If only I'd known then...
 

Ever say that? "If only I'd known then what I know now..."
My wife always wanted Yorkies, so finally, the kids are grown and gone, I'm retired (but still young:-) and so we thought "Now the time is right" our lives have finally settled to the point that we could not only get a Yorkie or two, but train them, spend time with them, and give them the love and attention they SO deserve...
Grant it, we knew nothing of "Backyard Breeders" and all that title entails...
So, we happen across this lady who sells Yorkies and she brought us the cutest little girl, our lovely Bella. As 6 months or so passed, Bella developed wonderfully, and looked beautiful, and we fell head over heels in love with her, and her with us! As she started showing signs of liver disease, (bouts with hepatic encephalopathy, picky eating, etc.) We started spending tons of money at our local vet trying to figure it all out. When he told us he believes she either has a shunt, or MVD, we began our research... We changed her to a low protein diet, added d-manose, and a good probiotic and digestive enzyme, and milk thistle, and a little lactulose, we had her back to normal, symptom free, and her blood work even comes back perfect every 3 months. We still didn't realize that it could have come from poor breeding, or be a genetic thing. So what did we do? We bought little Jaxon a year after Bella was born from the same lady! (This lady advertises her pups are akc, but she tells you she forgot the papers, and she will send them to you after you buy the pup. They are NOT checked by a vet nor do they have their first shots or worming, their tails are way too short, and they still have their dew claws. Plus, she brings the pups to you, never with the parents, and lies about where she lives. She preys on the UNEDUCATED Yorkie buyer!) Jax was tiny. Never grew past 3 lbs, but never showed any health issues other than I thought his coat was a bit dull and wasn't growing well, (even with top notch food and supplements) We lost him as I posted earlier... If I'd only known then what I know now!

Well, what do we know now?

We recently visited an AKC breeder a couple hours north of us. They come highly recommended, and actually provide an AKC folder with a full registration packet. Their pups com DNA certified, and they have a copy of the sire and dams pedigree for you to look at, which in this case shows DNA certifications by the AKC on about half of the ancestors), and they give you a full health disclosure (make the parents medical records available for you to see.) They have the puppies dew claws removed and the tail docked to the correct length by a vet. They have their shots up to date, and their worming is done. The parents (and the rest of the litter:) is on site (at their home) and they give you a guarantee, and all this for LESS money than we gave for Bella or Jax!
We have talked to a member of the YTCA that lives near us, and has bred show Yorkies for 35 years. (She happens to live near us, and has recently retired from her breeding program, but has been nothing short of a mentor to my wife and me. According to her advise, we spoke to and visited a few Yorkie breeders, and asked TONS of questions...

We decided to not give up because of a very bad beginning in the world of Yorkies, and I brought Bella and my wife a present.

I am proud to introduce the newest member of our family, Riley! I brought him home last week, at 12 weeks old, and he is a fully registered, Beautiful Yorkshire Terrier! He weighs 3 lbs, and is lively, happy to be at his new home, and is helping us all heal our broken hearts.

I guess I am sharing all this so that in the future, anyone looking to buy a Yorkie puppy might not make the "rookie mistakes" we made in our first babies...

Don't let cuteness alone and a smooth talking "breeder" sell you! EDUCATE YOURSELF on the breed standard, look up terms like "Backyard Breeding" and really spend quality time researching every move you make before you buy a new baby.

For anyone who has taken the time to read all this, thank you, and God Bless. I haven't posted in a while, but it takes a little time to gather my thoughts after a heartbreak like losing my lil Jaxon.

As for Riley, well, here is the little guy :-)
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Aww He is adorable! Congrats! Happy you didn't give up on the yorkie breed and happy you stilll have Bella around:)

This has honestly made tears roll down my cheeks, I too was a first time uneducated buyer with Jingle. Thank you for sharing this as it is spot on! The love you and your wife have for your babies comes through beautifully. Your recent post on Jaxon broke my heart and made me sick over the vet, I JUST told my husband your story 30 mins ago! Then I signed on to YT and read about little Riley! It warmed my heart! Congrats on your new beautiful baby! They do help heal our hearts and dry our tears! So happy for you both!

Just finished reading your post about little Jaxon and now I see you have a new little one, Riley. Congrats. May you all have a happy long life together.

What a cutie pie. Congrats

Congratulations, Riley is handsome. I am so sorry for your loss and thank you for taking the time to share as it may help someone avoid a lot of heartache.

Riley is a really cutie. He looks like a little teddy bear in the second pic.

I too also read your heartbreaking thread regarding the loss of little Jaxon. I am soooo happy to see you have a new family member, Riley is amazingly gorgeous, but beware, I see mischief in those beautiful eyes.
So very happy Bella is doing so well. I am looking forward to hear how Miss Bella has taken to the new bouncy kid. Many happy and healthy years with both of your fur babies. And thank you for sharing your story, it will help those that read it.

I can hear the joy in your comments about rad Riley! Isn't he the cute one, though?!
"You can't replace one dog with another any more than you can replace one person with another, but that's not to say you shouldn't get more dogs and people in your life."

Riley is one handsome pup

Omg he is just gorgeous and oh yes, I do see mischief in those puppy eyes.
So sorry for your lose. Happy Bella is doing great.
God bless

Congrats on baby Riley, he is adorable!!!

Congratulations to you and your new baby! What a cutie.

Riley
 

What a cutie!!

aw I want that little teddy bear!

I just want to snuggle him! Riley is so adorable! Congrats :p