Email
to I-Love-Cavaliers.com:
"Hi, I am the proud owner of 2 beautiful
puppies. Cedar is a female Blenheim and Timber is a Tri-colored
male. I purchased both at a pet store in Denver. We
bought them at separate times.
I am concerned about the pet store where we
purchased them and wonder if they are worthy of selling these
dogs. We paid a lot of money for them and have many concerns now
that we have done more research on the breed.
When we purchased Timber, we were completely
unaware of what was to come. We took him to Pet Smart before our
journey home. We live in Wyoming and wanted to get the basics to
accommodate him during the 6 hour drive.
While we were there, a Pet Smart employee asked
to pet Timber. Of course, that wasn't a problem. After
holding the puppy, the employee threw us for a loop. He told us
that we needed to get the dog to a vet ASAP!
When we were at the pet store where we bought
Timber, we noticed he had a runny nose. I had asked the clerk at
the pet store if that was normal. I was told it was no big deal
and that if we wanted, we could have him checked by our vet when we got
home and the store would pay for any cost incurred.
The employee at Pet Smart however, was a
lot more concerned about the health of our puppy. When Timber's
nose ran, it was more like dripping. Apparently not a good thing.
Well, we got our things and were off. I
was petting the little guy when I felt something on his stomach.
I turned Timber over and noticed he had stitches!
Completely unaware of this prior to purchasing him, and having no
idea why the stitches were there, I called the pet store. They
told me Timber had had an umbilical hernia. (Later, we have to pay
to have it redone, because because the original surgery had been done
so poorly).
By this time I was furious, but I was not going
to take the dog back to the pet store since they obviously don't care
about their animals or the condition of them!
The next day I took him to our Vet.
Timber was immediately put on antibiotics due to a high white
blood cell count. Our Vet told me to watch him very closely
because
he was very sick. The puppy had no energy at all and just laid on
my chest. As the hours wore on, I noticed his breathing became
more labored.
Once again, I rushed him to the vet. This
time he was admitted to the hospital. He was treated with
massive antibiotics intravenously. I wasn't told this at the
time, but no one at the Vet's office expected Timber to live through
the night.
The next day I called and was told that he was
responding to the antibiotics. However, he was still very sick
and had to stay in the hospital for at least a couple of days. He
had only 10 percent lung capacity. Had I not taken him to the Vet
when I did, Timber certainly would have died.
Two and a half days later, I was able to pick
him up and take him home. I learned that he had pneumonia and
almost certainly would have shown the symptoms of his illness while he
had been at the pet store. Upon further investigation, I found
that he had been treated with 2 nebeulizer treatments and a round of
antibiotics while he was in the care of the pet store. Of course,
none of this was told to me at the time I bought Timber.
I had no reason to be concerned about the
validity of the pet store because we had purchased our other Cavalier,
Cedar, there previously. But to have them sell us a puppy they
knew was ill and had undergone surgery without disclosing it to us
is totally unacceptable!
I am definitely glad that we had bought
Timber. If we hadn't, he would have died. Clearly they
weren't monitoring his sickness as they should have.
They did pay the vet bill, but only because the
pet store owner thought I would raise a stink in her store...(another
long story).
I want to do something about this so other
customers don't have to experience the mental anguish that I had
to. Not knowing if your puppy would live from day to day is not
very comforting. The minute I held the puppy I bonded with
him...obviously or we wouldn't have paid that much for him.
Since you are clearly an advocate of Cavaliers
King Charles Spaniels, I was hoping you could help me with
this. My step son lives in Denver so we go there
often. Each time we do we always stop at the
pet store. They have had a Cavalier every time I
have been in there.
Just one more question and then I will stop
taking up your time. I was sent papers for Cedar from the
APRI to register her. Timbers papers are from a different
registry. Why is this? The research I have done doesn't
even seem to acknowledge this registry that Cedar has. I haven't
sent the papers in because I need to know how recognized this group is.
I would so kindly appreciate any input you have
for this situation.
Best Regards,
Lisa
Lisa,
Thank you so much for giving us permission to post your story here on
the website at I-Love-Cavaliers.com. Maybe your experience will
make others stop and think about the risks involved when buying a puppy from a
pet shop!
Bentley
The world's most loveable
Cavalier King
Charles Spaniel
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