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Would you PAY to save this dog?

Reptigirl

Well-known member
I'm in a tricky situation...Emotionally and financially torn...

I got an up close look at Flash's dad and he is sadly a poor site. He is in the hands of a puppy mill who is downsizing... She doesn't seem to see anything wrong with him other then he produced a puppy with bad CM/SM symptoms.

When I saw him he has almost no coat on him (says he has never been trimmed either?), the fur he does have is very brittle and dry.

He is very skinny. Flash is a "fit" 13lb puppy... I would guess his dad is about 9 lbs and showing bones.

I'm not sure if it was from a heart problem or excitement but he seemed to be breathing odd.

His back knees did not "bend" when he walked. Instead they were splayed far apart when he walked.

He is sweet but shy. He is not comfortable being picked up. He goes stiff as a board with fear when he is held. But in a playpen he comes up to be petted and seemed okay tolerating young children running around and petting him.

She is trying to sell him but everyone passed on him.

I hear the mom is even worse condition.

I am TRYING to get her to hand them over at the lowest fee possible. She WONT release them to a rescue.... She really don't think they are in bad shape at all!!!!

I have gotten her to drop the price within a price range I can afford but she wont let them go for "nothing" since she did pay money for them.

I'm torn.. I can't justify giving a puppy miller ANY more of my money for ANOTHER sick dog... but I can't sleep at night knowing how bad they are. All I can think about is the poor suffering dogs. I know I'm also partial because they are the parents to my sweet pup.

I have tried to contact animal control/human societies and no one will do anything because she is in a location that seems to be outside of everyone's range. They all tell me to contact the sheriffs office of the little town she is in (littlally in the middle of NO where. It's a good hour from any major cities.) The sheriff took the complaint but said he had no other complains on file for her and would only be looking into it if he received more complains from other people.

I really want to get at least one .. if not BOTH out of there. Depending on medical issues I may be able to keep one but the other would have to be placed in a rescue right away. I have a few people who might be able to help me get them into a rescue ASAP. I just hate to lose all the money.

I have a good vet who will work with me. I have a care credit card I use to vet bills. I can get him on instance right away in hopes that some things will not be called "pre-exisiting".

Would I be doing the right thing by paying for him to save him? I KNOW it would be doing wrong in so many ways to KNOWINGLY give a puppy miller any more money! She claims due to the sever health issues she has she is letting a lot of her adult dogs go into home.

Please let me know what you would do? I'm so torn... If I didn't have to spend most of my Christmas savings to get him he would already be here with me now. The issue of giving money to a puppy miller FOR a sick dog is what is holding me back.

I have to do something.. it is eating at me so bad I can't stop thinking about it.

:bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang:
 
hi , i know how you feel, i have seen a cavalier in our local rspca kennels. not good conditions and shes very out of place. im thinking of paying the adoption fee, as that seems to be all they are waiting for as they are reluctant to hand her over to a foster home .. my heart is starting to rule my head .i dont want to take her as my cat is old and poorly but i cant stand lying in bed at night wondering if shes asleep and warm enough :bang: if you can afford it and can accomadate the dog , i think i would .
 
Hello there! I will gladly contribute a small amount, let's say 20 dollars or so. Maybe there are others out there willing to do the same? I think it's honorable that you are willing to take them on, since that seems to be their only shot. I would probably choose for the mom because the females have it particularly rough as breeding machines in puppy mills, if u have to choose either. I don't think it's wrong to give the puppy mill breeder some money to rescue the.
let me know what happens.
Greetz,
Lynn
 
You say it's down to affordable, but is it reasonable? I understand the emotional turmoil, but you really can't allow a person who treats dogs this way to profit from the dogs maltreatment. Do you mind my asking how much she is requesting?

Have the rescues you've talked to given any advice about how to get people to complain to her sheriff? I wonder if you could post about it on craigslist, people are often willing to join a petition for a worthy cause.

Another suggestion is if you have a male friend (the big burly kind are best) they often get more respect when negotiating just because of their physical stature and inequality of genders in our society. If you have a friend who can be ruthless and persuasive (male or female) they may be better at bargaining than someone who is emotionally attached (you).
 
Another idea: ask for a vets opinion on the dogs' health care needs (heart meds, patella surgery, behavioral issues, malnourishment- you want a vet to tell you EVERYTHING it will take to get this dog back to health). You can present this as "I'd like a professional opinion on how healthy he is, and how much I can expect to spend on his vet bills". She isnt going to let you take him, obviously, but choose a vet near to her (don't let her choose), and have her meet you there with the dog. Call ahead and explain your situation when booking the appointment. Having to face someone whose profession is taking care of animals may scare her into being a better person.
 
Well good news... I am getting both of them. I am unable to make the drive up (4 hours there and 4 hours back) to get them until next Tuesday (Dec 14th). She is going to be making the drive down on Saturday (Dec. 18th) morning anyways to attend the same set up I am going to to sell my supplies (She is adopting out more of her adult dogs).

So I am going to wait for her to bring them down. Saves me the gas money of an 8 hour drive and it will not be that much longer for the poor dogs. She told me she is going to put them on a high calorie diet between now and then to hopefully get some weight on them. (Don't ask me WHY she waited until now to do that!!!!!)

That gives me time to get things sorted here.
 
Well to be blunt, and I do not mean to sound harsh if I do, I would not pay for them. Rescue yes, pay, oh no no.

My first dog came from a puppy mill. Gary was a Rottweiler who lived to be only 3 years old due to so many health conditions, although he seriously was the kindest and most gentle rottie ever, everyone loved him. The puppy contract from this milll replaced your dog if they developed any problems before the age of two, and well he was pretty messed up by 6 months old. I did not take another one of his dogs because 1 although yes he would lose money off the sale of that pup, all he would have to do is increase the price of the others in the litter, and 2 I did not want to go through all the vet bills and heartache again. It was horrible.

Buying from puppy mills, in the best of interest for the dogs, unfortunately only further supports the industry.
 
well done & good luck with them, i truly hope that they are ok and just need TLC..

its a haorrible situation to be in, but i to be honest if i could afford, if only saving one dog would do. yes you may be giving BYB money, but whats the alternative for these poor dogs.

unfortunately its a very sad situation that is happening everywhere
 
If you find they are too difficult and or vet costs too high, try contacting lucky star rescue who would likely take them and foster, treat, rehome; or regional breed rescue. While it is kind to take them, you may find this very difficult to manage (or they may work out fine:) ). Best of luck and keep us informed on how it all goes- you will find lots of advice and help here.
 
Oh wow, what a predicament! Good to know they are out. It would definitely be an extremely difficult emotional/moral dillemma. My first thought while reading your story was to pay to get the little fella out, but reading further on, I agreed with other posters as to paying a puppy miller would not be good. Anyway, I'm glad you got them out... and I wholeheartedly agree with Karlin, maybe contacting some rescue organizations to help these doggies would be a good idea?
Good Luck and God Bless!
 
I have been organizing back up plans if the doggies if they don't work out here. (I'm planning on placing them into rescues and I will be pleasantly surprised if one works out here.) I do a have placement for the female if she does not work out here. I'm most worried about the male fitting in here with another male dog. I am still sorting out a back up plan on him.

We have spent all day putting up more fencing. We are nearly done fencing in our 4 acres of land and then sectioning off a much smaller run for the new dogs to be separated from my current dogs. Already have an appointment set up for check up & then neutering the male ASAP. Female will get spayed once I get a little weight on her. I hear she is super skinny.

I have a sectioned off the back part of the house away from my son and other pets where I plan to keep them at first. My vet has advised at least 2 weeks apart to make sure they are not carrying anything contagious for my dogs. I will still be spending as much time with them as they are comfortable with.

As far as giving money to the breeder. She does seem to be downsizing her kennel to about a dozen dogs. (She has over 60 right now) Her husband passed away, she is on weekly chemo treatments, has a broken hand AND is an older lady. I really don't think she is using the money to get more dogs. She has updated online that she is re-homing her adult dogs. I could be falling for a "sad story" but I know I'm doing the right thing for the dogs.

Will post updates once they get here. Still have a LOT to do before then.
 
From an intellectual standpoint, I completely agree that paying money to backyard breeders or mills only perpetuates the problem. I believe that the only way to stop this business is to make it impossible for the owners to reap any sort of financial gain.

From an emotional standpoint, I don't know how you turn away from dogs in need. I don't agree with rescues buying dogs at auction, but I know that if I were one of those volunteers at the auction I would pay as much money as I could possibly afford to save as many dogs as I could.

It's just a sad predicament to be in. Good luck to you and please keep us posted! We may not all agree with the philosophy behind what you did, but please know that you have my complete emotional support here!
 
It's a tough call to make, but I think I would be going with my heart in this. I know that is what millers rely on but...I keep thinking about the man and the star fish story. My two little rescues came to me in pretty sad shape but they are super dogs now. (They still have some naughty habits...I just chased Harley off the table as I was typing this:lpy::lpy:, little pest...) Good luck. These little dogs deserve a better life than they have had up to now. I hope the lady really is getting out of the business of peddling dogs for profit. Sounds like she has had a little dose of Karma.
 
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