Britster | 04-13-2010 05:33 AM | I got Jackson from a 'BYB'. I saw him listed in the classifieds (I think it was Maryland super ads) and just fell in love with his face. I had looked at other puppies but there was just something about him. He was in Baltimore City, I picked him up in a row house. It was a younger lady, probably late 20's, early 30's, who was simply making cash off of her dog and now looking back, I feel really bad for contributing to her overpopulating canines. I paid $550 for Jackson.
She had the mommy dog who was in the basement with her 1 female pup left(who had already been paid for), and then she brought up the 2 male dogs (Jackson and another one) and handed me one. Then another woman came at the same time as me with her boyfriend looking to get another one. It was so awkward having to pick... and I was like "um, wanna switch?" just because I didn't know if she wanted to see that puppy or what. Both pups looked and acted almost exactly the same but the 1st one I held was like grabbing onto me for dear life, he was scared, his claws were in my shirt. When I got handed the 2nd pup (Jackson) he was scared too but he wasn't AS scared. He seemed more content in my arms than the other one. So I said I wanted him. "Puppy #1" (she had numbered the inside of their ears with permanent marker, I dunno if that's a normal thing to do or not).
Now she had originally told me that her dog got by pregnant by accident but she clearly knew what she was doing so I'm pretty sure that was a lie. Because she handed me a contract to sign, with a 10 day health guarantee that if the puppy was sick she would replace the pup or refund my money. She gave me a packet of the Eukanuba food he had been eating and a whole packet of paper with info on Yorkies and puppies. He had had his 1st set of shots, he was 9 weeks old at the time, and already weighed 5lbs. But he just seemed so tiny to me.
But overall, I didn't feel terrible about the situation because even tho she was clearly having puppies for profit, she did seem to care about the dogs. She had pics of own Yorkie in a few frames all over her living room and when we went to take the puppy, she started crying and gave the puppies a kiss as we walked out the door. She said her young daughter was going to be upset when she got home from school because she had become so attached to the pups.
The only "problem" Jackson has is being shy with strangers. But it's not a humongous problem or anything. It's something we're always working on and he's getting sooo much better with letting strangers pet him than he ever was before. And if that's his only issue I can deal. I've heard of dogs who come from reputable breeders being like that too so I don't even know if that's an issue that came about from being raised the way he was, I dunno. I have a feeling he didn't see anybody except the woman, her kid and the other puppies from birth-9 weeks. Other than that, Jackson is close to the perfect dog for me. He's a wonderful companion and is perfect for my lifestyle, as I prefer his larger size. So knowing all I know now, if I could rewind time and do it right... I still wouldn't. He's been the greatest dog I could ask for. Now when it comes time to add a 2nd dog, I really would like to go thru rescue. |