Bad breeder experience in so cal
 

Hello Fellow Yorkie Lovers!

I have a horrible story to share with all of you.

My yorkie.. Pierre... passed away on Mothers Day. He was my world and I was devastated. My house was not the same without his four little paws prancing around. So I felt the immediate need to fill the void. A friend of mine told me about a breeder who was selling a 7 month old yorkie for $500. At first I was a little hesitent because I wanted a puppy but thought it wouldnt hurt to at least go look at her. So I go to the house and I meet her. Of course I am in an emotional state and not thinking clearly. There were many red flags that I did not pay attention to. I decided to take her home. Poor Lulu is skin and bone. You can feel her spine and her ribs and she shakes and is not very playful. But I thought that I could give her a good home and liven her up.

Four days after I took her home both my mom and I got diarrhea (sorry yuck). We kinda joked about it and neither of us didnt eat anything the same so it was a little odd. Two days after that (last Thursday) my mom ends up in the hospital. Major flu symptoms. She couldnt stop throwing up and had a fever and her pulse was almost non existent. She almost died. She spent five days in the ICU. She finally came home today. The infectious disease doctor asked what has been new in her life and one thing is little Lulu. So I took Lulu to the vet and it turns out she has giardia. There is a very HIGH possibility that my mom got this and that is what put her in the hospital.

So I am livid at this breeder. I call her and she didnt even know which dog I was talking about... she says "the maltese?" No you dumb **** the yorkie (of course I kept that comment to myself!). This woman did not take care of Lulu. She did not love her nor did she ever take her to the vet... not even once. I am going to write her a letter and ask for my money back and also ask to be reimbursed for the vet bills (so far $170). Hopefully she will be kind enough to reimburse me. She breeds... grooms... day care... the whole 9. I cant believe that she wouldnt take care of her dogs. I should have known better when I went to her house.

I was unsure earlier today what I should do. But I decided I am going to keep little Lulu and give her a good life and get her healthy. She is still young and I am sure will come out of this.

Bottum line... lesson learned. Please please please do your research before you buy a baby and if you see red flags there is a reason for it.

Thanks for posting your story. The breeder didn't even know what dog you were talking about? That says a lot about her breeding practices. I hope little Lulu, your mom, and yourself get better real soon.

Are you going to post the name/kennel of this "breeder"? I wouldn't want any of her other services either.

So sorry, hope your mother is feeling better. And I hope you got yourself check also. Good luck on your journey!!

That is terrible. I hope your Mom and Lulu get better

California has very strict puppy lemon laws. The breeder has to refund the purchase price if you return a sick puppy. Since you have decided to keep your puppy, the breeder is responsible for your puppy's vet bills up to 1.5 of her purchase price.

California Lemon Laws for Dogs

If she gives you any trouble, simply file a complaint with your Attorney General's office.

Oh my gosh! I hope your mom is better. I'm also very happy you're keeping Lulu. I'm sure once you get her well that you will have a little lovebug that you couldn't live without. Please keep us updated about the progress of Lulu. I'm so sorry for you all that this wasn't a happy experience, but I do think you will get there.:)

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

I am so sorry for all that you have been through and for the loss of Pierre. What a horrible experience to go through for both you and your mother. Hopefully she will make a quick full recovery and that Lulu will be the puppy she was mean to be--loved and pampers forever.

OMG,I'm so sorry for you loss, but to have to go through this too, it's too much. I hope you and you mother are both doing better, and that poor abused baby. Thank you for keeping this little one, she needs a special home, she deserves it. Please go after your money from this woman as that is the only way to get the attention of these heartless people. Again, I'm sorry for all your families pain.

Ladymom-- thank you so much! I had no idea about this law. I can definitely use that in the letter. That way she knows that I know what I am talking about.

And thank you all. It has been tough. Losing Pierre was THE hardest thing I have EVER had to go through. I have never cried so hysterical in my life. And Lulu is a sweet heart. I cant wait to see how she blossums. She already loves me and cuddles up. I still have yet to see her tail wag though :thumbdown

And I will have to get the exact name. She does all of this out of her house. She breeds s**tzus and apparently malteses too. I couldnt believe she didnt know who I was talking about when I called. Unbelievable. I will be cool and professional at first and if she refuses to refund me the money then I will let the nastiness come out.

Hey little! Proud of you for posting your story like we talked about! Even through our mistakes even though unintentional it provides us with the chance to educate others and no one should have to go through what you did concerning this baby!! You forgot to add that when you picked her out the breeder refused to keep her through the weekend when you told her you had a long ago planned trip to palm springs coming up and could she stay? What breeder wouldn't love their dog enough to keep it so the new owners don't have to change their plans and so the dog can get acclimated to the new surroundings and doesnt have to be boarded, left at home or taken on a trip! What breeder wouldnt have compassion on their own dog? Thank goodness for YT where we can share our experiences good and bad and also have the opportunity to share our mistakes in order to possibly help educate others on what not to do!! You are so brave and compassionate to continue to be willing to give Lu Lu a home even after the frightening experience you have gone through this last week with your mom being so sick and after the massive trauma of losing Pierre so quickly! Lu Lu is lucky to have you for a mom and will get the love and emotional and physical care that she was obviously not given her first 6 months of life! Hang in there and you know I am here for you every step of the way!! :-)

Sorry about all things you have gone through, hope things get back to normal asap for you, hugs:animal-pa

I'm so very sorry for your loss and all that you have been going through.
I will keep your little LuLu and you in my prayers.

yep this happened to my neighbor she got sick when her dog was sick in the hospital with giardia and was in the hospital as well for a week. She bought her dog from the pet store i got dexter from :( She sued the guy and won in small claims court as he sold her a sick dog and refused to pay for medical treatment for her dog. Her dog and her are fine but it scared her too death so giardia from what i understand can passover to humans and is highly contagious. I am so sorry this happened to your mom but giardia is pretty common but we do not see it too often that it has affected humans on here but i know it definitely affected my neighbor.

Don't feel bad i had alot of red flags with dd but did not pay attention as i was new to all this and now i have dog with ISSUES so it happens but giardia can be treated. I thought i was doing better getting an akc dog the second time around not a pet store dog -ughhhh

Check out puppy lemon laws here and ladymom has the info. I think the most you will get is the vet bill paid not reimbursement of dog for giardia as that is not a genetic disease but check it out

oh good ladymom posted here the info :)

also dogs are considered property so you will have to go to small claims court unless she ante's up the money for vet bills

oh and btw that pet store is now OUT OF BUSINESS - woo hoo one down one to go in our area. I think he had too many lawsuits for selling sick dogs. Luckily dex has not been too bad other than ibd and pancreatitis but it was 2 years after we got him so cannot really blame breeding I do not think on ibd and pancreatitis.

There are alot of brokers out there too so maybe she is brokering these dogs not breeding them. Did you meet the parents? Usually if they have a few different breeds that is the sign of a broker :(

Please have vet do a good health check on her while young and while you are protected as these vet costs can add up real quick in a dog with ISSUES.

Also Giardia is really contagious so make sure you read up on how to kill that as they can reinfect if not kept really clean and would hate for your mom to get sick again :( There are alot of links on giardia on here to read that may help as i have personally never dealt with that one thank goodness

That's horrible for your mom and you - and Lulu -

Some breeders are very good at playing dumb -- this isn't her first rodeo and she knows just what she's doing since your poor puppy was infected

there are probably others in her care or sold that are too :(

I hope you do go after her - these people are profiting off the backs of dogs and not taking care of them - it's their job to ensure they're happy and healthy

ALL THE BEST ! I hope you all recover

ps -
I'm sorry for your loss of Pierre and hope Lulu gets well soon and becomes the pet you need in your life. This can be hard to treat but there is lots of info here on that illness and you can do it. Poor thing - she must feel so terrible- I've heard it takes quite the toll on their bodies

all the best

I am sorry for your loss of Pierre! I hope that your Mom & LuLu recovers soon! I am happy that you are keeping LuLu because who knows what would have happened if you returned her.

Welcome to YT so sorry for all you & mom have been through big hugs to LuLu

If my memory is not to far off Liz Conways name was brought up in a thread a few months back as a bad breeder or broker

Really?????? Wow!!! I feel like such a fool! I am definitely going to go after her. I feel so sad for little Lu Lu. I couldn't believe how she was last night... She was playful and was roaming around the house on her own. I think she is already starting to feel better!!!

Thank you for all of your support on here!!! You are all truly amazing!! And Mary--- love ya big!!!!!! :)))

Well--- I wrote this woman an e-mail telling her what I expect. She wrote me a txt this morning asking how my mom and Lulu were doing. I said thank you for asking and told her that I was extremely upset and would like to write her a letter. See what I wrote below and let me know your thoughts. Hopefully she complies or I will have to get ugly. (and side note so there is no confusion-- ____ named her Mimi and I renamed her Lulu-- funny how she didnt even know her own name).

Good Morning ____,

I appreciate your apologies and your concern in this whole matter but it does not change what has happened. On Thursday May 13th I purchased Mimi from you for $500. I was away all weekend and got home on Sunday the 16th. By Tuesday the 18th my mom was showing symptoms of sickness. By Thursday the 20th, my mom was in the emergency room and submitted to the ICU. My mom almost died on the 20th. They almost had to go in for emergency surgery as her pulse plummeted quickly and her organs were shutting down. She spent 6 days in the ICU. This has been a HORRIBLE experience. She is home and thank goodness recovering but this will leave a lasting mark on her. One thing that the infectious disease doctor asked was if we had any new animals. And yes there you go. Once tests were done Mimi came back with Giardia. So it is obvious that when Mimi left your home that she had it. I know you did not do this on purpose and did not know but you sold me a sick dog which in turn almost killed my mom. You put my entire family at risk. And it is obvious that Mimi never even saw a vet as you did all of the shots yourself. This could have been prevented.

When this first happened I was trying to figure out what I should do. Should I bring her back.. get my money back etc etc? I do believe that Mimi was not given the care that she should have. As I told you, she is skin and bone. You can feel her ribs and her spine. And she acts like a scared chiwawa. I have decided that I am going to keep her and give her a good home and the treatment that she deserves. Also as a side note, the vet said that she is not a full breed Yorkie.

So this is what I am going to offer to you. Like I said, I am going to keep Mimi and give her a good home. But I expect to be fully reimbursed the $500 along with the recent vet bills. I will attach both invoices so far from the vet. Right now we are at $167.00 and I take her back in a week in a half which will be an additional $25.00 check up fee. I feel that this is COMPLETELY fair as I cannot imagine what my mom’s hospital bills will be. After I get reimbursed from you, I take full responsibility for Mimi.

So that totals up to $692. I hope that you can comply with this. I feel as though I am being completely fair and reasonable considering everything that has happened since I left your home with Mimi.

Please let me know how you would like to move forward with this.

Thank you.

Natalie McClintock