Thanks for the kind words. We've had a few bits of correspondence back and forth and she has told me that there are lots of people waiting for Yorkshire Terriers and they need their adoption fee.
The situation is that the Winnipeg Rescue is picking up some small dogs (including the 13-year-old Yorkie) from Grand Forks that were scheduled to be put down.
I offered to take care of the mammory cancer through my vet - who is the only vet in our city to offer laser treatments (which are less painful and more effective). If I'm going to adopt a 13-year-old dog sick with mammary cancer, I'm going to do everything in my power to ensure I have her for as many years as possible.
The woman's response was that she could get the vet services cheaper through a country vet and they need their adoption fee.
My experience with inexpensive country vets has not been very good so far:
a) An inexpensive vet in Thief River Falls gave Tika a 100% clean bill of health less than a month ago. I took Tika to my vet yesterday only to learn she has dental disease (which makes sense because of the bad breath) and Patellar Luxation (knee caps that pop out of their sockets). I am confident my veterinarian isn't making this up because Tika has many signs of this condition that I didn't notice until now. If we are outside and walking to my car, Tika's back legs seize up quickly from the cold and she can only get around by pulling herself on her bum with her front legs. I thought it was from not being accustomed to the cold, but this is the Patellar Luxation acting up from the cold.
b) For those who followed my story with "Orphan Annie", the woman who seized her from the abusive home took her to a cheap country vet who told her Annie was fine and that we just needed to watch the blue patches on her stomach. The country vet said a good diet would get rid of her bloated stomach. Whereas my vet did an x-ray and ultrasound finding two enormous tumours in her stomach. He also diagnosed the blue patches as mammary cancer (whereas the country vet called them blue patches) and looked at her teeth with complete and utter shock - saying every single tooth needed to be extracted from her mouth. The country vet mentioned that one or two should be removed, but that it wasn't urgent. Please see video below to see how bad her ailments were.
I am in tears as I write this as my hopes were so high in giving this little girl the best possible last few years of her life. My feelings toward rescue organizations seem to get more negative as each day passes. From being rejected for having a child - to this situation - I'm not sure I want to deal with a rescue organization in the future.
The amount of money they want from me in addition to the thousands of dollars I would be spending on vet fees is ridiculous.