Warning for all dog lovers and potential buyers

Hi I am new here but I have some important information for everyone. I wanted to warn everyone about what I suspect to be a puppy farm in Lexington, Nebraska. I recently purchased a shiba-inu/american eskimo mix puppy from these people. When i recieved the dog, he had obviously never been bathed or cleaned. He had an eye infection, ears so dirty that he needed to be put under to have them cleaned and he had sticks and leaves stuck to his fur to the point it had to be cut out. The next day I took him to the vet where i found out that he was very ill. He had so many heridetary problems that my vet was shocked, she said that she had rarely seen such a bad specimen and especially for a mixed breed. The only explaination would be that the parents were very weak and old. This dog had problems from head to toe. He had a very bad bite, to the point that he could't eat well, he had an eye infection plus eye development problems. He showed signs of brain damage and water on the brain. At 5 months old this do was already potenially partially blind or will be so soon. Furthermore, he had very very loose knee caps even for a small breed dog. I called the breeder who then claimed ignorance, and when i asked for my refund he insisted that i send the dog back to him at his cost. Although I offered to pay the money for the dog to get put into a non-kill shelter he insisted I send him back. He pleaded with me citing his love of the dog. So after obtaining a written and signed agreement with him on the terms of the transaction I sent the dog back to him. Upon recieving the dog he stopped answering my phone and e-mail for 10 days. Now he is demanding that I pay him 230.00 for shipping the dog back to him, and he accuses me of being a liar and claims that the dog is healthy. I am absolutely shocked by the audacity of these people and also their heartlessness. I loved that puppy, and I would have kept him except for the fact that I am a young college student and could not afford the massive amount of veteranary and specialist bills that this dog would constantly need. I was willing to pay his bills and pay 100.00 to put him into a non kill shelter where I would be able to be assured of his well being. I sent the dog back to this man in good faith just as I had done the initial transaction. This experiance has broken my heart and now I am afraid for the puppy's well being. I am sending out this message as a dog lover to others so that perhaps you can be warned and warn others. I don't want anyone else to have to suffer what I am going through.

You should read the stickied thread in the puppy forum section on how to spot a reputable breeder.

Sorry for your bad experience.

Here's another link that looks pretty good on how to spot a reputable breeder. http://www.hkc.org/breederchoice.htm

I only rescue but that information is still good to know.

Are you looking for another puppy now?

thanks, I know that it was not such a good idea to buy dogs off the internet but I thought well its the new tech age. I did try though, I went online and searched the internet for any info on these people. I spoke and e-mailed them many times and asked alot of questions. I guess thre are just people out there who will just lie and say anything.

yeah, I would like to but I am very wary, and only want to look in my area

It's too bad. There are a lot of horrible people out there. You might try looking at a shelter unless you are planning on showing. You can often find purebred dogs there and since you are a student you won't have to spend all those hours house training (with the right dog).

If you do decide to go with a breeder then ask a lot of questions. Read that link and some of the information here. You can learn from a lot of people's experiences.

www.petfinder.com is a great place to search for dogs. Smkie uses another one which I've gone blank on. Sorry Smkie!

Keep posting. I'd love to see how it all works out.

thanks, The thing is that I want a very young puppy so that my current dog and him will get along. My current dog was weened too early so he is stand offish with any other dogs other than really young puppies

Well you'll end up with the same problems if you get another dog that was weaned too young. And there are puppies on petfinder and at shelters The one I go to gets pregnant bitches in sometimes and people line up to get the pups on adoption day.

cool, i do keep an eye on that site ususally, the only thing is that the dogs there are usually large, and i need something between 10 and 20 lbs

what about these little guys? Four months old.

http://www.petfinder.com/pet.cgi?ac...fa6-app3&display=&preview=1&row=0&tmpl=&stat=

http://www.petfinder.com/fotos/OR91/OR91.4466145-1-pn.jpg
here's one, i am waiting for the e-mail on more info

Awww He's adorable. Is he still a pup? He looks like he's going to be a big boy. Super sweet though.

i don't know, i e-mailed for more info, he is listed under baby for age group though, it says he is terrier mix.

oh well maybe he won't get that big. he's sure sweet.

Oh that is sooo unbelieveabley sad!! I'm so sorry to hear about that poor pup!! I hope you reported them!!!
I agree with Saje, rescuing is a great way to go!! Gus is a rescue and he is the best dog in the world!! (Well I think so anyway!)

Sorry to hear about your experience with the breeder. The internet opens the world to us, but not all of it is good. I hope you find that special puppy you're looking for. Petfinder is a great place as well as your local shelter. Keep us updated.

Oh! that's horroible.
I'm sorry to herd that

Why don you call the ASPCA for your case?


I hope your new pupie will be ok

I hope you are still getting on this site as I see you haven't posted here for awhile. Why are you going back on the internet to find a pet when you've already experienced something so awful in not knowing what you're getting? There are hundreds of rescue groups that have already evaluated the dogs they're wanting to place in forever homes and the rule almost always is, if it doesn't work out, the dog goes back to the rescue group. They usually let you take the dog for a "trial run" first, too. The myth about getting a puppy so it grows up with your other dog is just that... a myth. The puppy could have tendencies that don't appear until they are an adult. Or you other dog may like it as a puppy, but not as an adult. Why not start out with an adult? Or at least, an older puppy (like 9-12 mos. old).

hi,sorry for your bad experiance,but my question is why would you part with your money when you didnt actually see this dog? its ALWAYS best to view pups at home with both or at least one parent.im concerned that the health of this pup was so bad,i understand you couldnt afford the costs but their are no kill shelters around and perhaps this would have spared this pup the misreable life it had and now might still have? please dont take this the wrong way but personally the money for the purchase of this pup wouldnt have mattered but the quality of life is what surely should have mattered instead of sending it back to what caused its illness in the first place????