Janell, you already know how I feel about this situation, and I am behind you 100%. I know for a fact that Janell is telling the truth, so I will tell my story now. I apologize in advance for it being long.
I am the one who bought little baby Lily from Willow. When I first learned of Willow having puppies, she told me that one of the girls was blind. She said she didn't know until after her eyes opened. She did not take her to the vet to see exactly what is wrong until I asked her to. I had agreed to buy Lily for $100. I thought Alycia and I were friends, and I thought she was a legitimate, honest person at first. But, after knowing her for awhile, alot of things just didn't add up with her. I knew about her money situation, so my thing was to try to help Lily, but I wanted to know exactly what was wrong with her first. I wanted to know what to expect. She took her to the vet, and he said she had Hydrocephalus. I don't know how the vet didn't recognize it from the beginning (when she got tail docked) because Lily's head was very large, she was behind in development, and she was not growing normally.
One evening I was home from work with whiplash, and she called me, practically hysterical. She said she thought Lily was much worse, and she didn't know what to do. I offered to just come and get her, even though she was only 5 weeks old. She said when she nursed, her tummy didn't seem full, so I thought I could at least be able to get some nurishment into her. I wanted to get her to my own vet. So, my husband and I drove 2 1/2 hours to get Lily. Willow warned me before I got there that her house was "a mess". She said they have no running water because they couldn't afford to have a well put in. What we saw once we got there was more than just a mess. It made me sick to think of her four small children living under those conditions. With baby chickens and turkeys in a box in the living room, I'm surprised that the puppies didn't get parvo. Her trailer was filthy, and all the dogs were dirty and matted. The puppies were adorable, but they were all running around peeing and pooping wherever they wanted. I never saw a single pee pad there. They were just going on the carpet. So, for those of you on YT that bought one of these puppies, if you had a hard time getting them to use a pee pad, I'm not surprised at all. I wanted to just scoop up the dogs and puppies and take them all.
I knew that Lily was sick, and I knew what I was getting into. I do not blame Willow at all for that. But, I didn't know just how bad Lily's condition was until I actually saw her. She was disgustingly filthy and smelled bad. Her head was very large, she seemed lethargic to me. She could barely hold her head up. I weighed her when we got home. She weighed 13 oz. She could not walk on her own, although I was told by Willow that she was playing with the other pups. There's no way that's true. I had to feed her puppy Esbilac with a pet bottle, she still had no teeth. She acted like she was starving, and I told my husband I thought she was malnurished.
I took Lily to the vet the next day, and he confirmed what I thought. He put her on an IV for a couple hours to get her re-hydrated. He told me to feed her every two hours around the clock. Willow was feeding her dog food which she was not ready for, and it was Purina. She *said* that she was feeding her Esbilac, but I don't believe that. When we were there to pick her up, she said "I wish I had some Esbilac to give you to take home, but I don't have any." Okay, what was she planning on feeding Lily through the night if I hadn't picked her up? She lives out in the country where there isn't much around, so I'm sure no stores were open. And, she said there were no pet stores in her area.
I asked Willow whether Lily was eating when she had her. She said that Lily's mommy was rejecting her and wouldn't feed her. She never told me that until AFTER I had Lily. It would have been something useful for me to know! Also, she was kept separate from the other pups and her mommy in a little cage where she just pooped and peed in a corner. Lily didn't even know how to suck, so I knew she couldn't have nursed from the mother.
Within 5 days of having her, the swelling in her head went way down and her head was close to normal size. She was eating well every two hours, and she was up to 1 lb. I thought she was going to make it. She started walking around and even tried to play a little bit. Unfortunately, after having her for only 10 days, she started to have seizures and they were just too much for her tiny body. I was on the phone with my vet who was making arrangements for her to be hospitalized, and she passed away in my husband's arms.
A couple weeks later when I took Jake to the vet for his yearly checkup, my vet and I were talking about Lily. I told him that I truly did think she would make it, and I so wish she had. He said "I think she would have made it if she would have had a better start. She was in bad shape when you got her."
I want to make it clear that I'm not mad because Willow sold me a sick puppy. I KNEW what I was getting into. But, I was upset about the things she neglected to tell me until AFTER I got Lily. I was extremely mad about Lily being neglected. I had her for 10 days, and let me tell you, I barely had time for anything else. Taking care of her to get her as healthy as possible was a full-time job for me. So, I know that she wasn't caring for her properly because she was always on the internet, or she was out shopping and doing whatever she wanted while poor little Lily was dying.
I did what I did for Lily and nothing else. I don't regret it, I don't care what I paid for her, none of that matters. I didn't bother to even tell her what I thought because none of it would have made any difference. Lily was gone and nothing would bring her back. I couldn't even deal with talking about it to her, so I didn't. At the time, I was so depressed and sleep deprived that I just couldn't face it. But, I am also the one who made sure that Sugar's Mom knew the conditions of Willow's house. Willow had told me that she was buying a female yorkie with championship lines. She wouldn't tell me who she was buying the pup from, but I found out. I was so worried about that puppy going into those conditions, and Willow had told my husband and I that she still planned on breeding her, even though she had a hernia. I knew that she was being sold with limited registration, and I knew that Sugar's Mom didn't know that Willow planned to breed her. Willow told me that her vet said she could still be bred once the hernia was fixed. She bragged about how she was getting a dog with championship lines for a very reasonable price. So, if Willow wants to know why the sale was stopped.....I'm the one she can complain to. I tried to do things as quietly and discretely as possible because I didn't want to cause problems or drama on YT.
I tried to give Willow every chance I could. I felt sorry for her in alot of ways. I am very sympathetic toward people and animals who need help. My husband always tells me "you can't save them all". When she was trying to get a YT train together to get one of her pups to Texas, I told her I wanted to help with gas money. I mailed her $25 cash (not alot, but at least a little help) and then didn't hear from her. Then, she PMd me about something else and I asked her if she got the money I sent. She said no and wondered if it got lost and even said that maybe her 19-year-old niece who was staying with her took it. I told her to let me know if it came the next day. She said she would definitely email me the next day to tell me if it came. I never heard another word about the money, so again, I let it go. But, I swore I'd never try to help her in any way again. Last thing I heard, she emailed me to say she was moving to Colorado. I don't believe it, but that's because she has told so many people so many lies that I just automatically don't believe her anymore. I'm just so done with her.
That's my story, and every word of it is the truth. I would never make things up about someone for any reason.
Janell, I'm here if you ever need me, my friend!