My name is Amy Yake and I have run into a dilemma. I adopted a Yorkshire Terrier from a breeder in Houston, TX on 10/27/2005. I paid $2,000.00 for her and another $300.00 to have her flown to Rapid City, SD. The Yorkie puppy, whom I named Zoe, was 5 months old and weighed 1.5 pounds on the date of shipment from Houston, TX.
About two months later on 12/21/2006 Zoe was having loose stools (not quite diarrhea) but acting normal, playing, barking, eating, drinking ect. On 12/22/2006 her stools had gotten a touch worse. In turn, I called a veterinarian clinic in Sheridan, WY after hours for advice. They advised me to put her on a bland diet of rice, plain chicken, ect. The night of the 22nd I boiled chicken and rinsed off the fat, then I mashed it up into a mush with a fork to make it easier for her to eat, she loved it, I fed her this every half hour until about 4:00am, at this time she had bouts of watery diarrhea (I fell asleep). I got up with her on the morning of the 23rd and she wasn't wanting to eat or drink and she was still having diarrhea and now vomiting, consequently I took her to the vet. here in Gillette, WY. They were unable to find what would be causing her to be ill and injected water under her skin to hydrate her and recommended a bland diet so I took her home. With no improvement and me wanting to catch anything before it was too late I had her tested for parvo on a second visit on the 23rd, the results were negative. The vet. clinic recommended yogurt and she ate that and seemed to be a little better and the vomiting had stopped, she was fed every 3 hours to keep her strength up but, the last feeding time (around 8:00am 12/24/2006) she was found unresponsive on her back and wet on her back half, almost like she had a seizure and tossed threw her shallow water dish. I rushed her to the vet in hopes that he could do something, anything to help. Zoe died a half an hour later and I was sent home to decide what to do next. Because of Christmas the clinic wasn't open till the 26th, this day I had Zoe sent in for an autopsy in hopes to find out WHY. The autopsy report didn't give any answer, her heart, liver, and kidneys looked fine, although, since she had been frozen before the autopsy the results weren't 100%.
I had Zoe for about 2 months of her life, I had given her prime care, love, and protection during that time. My heart breaks when I think about her not being here with me, I think about her every day. I'm not sure what the breeders responsibilities would be in a situation like this. My vet couldn't believe her age when I told him because of her tiny size, I don't know if her size had anything to do with her passing or not, I'm sure it didn't help in fighting off illness. I sometimes wonder if the breeder knew this was in her near future. My vet had checked her back legs upon my request for "loose knees" (because they would pop every time I would pick her up and hold her against my chest) and he told me that her right knee was most likely out of place more than it was in place and that she had a bad case of luxating patella's on both knees, more in the right knee. The breeder never told me anything about her knee problems and prier to Zoe's trip to the vet. I had emailed the breeder questioning the popping coming from Zoe's knees and she emailed me back stating that "all small dogs have popping knees". In this email I also question the breeder about Zoë's two rows of teeth that she failed to mention to me ( I had an appointment for her to be spayed and her baby teeth removed in Sheridan, WY on 12/29/2005). I would be grateful for any advice you may have.
Thank You for your time, Amy Yake
www.twinkletoesgrooming.com twinkle@bresnan.net