Bridge, just so you know, I am passionate about this subject because my precious Lady is a poorly bred Maltese. I love her with all my heart, but would never ever want anyone to suffer through the heartache, fear and sadness her chronic health problems have caused me.
I rescued Lady at age 4&1/2. She was apparently healthy up until then, so even if you get a puppy who appears healthy in the first couple years, there is no guarentee that it won't develop health problems later on. My Lady is epileptic and without medication has cluster seizures every few days which could be fatal or cause permanent brain damage. She is also diabetic and requires twice daily insulin shots. Most diabetic dogs eventually go blind. Lady has a heart murmur, immune related inflamatory joint disease, and allergies. Her medications and diabetic supplies alone run about $150 a month. She has almost died twice in the past 5 years. My amazing vets saved her twice, but I have had some hefty vet bills.
The money I have spent means nothing, though. It is the hours spent rocking her in the darkness, waiting for my vet to open, praying she would live until then. Or holding her poor little body convulsed in seizures and seeing the the fear in her eyes. And the "heart in my throat" terror that I feel every single day when I unlock my front door after after the work day, wondering what I will find.
I don't want you or anyone else to ever have to experience that.
