Josie

[psue]

Hi all,
I am new to this posting thing so please bear with me. Two weeks ago I brought home a new puppy named Josie. She was the runt of a littler of Shih-Tzus and so cute and sweet. She weighed 1 lb and slept on my shoulder. Last Friday we took her for her 7 week check up and the vet told us she had hook worms and round worms and they dewormed her. That evening she started having diarrhea which the vet said may happen. On Saturday she was vomiting. My husband called me on Monday and said she wouldn't wake up and he was rushing her to the vet. I went with him. They said her blood sugar had dropped and her temp was 85 degrees. She was also loosing blood from somewhere not visible to us. They gave her glucose, a blood transfusion, and warmed her back up and sent her home with us. That evening I couldn't get the bleeding to stop from the transfusion site and she bled to death before we could get back to the vet. I am heartbroken and angry, but not at anyone, only the circumstances. Although I only had her for 1 week, she was still very much a big part of my family. The dewormer she was give was Drontal. If anyone has any information about this medication I would like to know. I have another puppy named Pheobe and I don't want to give it to her if it is harmful. Thank you!

[mastifflover]

I am very sorry for your loss. Please bear with me while I ask some questions. Where did you get your dog from? Breeder, pet store or other. This dog should not really have been taken from its mother till 8 weeks of age. Second if this dog came from a breeder the dog should have had a set of shots and been dewormed before it came home with you. If bought from a breeder then there should be a health guarantee. The breeder or pet store should be held responsible for you bills and giving you your money back or another dog. Mind you if I were you I would take my money and run. There are plenty of dogs available for adoption from puppies to adults and a lot of these dogs come from BYB and puppy mills which is where I am assuming you got yours from probably unknowingly. These dogs have a multitude of health and temperment problems because of a million reasons but for instance not using health tested studs and bitches or dogs that display all the qualities of great breeding and temperment. Most of these BYB and mills do not care about the dogs and are all about making money. I am not blaming you as you were probably unaware but I would go after the place you got the dog. That poor pup had more than worms wrong with it I would bet. Again I am so sorry about your dog I know how quickly we get attached.

[doggy lover]

I'm so sorry for your loss, I'm surprised that your vet let you take the dog home since they didn't know really what was going on. My thoughts are with you

[mastifflover]

Drontal is made by Bayer I did not see anything that threw up red flags but you could contact them about it and see if they have an opinion about what occured because I have never had anything like that happen while deworming only the runs which is common. Keep us posted

[psue]

Thank you for your quick response. I bought Josie from a breeder who I know personally. I called her as soon as it happened and they had the remaining 2 puppies tested and I was told they came back negative for worms of any kind. The health guarantee was that I get Josie checked within 3 days of taking her home which was a Saturday and didn't get her to the vet until the following Friday. The vet mentioned a clotting disorder, among other things, and when the hook worms detached she began to bleed internally and then with the transfusion, everything went down hill from there. I have avoided owning pets until recently because of the heartbreak. I am very new to the whole process of buying a breed instead of a mixed breed. The breeder has offered me a couple of choices, neither one being all of my money back. She has also requested the records from the visits to the vet. Do you have any advise as to how to handle this very delicate situation?

[StaceyB]

Oh, that is absolutely horrible. I could not imagine going through that.
As for your question. The problems that you dealt with, with this pup was not caused by anything you did. She would have had them when you got her which to me would mean that your breeder should cover the costs incurred while treating her.
You paid for the pup, she replaced the pup but if you had been given a healthy pup you would never have had to deal with a treatment bill like the one I am sure you have.

What upsets me as well is that your breeder is letting the pups go at 6 wks old which is dangerous to their health, especially for their size as well as their social well being.
The pups should also have been vet checked, vaccinated 1st set(8wks), and dewormed before you got the pup. If this had been done you would never have had to go through this. It would have been caught and possibly treated before you got the pup.

[badger]

Do you think she's trying to protect herself legally (although you appear to have missed the deadline - what kind of deadline is that, anyway? too short for a reputable breeder, plus handing over the puppy way too early).

If you want to pursue her legally, I would get legal advice before giving up those records. If there is a court case, of course, she must see them, but why give her ammunition earlier than you have to. Did you choose her yourself? The chances of such a bad case of worms developing in 3 days are near zero so she basically sold you a puppy that was not healthy, I'm sure your vet will concur. If you didn't sign an agreement releasing her from all responsibility after 3 days, then it might not be possible to get your money back. However, if it says in that agreement that she, on her side, has sold you a healthy animal, then you might have a case.

I am very sorry. This is a painful learning experience for you and of course disastrous for the poor puppy.

[Lucky Rescue]

I"m so very sorry this happened and know you are heartbroken.

But a puppy from a good breeder shouldn't have hookworms! These can be dangerous in little puppies, especially runts that weigh 1 lb. A large number of hookworms in little puppies CAN make them bleed to death.

It's not always easy to know when a breeder is not reputable, but selling 6 week old puppies who are runts and have hookworms is a pretty good indication.

This puppy must have had these worms when you got her. If you want to pursue this, get a report from your vet about the the worms and what his opinion is on how long the puppy had them.

[LavenderRott]

My standards for breeding are a bit high so I know several "breeders" personally who's puppies I wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole.

The absolute soonest that a puppy should leave the dam is 8 weeks. Personally, I think smaller breeds should stay with mom and siblings until they are 12 weeks old.

I have never seen a puppy that didn't need to be de-wormed. Even when my mom was raising dogs in our living room, the pups had to be dewormed.

I wouldn't give the breeder a thing until you talk to a lawyer.

[Lucky Rescue]

I have never seen a puppy that didn't need to be de-wormed

Definitely agree. Roundworms and tapeworms are just a fact of life. But not hookworms and in such numbers that they are life threatening to a tiny puppy.

This puppy should have had two dewormings by the time it was sold.

[StaceyB]

Is Pheobe a pup from this same breeder or is it an older dog that you already had.

[psue]

Pheobe is from a different breeder. She was a gift to my son from the breeder who happens to be his step-mom. She takes excellent care of her pups and adult dogs. Depsite our "differences" she is an EXCELLENT breeder. We got her about 4 months ago.

However, my mother does have a dog from the breeder where I got Josie and she is in excellent health now and when they got her a year and a half ago.

[psue]

Thank you Luckyrescue! I saw the pups you were guiding me to and have filled out an application for an interview! What a neat way to adopt a new pet! I wish more people knew about this! I will spread the word as much as possible.

[psue]

Thank you Luckyrescue! I saw the pups you were guiding me to and have filled out an application for an interview! What a neat way to adopt a new pet! I wish more people knew about this! I will spread the word as much as possible.

[Lucky Rescue]

You're welcome! Good luck getting one of those cuties.

[Bushfire2000]

Good luck psue, I took a look at the pups too. How cute.

The SPCA near us has a 30 day "try" policy.
That way if the dog/puppy, etc. isn't right for your family you can return it.
I think the idea is, that people can take a bit of time and try and work out any differences, and they don't feel so much pressure this way. Of course ideally you don't try to adopt unless you're sure the dog's right for you and you are right for the dog.