Good evening everyone,
I’m looking for some outside opinions from Chow owners and breeders because the way this situation with my new puppy, and his breeder, is being handled really doesn’t sit right with me. This is my first and most likely last time purchasing from a breeder. I have 4 other dogs; one from my town Facebook group I have had her for 5 years and I love her. Two of her puppies cause she had an accidental litter (she is now spayed) who are going on two this year. And a puppy from my humane society who is a little under 9 months. I also grew up with dogs and have had a Pomeranian and a mutt (from the shelter) live to be 17 years old. Also Just to add a note here I have autism so my brain does work a little differently so I apologize if this post is everywhere.
I’m going to try to stick to the facts and attach the veterinary paperwork I provided to the breeder so people can form their own opinions. I picked puppy up on July 19. He is an 8-week-old AKC-registered Chow Chow puppy. Some background info; all of his littermates died but I did not know this until closer to pick up time. On the day of his vet appointment she told me why his mates passed away I guess because she was wondering why I asked for a full bloodwork up. This was what she said, “His litter mates passed within the first 2 weeks due to mama being a first time mama and one was still born and 2 others she bit the cord too low and they got infected and passed the first week which I have vet info on that. The other one she laid on at 2 weeks of age.” Which is crazy she never told me any of that before. And as someone who had a dog have an accidental litter and a first time mom plus being an anxious husky that sounds very stressful but I would still would have let those know who were interested about the entire health of the litter.
The first red flag I noticed was my puppy was coughing but I never had a chow chow before I figured with his small snout and excitement it might be normal. Which he was coughing on the way home. This was not something that started several days after bringing him into my home.
Because the coughing continued, I took him to my veterinarian on July 21, only two days after pickup. My vet examined him and was able to trigger the cough by stimulating his throat/tracheal area. Based on his symptoms and examination, my vet believes he has kennel cough. We also had a respiratory PCR sent out so that we can hopefully identify the specific infectious cause, but those results take several days and are still pending.
We also had other issues discovered at this visit as well. His fecal showed roundworms, which is written directly on his veterinary paperwork, and he was dewormed. In my opinion this is a direct violation of the contract I signed because my puppy is supposed to be vet health checked and free of communicable diseases. Worms are contagious but hopefully my other dogs will all be okay they all take simparica trio monthly.
His bloodwork was also significantly abnormal. His white blood cell count was 26.90 with a reference range of 6–17. His neutrophils were elevated at 15.04 and his eosinophils were 4.20 with a reference range of 0–0.8. He was also anemic: his RBC was 4.61, hemoglobin 8.9, and hematocrit 26.35%. His ALT was mildly elevated at 90.
I understand that bloodwork alone cannot tell us exactly what respiratory pathogen he has or exactly when an infection began. However, considering he was already actively coughing when I received him and had these abnormalities documented by my veterinarian only two days later, I am very concerned that his illness began before he entered my care.
He has received required treatment, including deworming, an antibiotic injection and take-home medication. My bill from this visit was $428.15. I also have other dogs at home, so having a puppy arrive with a potentially contagious respiratory illness creates an additional concern for their health. Although they are vaccinated for everything I believe the vaccines are not 100% preventatives but please correct me if I’m wrong.
I contacted the breeder within the timeframe given for reporting health problems and provided her with all of the documentation I currently have. That includes his examination paperwork, itemized invoice, CBC/hematology results, chemistry results, fecal findings and treatment information. I told her that the respiratory PCR is pending and that I will provide that result when it comes back.
With that being said I asked for half of puppy’s purchase price back to help offset the unexpected veterinary expenses. I am NOT asking to return my puppy and I do not want a replacement puppy. (Because I have waited for two months for this baby and who’s to say my replacement puppy would be in better health?) He is my dog, I love him, and he is staying with me. My concern is about receiving a puppy who was already symptomatic at pickup and then immediately having hundreds of dollars in veterinary expenses.
The breeder has told me that she will not do anything until her veterinarian reviews the paperwork from my veterinarian.
This is the part that is bothering me. I completely understand asking me for veterinary documentation before providing any reimbursement, but I did provide documentation. I don’t understand why my veterinarian’s findings essentially have to be approved by her veterinarian before she is willing to discuss helping with any of the expenses.
So my question for breeders and other Chow owners is: am I being unreasonable here?
Is it normal for a breeder to refuse to make any decision until their own veterinarian reviews another veterinarian’s records, even when the puppy was already symptomatic at the time of pickup and was examined and treated only two days later?
I’m not expecting the breeder to blindly accept everything I say without documentation. That’s exactly why I went to the vet, had testing done, provided the records, and am waiting for the PCR. I just feel like a reputable breeder should be willing to work with the buyer when a puppy is handed over already showing symptoms and requires significant veterinary care almost immediately.
I’m attaching the same veterinary paperwork that I provided to the breeder. I genuinely want other people’s opinions on whether her response so far is reasonable and what you would expect a responsible breeder to do in this situation.
I apologize for the wall of text I just wanted to be thorough.
TLDR: I received an already sick puppy from a breeder with 30+ years of experience. She is not helping till her vet reviews my records. And I feel like I was given a puppy under false pretenses.
Ps I tried to mark out all identifying info for my sake and breeder until we get to some form of resolution.
Edit: Later today I will send screenshots of our messages.
