Lily

This post is a serious one but I feel this needs to be written. Lily and I have been together 17 months now and she tugs on my heart strings and makes me smile every day. I never thought I'd be able to have an animal in my life because of my allergies and asthma but that was before I learned that I'm not allergic to chihuahuas - go figure. Unfortunately, not knowing a thing about breeders and what to ask, my experience was not a positive one. This blog is for people looking to bring a chihuahua - or any dog for that matter - into their lives and are considering a breeder. If your experience was a positive one, I'm happy for you, but that was not my experience. I would have preferred to support a shelter but I quickly learned that chihuahuas rarely enter that system so it was a pet store or breeder if I wanted one. After learning a friend - and fellow chihuahua lover - was purchasing a new puppy from a breeder she had heard of I was so excited that I asked for the breeders info. This breeder - BuddysRus - in London Ontario comes highly recommended and is listed in Modern Dog magazine. BuddysRus is also an award winning breeder associated with the Canadian Kennel Club - sounds good right? Unfortunately, Lily was not a puppy when I got her. Lily was already a year and a half old and because she was considered - by BuddysRus owner Debbie Eckenstein - not "breed perfect" she was looked over by potential buyers. I was told she was in perfect health with the exception of her weight - which was a little on the high side - so it would be best if she lost a pound or so. Debbie brought Lily, my friends puppy, and a few other puppies to the Toronto dog show sponsored by The Canadian Kennel Club held at the International Centre in the fall of 2008 so I could have a look at them all. Once I saw Lily I was in love and so I purchased her that day - I have since learned that this is not permitted - the the selling of dogs at this event. I mention this because I feel - in my opinion - it is an insight into the credibility of this breeder. I e-mailed Debbie several times during the first few weeks I had Lily, to let them know she and I were fine, and how much I loved her. I also asked Debbie - several times - about Lily's legs because she appeared to walk cautiously especially on certain surfaces. Debbie assured me that Lily was fine and - again - just needed to drop some weight. Once I received Lily's vet records from BuddysRus, I made an appointment with a well known Toronto vet, Doctor Sam Munn. After handling Lily he told me Lily had petella luxation in both her hind legs, an ex ray was done to confirm this finding. Of course Lily's vet records from BuddysRus had not mentioned this but that is because according to those records, Lily saw their vet once - for her puppy shots, and not again during her year and a half with them. I tried contacting this London vet but didn't hear back from him. Also, Debbie's vet was emailed Doctor Munn's findings as per Debbie's request - of course these findings "meant nothing" according to Debbie. I can only assume and this is just my opinion, it is because Debbie at BuddysRus is not a qualified veterinarian and had not seen Lily's difficulty with walking as anything to look into so it was wrongly assumed this was because of her weight - which was clearly not being addressed. I can't help but feel - in my opinion - it was because they knew that the likely hood of Lily selling was slim so they didn't invest in the the medical attention she needed. Lily had not even been spayed - again - Lily was a year and half old when I got her. BuddysRus denies Lily's diagnosis of petella luxation from the two veterinarians I took her to see. And, even if they did agree (they said) they were not going to do anything about the surgery Lily needs. Might I add that petella luxation in over weight puppies is common. So, lets recap, I was sold a dog at an event where this practice was not allowed. I was told my dog was in top health except for needing to loose some weight. And, once it was discovered Lily needed surgery - and a costly surgery at that - BuddysRus - said that it is not their responsibility nor do they guarantee any of their dogs once they are sold - even if they completely misinformed me about the health of their dog during the purchase. Also, let me state that two vets saw Lily with in the first month I had her - both said - in their opinion - that her problem had existed for a while and they could tell that by the inflammation around her joints which turned up in the ex ray that was taken, two separate appointments, same diagnosis. And, they both said that Lily being allowed to gain weight while under the breeders care - more than likely and in their opinion - could be the reason she had this problem. Debbie's last email to me said they'd call the police if I e-mailed her anymore - I invite her to do so as I'd love to discuss with the police and anyone else who'd be interested my experience. So, if you are looking into breeders please oh please, do your research and do not be fooled by Canadian Kennel Club papers or prize-breed awards as this all means nothing when you have fallen in love with your dog and then find out that your dog was sick when you got her. Also, I did contact The Canadian Kennel Club regarding this and they said they would look into it but that most likely nothing would be done as the actions of breeders - even breeders associated with them - has nothing to do with their organization - nice. You should also know that Lily has her papers as a pure bred chihuahua and is recognized by the Canadian Kennel Club - this means nothing really - in my opinion it's just some bells and whistles to help justify the cost of a dog but means nothing in terms of quality of health or guarantees of any kind, or the credibility of a breeder.
All this being said, I love Lily and if going through all of this was what had to happen for us to have one another than I'm glad it happened. And, I am glad that Lily is with me, getting the love and care she deserves and was deprived before coming into my life.