I hate that I have to share this story, but I want to get the word out to as many people as possible and personal experience is best.
I have been looking for a maltese for several months. Not knowing any better, I searched online.***first mistake. Last Monday a female puppy became available for a very cheap price***first red flag. The "private breeder" lived in Montgomery City, MO, which is only an hour away from where I live (St Louis, MO). I emailed the woman, I will call her Mimi, and gave information about myself and what I was looking for. She responded immediately with very little information about the dog and with no questions for me besides where I could meet***second red flag. The pictures of the puppy were so beautiful--I was transfixed by her and agreed to meet her on Wednesday.
Mimi said she could meet me at a McDonald's right off of the highway (which made it closer for me)****third red flag. We communicated only via email, though we did exchange numbers (initiated by me) in case of a change of plans.****fourth red flag.
On Wednesday, I drove with my boyfriend and sister to the pickup location. A man pulled up next to me with an adorable maltese****fifth red flag. I asked him a couple of questions about the puppy and the litter and vaccinations. He could only sort of answer the questions and said he was just the delivery man (her husband)****sixth red flag. She was a beautiful little girl and I just couldn't let her go back to whereever she came from, so I gave him the money. He gave me a note card with the dog information on it and the vaccination dates****seventh red flag.
We were completely mesmerized by this little girl. She was spunky, playful, cuddly, and intelligent! She seemed to really respond to her name, Ella, and was just so happy. After 24 healthy, joyful hours, Ella started vomiting and having diarrhea. I was so worried about her, and stayed up with her all night as she was sick. The next day (friday) I took her to the vet. They did a wellness exam--everything appeared healthy but they went ahead and tested her for parvo and sent me home with medications to curb the diarrhea and vomiting. The next day (saturday) they called and said the test was positive for parvo. We immediately took her to a different pet hospital as referred by the vet. She went into 24-hour care. They said the chances of survival were 85-90% for a dog being treated there. Of course I was going to give her the best treatment available. (even though the estimated costs were $800-$1400)
I emailed the breeder minutes after hearing Ella was positive for parvo and urged her to take necessary precautions for other puppies/owners. (short response asking if she would be okay)
I visited Ella every day, even though it made me so upset to see her in so much pain. She was so small. Only 3 pounds and 12 weeks old. Three days after being in the hospital, I got a call notifying me that Ella had passed away. She had taken a turn for the worse and her body just couldn't handle it.
I immediately emailed the breeder again to let her know about Ella. (no response)
Since then I decided to ask for reimbursement from the breeder for the cost of Ella. It just didn't seem fair that I purchased a pup who was exposed to and contracted the virus before I had her. (the incubation period for parvo is 3-7 days) I sent her a very detailed, formal email explaining the entire situation again-though I had emailed her every step along the way. I wanted documentation of my final request.
She responded saying she was only a middle man, doing her friend a favor by placing the dog in a home. (and I thought her husband was the middle man...) She said she got $100 for doing so, and she would have her husband return that to me, but that I needed to contact her friend (whom I have never heard of before this time).
I emailed Mimi back saying that since she was the one who I was consistently in contact with, I would expect her to get the money and reimburse me. She emailed me saying that she would be out of town and couldn't make alternate arrangments but that she would pass along my number, again saying her husband would meet me whenever to give their portion of the money back.
I am currently in the process of contacting the "original owner" and I am not sure what the outcome will be, but I did want to make a post so that other people could see the dangers of adopting a puppy from an unreliable source. Some of the things I have learned through this awful process are listed below.
1. Shopping online--in this day in age it seems we can securely buy anything online. However you just can't trust everyone anymore (I am sad to discover). There are reputable breeders with listings online but you should find them through other recommendations--either by word or AKC, AMA listings.
2. Getting a purebred for a cheap price (and not from a rescue or an older dog) will probably be the result of a puppy mill or irresponsible breeder. You could very well adopt a healthy, beautiful dog, but you are also promoting these individuals.
3. Having communication only through email and not being asked any personal information about you and your home will not come from a responsible breeder.
4. Meeting someone at a location other than where the puppy was raised and not being shown any pictures or given any information about the puppy's background allows breeders to cover up bad conditions.
5. Having a "delivery-man" and never actually speaking with the initial seller via phone or in person is another sign that there are multiple people involved and that they don't care about the fate of the puppy.
6. If whoever is handly/delivering/communicating with you in any way about the puppy doesn't know how to answer questions about the puppy/litter/vaccination records you should find someone who does!
7. If the only thing you get in exchange for the money is a notecard (without a health guarantee or at least a receipt of sale) you should demand something else in writing or go somewhere else!
It is becoming more and more evident that this could be a puppy mill or just individuals who are not concerned about the puppies they place. I want to get this story out so that people know what kinds of things to look for (that I didn't think about before now).
Good luck to everyone and if anyone has any ways for me to help out the fight against puppy mills/irresponsible breeders I would love to help out. I live in St. Louis, Missouri.
I want others to be aware of the risks and I don't want any more puppies to suffer! Parvo is an absolutely awful virus...let's come together and limit the number of dogs who are exposed!
I have been looking for a maltese for several months. Not knowing any better, I searched online.***first mistake. Last Monday a female puppy became available for a very cheap price***first red flag. The "private breeder" lived in Montgomery City, MO, which is only an hour away from where I live (St Louis, MO). I emailed the woman, I will call her Mimi, and gave information about myself and what I was looking for. She responded immediately with very little information about the dog and with no questions for me besides where I could meet***second red flag. The pictures of the puppy were so beautiful--I was transfixed by her and agreed to meet her on Wednesday.
Mimi said she could meet me at a McDonald's right off of the highway (which made it closer for me)****third red flag. We communicated only via email, though we did exchange numbers (initiated by me) in case of a change of plans.****fourth red flag.
On Wednesday, I drove with my boyfriend and sister to the pickup location. A man pulled up next to me with an adorable maltese****fifth red flag. I asked him a couple of questions about the puppy and the litter and vaccinations. He could only sort of answer the questions and said he was just the delivery man (her husband)****sixth red flag. She was a beautiful little girl and I just couldn't let her go back to whereever she came from, so I gave him the money. He gave me a note card with the dog information on it and the vaccination dates****seventh red flag.
We were completely mesmerized by this little girl. She was spunky, playful, cuddly, and intelligent! She seemed to really respond to her name, Ella, and was just so happy. After 24 healthy, joyful hours, Ella started vomiting and having diarrhea. I was so worried about her, and stayed up with her all night as she was sick. The next day (friday) I took her to the vet. They did a wellness exam--everything appeared healthy but they went ahead and tested her for parvo and sent me home with medications to curb the diarrhea and vomiting. The next day (saturday) they called and said the test was positive for parvo. We immediately took her to a different pet hospital as referred by the vet. She went into 24-hour care. They said the chances of survival were 85-90% for a dog being treated there. Of course I was going to give her the best treatment available. (even though the estimated costs were $800-$1400)
I emailed the breeder minutes after hearing Ella was positive for parvo and urged her to take necessary precautions for other puppies/owners. (short response asking if she would be okay)
I visited Ella every day, even though it made me so upset to see her in so much pain. She was so small. Only 3 pounds and 12 weeks old. Three days after being in the hospital, I got a call notifying me that Ella had passed away. She had taken a turn for the worse and her body just couldn't handle it.
I immediately emailed the breeder again to let her know about Ella. (no response)
Since then I decided to ask for reimbursement from the breeder for the cost of Ella. It just didn't seem fair that I purchased a pup who was exposed to and contracted the virus before I had her. (the incubation period for parvo is 3-7 days) I sent her a very detailed, formal email explaining the entire situation again-though I had emailed her every step along the way. I wanted documentation of my final request.
She responded saying she was only a middle man, doing her friend a favor by placing the dog in a home. (and I thought her husband was the middle man...) She said she got $100 for doing so, and she would have her husband return that to me, but that I needed to contact her friend (whom I have never heard of before this time).
I emailed Mimi back saying that since she was the one who I was consistently in contact with, I would expect her to get the money and reimburse me. She emailed me saying that she would be out of town and couldn't make alternate arrangments but that she would pass along my number, again saying her husband would meet me whenever to give their portion of the money back.
I am currently in the process of contacting the "original owner" and I am not sure what the outcome will be, but I did want to make a post so that other people could see the dangers of adopting a puppy from an unreliable source. Some of the things I have learned through this awful process are listed below.
1. Shopping online--in this day in age it seems we can securely buy anything online. However you just can't trust everyone anymore (I am sad to discover). There are reputable breeders with listings online but you should find them through other recommendations--either by word or AKC, AMA listings.
2. Getting a purebred for a cheap price (and not from a rescue or an older dog) will probably be the result of a puppy mill or irresponsible breeder. You could very well adopt a healthy, beautiful dog, but you are also promoting these individuals.
3. Having communication only through email and not being asked any personal information about you and your home will not come from a responsible breeder.
4. Meeting someone at a location other than where the puppy was raised and not being shown any pictures or given any information about the puppy's background allows breeders to cover up bad conditions.
5. Having a "delivery-man" and never actually speaking with the initial seller via phone or in person is another sign that there are multiple people involved and that they don't care about the fate of the puppy.
6. If whoever is handly/delivering/communicating with you in any way about the puppy doesn't know how to answer questions about the puppy/litter/vaccination records you should find someone who does!
7. If the only thing you get in exchange for the money is a notecard (without a health guarantee or at least a receipt of sale) you should demand something else in writing or go somewhere else!
It is becoming more and more evident that this could be a puppy mill or just individuals who are not concerned about the puppies they place. I want to get this story out so that people know what kinds of things to look for (that I didn't think about before now).
Good luck to everyone and if anyone has any ways for me to help out the fight against puppy mills/irresponsible breeders I would love to help out. I live in St. Louis, Missouri.
I want others to be aware of the risks and I don't want any more puppies to suffer! Parvo is an absolutely awful virus...let's come together and limit the number of dogs who are exposed!