "dip tanks" at every entrance to their property that anyone who come in has to dip their shoes in, and she says they bleach all doorknobs and gates 3x a week because if a dog that comes in for boarding or training dies, they expose themselves to major liabilities.

She was also very insistent that we take a new, replacement puppy, and seemed somewhat hurt when I declined. She said that I have a credit any time I change my mind, and she will send me another pup.

After speaking with her, I am inclined to believe her. She was very well spoken, said she would watch closely after his littermates, who she still has, and are not sick at all. She never seemed backed into a corner, and couldn't apologize enough.

The breeder also mentioned that rodents and birds can carry strains of parvo - at the time, she did not know the following detail: When the dog flew in, he shared the cargo hold with two kennels containing about 30 ferrets. The ferrets were dirty and frantic, and had been purchased by a pet shop in Canada. My best guess (and it will always be a guess, because we'll never know now) is that a couple of those critters were infected and thats how he got it.

All in all, I can't blame anyone for this because I dont really know where he got the disease. All I know is that it all-around sucks.

[Wishbone]

that sucks hard

you should try to track down the seller and buyer of the ferrets to try to get restitution from them or the transit company

so why don't you want a new pup?

[bigred875]

[Uncle Snake]

So sorry to hear it Chris.

[MissTwisties]

Talk about a shitty experience... I'm very sorry for your loss...

P.S. wasn't there a health waranty of 15 days on your contract? New pups usually come with a 15 days health waranty, and you have a certain amount of days to bring your pup to a vet clinic for a check-up and if a disease is detected, a GOOD breeder will either replace your puppy, or re-imburse you.

[duey]

I just got off the phone with the breeder.

She was very, very insistent that the puppy didn't get parvo at her place. She runs a boarding and training kennel, and explained that they have bleach "dip tanks" at every entrance to their property that anyone who come in has to dip their shoes in, and she says they bleach all doorknobs and gates 3x a week because if a dog that comes in for boarding or training dies, they expose themselves to major liabilities.

She was also very insistent that we take a new, replacement puppy, and seemed somewhat hurt when I declined. She said that I have a credit any time I change my mind, and she will send me another pup.

After speaking with her, I am inclined to believe her. She was very well spoken, said she would watch closely after his littermates, who she still has, and are not sick at all. She never seemed backed into a corner, and couldn't apologize enough.

The breeder also mentioned that rodents and birds can carry strains of parvo - at the time, she did not know the following detail: When the dog flew in, he shared the cargo hold with two kennels containing about 30 ferrets. The ferrets were dirty and frantic, and had been purchased by a pet shop in Canada. My best guess (and it will always be a guess, because we'll never know now) is that a couple of those critters were infected and thats how he got it.

All in all, I can't blame anyone for this because I dont really know where he got the disease. All I know is that it all-around sucks.

to the breeder for stepping up to the plate.

Not that its any of my business but if you don't mind me asking..... why not get a replacement pup?

[Dianne]

Oh my god I am so sorry to hear that this has happened. I cant imagine what you are going through right now. Very sorry, kinda feelin like I should not have googled that for ya.

[MnM]

I am very sorry for your loss. We just recently got a puppy and he had parasites in his stomach, which is common in puppies (according to the vet).



I'm not sure if the rules are different because you bought the dog from Ohio, but our dog came from AK and we bought him through a kennel in MA. In my contract you have 14 days to get him checked out and if something was wrong they refund the money paid for the dog, or they get you another pup.



I wish you the best of luck with this.

[highsider]

to the breeder for stepping up to the plate.

Not that its any of my business but if you don't mind me asking..... why not get a replacement pup?

Its hard to explain why we didn't want another puppy....I guess for the same reason you might not want another child right away if you lost one, although obviously not on anywhere near the same level. We planned out getting this pup almost a year in advance, bought him before he was even conceived, hunted around for breeders, read shitloads of books on German Shepard training, had him named, shopped for a tone of toys and puppy playpens, etc; it was all just incredibly anticlimactic.

On a truly bizarre note, it looks like we'll be ending up with a new dog (albeit not really a puppy) after all. Tonight my wife and I went to a party for a friend who is a local police officer who is leaving the department and returning to his former home out west following a divorce. He has a 3 year old male Shepard that his ex-wife was supposed to keep but has not decided not to, and he needs a home. We're going to meet him tomorrow, but I think we'll likely keep him - he is a 120 lb male who is used to kids, neutered, healthy, and partially trained to be a police patrol dog. Strange timing, but it seems like an opportunity that I don't want to miss.

[beet]

I know your pain. Verry sorry from beet & family.

[Rick Lee]

Sorry to hear of such a bad time in your families life but it looks like your turning a corner. Good luck meeting the new Dog!

[Tricky Mike]

Shit... So sorry to hear that. I think you got your pup around the same time we got ours, so I can relate to how quickly they become a part of the family.
Good luck with that new dog. Sounds like perfect timing.