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Old 06-25-2009, 06:27 AM   #1
tatertot15
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Default [News] Yorkie Pup Dies, Owner Fights For Justice

Yorkie Pup Dies, Owner Fights For Justice - Cincinnati breaking news, weather radar, traffic from 9News | Channel 9 WCPO.com

CINCINNATI, Ohio – Jaclyn Spicer only had Bella for 11 days when tragedy took a second puppy from her in less than two months.

After visiting with two other breeders and their puppies, Spicer, 31, met the newest addition to her family on May 20, and instantly fell in love with her. But to tell you the story of Bella, first the dog lover tells the tragic story of Chip.

It was just one month earlier that she lost her 4-year-old, three-pound Yorkshire Terrier-Shih Tzu named Chip to a freak accident.

While Spicer’s parents, or as she called them Chip’s “mama and poppy,” were cleaning up after a garage sale at their house, the small dog lay, attached to his leash, in the garage. An unexpected gust of wind blew through the garage and a large box fell, hitting Chip and instantly killing him.

“I was heartbroken—it was my first dog,” she said.

After returning from a vacation in Las Vegas, Spicer, who lives in Fort Mitchell, Ky., called her parents and told them that she was ready for another dog. She missed the pitter-patter of the tiny feet across the kitchen linoleum and the whimper and whining in the early morning for a brisk walk.

The unmarried product manager for Dole, who doesn’t have children, started the search for her new canine companion and found an ad online for Yorkshire Terrier (Yorkie) puppies. When she met the puppies she said she “fell in love immediately.”

And there she sat, a one-pound Yorkie, who was born on April 4. She was the “runt” of the litter, the underdog, just like Chip, remembered Spicer. When she picked her up and rubbed on her neck, the tiny pup turned and fell asleep in her hands.

So tiny, in fact, that her brothers had pushed her out from her mother while nursing and so she started nursing from a Chihuahua named Bella. Ironically, that was the name that Spicer had already chosen for her new baby girl.

Her Bella was 7 weeks old when her new mom picked her up on May 23 from the Loveland, Ohio, breeder Michelle Singleton. The new owner’s first questions were: Has she been vaccinated? Wormed? According to Spicer, the breeder said that she had received her first shot and third worming.

Next question: Do you offer a health guarantee?

According the Spicer, the breeder’s response, though not in writing, was “absolutely—we back our puppies 100 percent,” adding that they would refund her purchase price or give her a new puppy if she took the dog to the vet and found anything wrong with her.

When she picked her up from the breeder, she said that Singleton had not taken her to the vet for her last shots because the appointment was for later that day. Spicer also said that she noticed that Bella’s bottom was red and swollen, but that she chalked it up to her hair being long and a possible irritant to the area. She would later trim the hair on her bottom to alleviate the redness and swelling.

Once she got her home, she spent one night at her house, and then Bella stayed with Spicer’s parents for training, while she was at work during the day.

On the fifth day after bringing the puppy home, Spicer said Bella was very lethargic, vomiting and would not eat or drink all day. She said that she gave her Nutra-Cal—a dietary supplement for young dogs that typically get low blood sugar—to perk her up, but to no avail.

The next day Spicer took Bella to Middendorf Animal Hospital in Florence, Ky.

The frantic puppy owner said that Dr. Middendorf told her that it could just be her adjusting to her new surroundings, but to be safe, he gave her fluids and antibiotics.

The following day, Spicer said that Bella perked up and ate a little of her food. But later that day she was vomiting again and had diarrhea with blood in it. She took Bella back to the doctor with grave concern.

As tears welled up in her eyes, Spicer recalled the day that she took her back to the veterinarian and learned the fate of her tiny dog.

“She was very lethargic,” she said of Bella, who slept the entire trip to the vet. While they waited to see the vet, Spicer said Bella vomited blood in the waiting room. The vet tech gave the small puppy a parvo test. According to Spicer, before the entire test could register, the vet tech came into the room and said that Bella was positive for parvo.
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