Crapola, I'm an idiot!!!!!
 

Hi, it's Dot again... I am Mascot's mom. I have had Mascot for 8 weeks now. I bought him from a pet store, yes you read correctly, a pet store.... which as dumb as this may sound I didn't think that was a bad thing until reading on here. The only thing I knew was they had a sign that said we do not sell puppy mill pups. Our pups come from reputable breeders. (That should've been a red flag huh?) Well I thought oh good! So I buy the puppy, and I make sure to get all the breeders information so I can call them. (Why didn't I know that good breeders would never sell their babies to a pet store?) Well after I got Mascot home he has been sick. I did a post on that. He has Yeast, he has Giardia, and he had tape worms. We are going through our 2nd round of meds now with the Giardia.... (what a booger to get rid of.) I know you are reading this thinking what an idiot!!! Believe you me, I feel like one for sure! I love Mascot.... he has such spunk and attitude.... so cute. I would never give him back. I guess I just needed to get it of my chest. I live in a small NC town and I thought the "pet stores" with the "puppy mill dogs" would be in big cities in the mall or something. I am so dumb. I pray he doesn't have problems as he grows.... but I read all the stuff that can go wrong on here and I thik oh Lord what am I in for? Has anyone ever made this dumb mistake and purchased a puppy store pet and the puppy was fine in the end? Please somebody tell me he can be perfectly normal and not have genetic defects.... I will love him either way but I have been reading about Boy Bleu's situation and I'm thinking man, her dog was from a breeder.... ok, now I am babling, let me post this and see what comes of it. Thanks ahead of time.... Dot

You aren't dumb.;)

I would have his bile acids tested prior to neuter (if you plan to neuter) though.

Don't be too hard on yourself!;) At least you found YT!:) YT will be here to help you with all your questions! :)

Welcome!:D

You're not an idiot. You just didn't know. I almost bought from a petstore that got their puppies from "local breeders". I believed that until I came to this site. Fortunatly, I found this site before I bought my pup. At least he has found a home willing to love him and care for him no matter what.

What you did was give a puppy a chance.:D :thumbup:

I'm sorry that Mascot has been sick :( There are many people, like you, who didn't know about pet stores selling puppy mill puppies until coming to YT. I'm sure there are plenty of people who have purchased from a pet store and have been lucky enough that their dog is healthy and some that have not been so lucky. You are doing all you can by giving him the medicine and taking him to the vet.

Don't be too hard on yourself! Just love little Mascot and take good care of him :)

Dot, you're not an idiot. A bunch of us on here got Yorkies before we really knew what we were getting into. All I knew was that I had wanted a Yorkie all of my life. That being said, people on this board are really wonderful and when you need help or advise, they're happy to help you out. I've asked some really dumb questions since I've been on here. Believe me, you're not alone. I hope your puppy can get all these issues cleared up and you have smooth sailing from then on. If not, like I said, just come on here and ask for help!:)

Mascot
 

You guys are very sweet, thanks for the kind words... did I mention I called the "breeders" and the phone numbers were no good? I called the pet store and some teenager told me that they had a bad breeder they just got rid of. I wonder if that is the "normal" line given to people who call back? He is the greatest dog though.... my husband... big bad green beret, has a larger Old English Sheep Dog, and said a yorkie is more like a cat.... not a dog, he just couldn't see what the deal was with smaller dogs.... well as I type he is sitting in his oversized recliner with "our" ittle 5 lb Mascot in his lap....lol. It's amazing the powr these pups have!;) Dot

A co-worker got a maltese from a pet store. She has not had any problems with her dog. Prior to Bailey, I did purchase a miniature doxie from a pet store - again, no problems.

Good luck and don't worry!!

Mascot
 

Thanks Karrie! There is hope!:) Dot

Hi Dot!! I did not know poor mascot wasn't feeling well :( Hope he gets better soon and trust me you are not the only who bought a puppy from a store...I did it myself many years ago when I was living in NYC. I bought a pug puppy in a fancy uptown store, he was akc and he was very healthy all his life (sadly he died under anestesia when he was 8 during a minor procedure - the vet gave him too much medication :( ). I am sure mascot will live a long and healthy life now that he has such a loving family to take care of him :)

Honey you're no more stupid than me. I bought Lexie in a pet store before I knew better and she had giardia, and two other kinds of parasites. I'm relieved to say she is fine now. We've had her since right before Christmas and she has been a joy and we would never give her back for any amount of money. So you live, you learn, you take care of your responsibility and you live happily ever after. I hope you have a long happy life with Mascot!

I am so sorry you ended up with a sick puppy.. but please do not beat yourself up anymore... love him, take care of him.. sounds like he is lucky you have him...

Many times people are taken by breeders also.. so it is not just a pet store.. I have had yorkies for many many years... I am on my second complete family.. and have 4 now.. I wish I had found YT prior to my last purchase and one I ended up letting my daughter have that was so aggressive..
So as you will see, it is not always pet shops that sell sick puppies, there are many many scammers out there..

puppy hugs to you and your baby...:D

You aren't an idiot at all. So many people just don't know the truth about pet stores and puppymills. You can't help what you don't know...we all live and learn. All you can do is love your sweet baby and tell him he's lucky he ended up with you. Lacy didn't come from a good breeder..but I love her to death and wouldn't trade her for the world...but I know better than to buy from a breeder like hers now. Your baby coming from a petstore, doesn't make him any less than the rest of our babies. So don't feel like an idiot. You didn't know.

Now that you know, besides loving your baby, just make it a point to educate others about pet stores. Almost all pet store employees will tell customers that their puppies don't come from puppymills...of course they won't admit it..they would lose business. I know the petstore here says that the dogs come from local breeders or private breeders (what does that mean really :confused: ) I guess it is truth...puppymills ARE breeders and we do have some locally.. Anyway, they are really good at deceiving a person that doesn't know. I sure would love to get the petstore here shut down. Wouldn't it be great if one day petstores get shut down and puppymills get put out of business? May not ever happen, but one can hope

Anyway, don't worry you aren't an idiot. We all had to learn. Just love on that little boy :)

Nah, not an idiot, just someone who wanted a doggie to love. As everyone else has said, now you know and you can help educate others!

I hope your baby will be healthy and happy and you'll have many years to love each other!:) :thumbup:

Mascot sure got a good Mommy!

you have a beautiful baby and you are giving him a great home and lotsa love.

With the help of a good vet and the proper meds, you can give him a happy life, free of illness.

don't beat yourself up.

So many do not really know- so you are not to bame! You know now- and your baby got a good Mom so it is a good thing!
Hope everything get better soon, and you have many years of love with your new furbaby:)

Don't get down on yourself for not knowing any better, enjoy your little guy and he will give you unconditional love regardless of where he came from. I didn't know until being here that pet stores bought from puppymills. I never bought from one because their prices are ridiculous. I missed many red flags with my first Yorkie, and then with my second and knowing what to watch out for I still seemed to have blinders on. Now I know I will only get any future yorkies from someone that comes recommended. I went to a pet land (infamous for puppy mill dogs) when I was looking just so I could hold and get a close look at one before making my final decision. I had to listen to their sales pitches in order to even see the puppy and one of the things they say is that they get their puppies from breeders not puppymills, it is really sad that most of their employees are very young and they are learning that the way to do business is to mislead the consumer.. so wrong

Mascot
 

It would be a perfect world if puppy stores were to get shut down... I guess if you think reasonably about it no good breeer would ever sell a pup to a pet store.... I couldn't think past Mascot cute lil furface.... I will most definetely tel everyone I know about pet stores.... as a matter of fact I have already passed the word to someone who was looking to go there.I am so happy to have found YT.... which I have done much searchin on and have taken Mascot to the vet for all his symptoms on people's advice from here and also from what I read.... I felt like when I went to the vet I was self diagnosing Mascot, I said I think he may have Giardia..... ( I had read several stories on YT about the symptoms) and the vet tech said maybe it is his change in diet and I told her I had him a month already and it was explosive diarehea.. well to make a long story short Mascot fixed the vet tech by exploding on her and she tested and said he had an abundance of Giardia.... poor baby. The one thing I can say is he has gained weight and never been lethargic. I have had to quit my job, not a big deal was only a part time to do anyhow, but that way I could help take better care of him.... he stays in my lap and I am beginning to thing he likes the hum of the laptop and the pecking of the keys.... ( I have really been on YT a lot!) I so appreciate all the great advice I hae recieved on here. It has helped Me help Mascot and thats so much.... now lets all pray this 2nd round of meds gets the giardia gone.... the day I see a hard poo (tootsie roll I read on here...lol) I am throwing a hard poo party! LOL, Dot

Mascot
 

That last post was way to long, sorry about that, the more you learn about me, the more you will see I am a gabber....;) Dot

pet store puppy
 

You weren't dumb, just uninformed, like most of the rest of us. I have two Bichons and one of them came from a puppy mill, I'm sure. The other one came from a small breeder that wasn't quite a puppy mill, but they raised about six different small breeds. I didn't know what I was doing back then and only got educated afterward. We all do the best we can and now I do my best to educate others before the fact. Both of my Bichons enjoy good health. One has hip dysplasia, but that's the only thing with either of them, and she gets along fine taking glucosamine every day. They are 9 and 10 years old and the loves of my life.

If you are an idiot, than so I am I...
 

I bought my first puppy 10yrs ago from a pet store. He was an American Eskimo and was so cute and fluffy in the little window. I couldn't just walk away from him. He was the healthiest puppy and we never had to take him to the vet for anything. We did have issues with aggression, but I blame alot of that on us not knowing about socializing dogs. He was a great dog and we miss him terribly. He passed away late last year. That is when we decided to get Crickett. I knew better than just buying from anywhere. So don't beat yourself up, you just didn't know. I always felt like I rescued Max (eskie). Made me feel better about supporting those places.

Awww it sounds like Mascot has a great mommy that loves him a lot! Maybe you were chosen to be his? To be the one that looks after him? Maybe deep down, he knew that you would be perfect in his little world? Just remember, things happen for a reason, and the fact that you love him like you do is reason enough!

Good luck with your new puppy. :)

Stop beating yourself up. Everything your pup has at this time most puppies
get. I have read numerous times on YT even pups coming from breeders
have the samething from time to time. As long as these things can be taken
care of your ahead of the game. Buddy was a pet store pup and I was very
lucky. I found YT after getting him but he's been healthy all along.
Congratulations on your new furbaby. He is one lucky pup to have such
a wonderful caring mom & dad.
Hopefully that store did care for their pups to some extent but they
all take in BYB and puppymill pups.
Hope your boy is better soon.

You are NOT an idiot. Murfee came from a FLEA MARKET. I will tell you that he is 4 years old and I have had no problems at all. He is a cute, healthy baby. I think your little tyke has a great mommy and will be just fine.

Hope Mascot feels better, you were not dumb for buying from a pet store just uninformed. I was the same way.

isn't it funny how the littlest dog can wrap our "big bad hubbys" around their removed duclaws?? (mines a marine):) :) :)

The one in Canton, TX?? Went there once.