Lost my pup to parvo :(

magickid

The weekend before last my partner and I visited a garden centre that had a pet shop. They were selling puppies in this pet store. We left the centre, but spent the next week thinking about her. My partner was speaking to his friends in that week and they had said they had awful things about how they treat their animals, and that if we could we should rescue her. Therefore on Saturday just gone we went to see if she was still there. She was, we could cope with the puppy, and decided we would give her a home. She was an 11 week old Border Collie and we named her Evie.

On Sunday I noticed she was a little lethargic and had some diarrhea. I put it down to the heat and the stress of moving. On Monday I took her to the vets just to check and to get her 2nd injection. She was admitted to the vets on Monday with an IV and antibiotics as the vet thought she was dehydrated and maybe getting over an infection. Sadly, on Wednesday she was diagnosed with Parvovirus and on Thursday our little pup passed away. We're absolutely heartbroken.

We're also angry. We love dogs, and we know you are not supposed to buy them from a pet store and you should go to a breeder directly, but we couldn't bear to think of this little girl being mistreated and neglected and we wanted to give her a good home.

Now we find ourselves with nothing. I was wondering if there is anything we could do, and wanted to find out what sort of rights we have and how we can take action.

When we bought Evie we signed something with various instructions, such as make sure to get your puppy vaccinated at 12 weeks, feed her the same diet etc, also on this sheet where the following points:

Do not have second thoughts after you've bought a puppy from us as we do not give refunds.

All our puppies have been vet checked and in good health before leaving our premises. Once the puppy leaves our premises it is your responsibility to care for your new puppy.

Any veterinary comments or queries that are expressed after purchase we only acknowledge if presented in writing on headed paper from the vet concerned.

Please understand that XXX Pet Stores will not be responsible for any veterinary fees incurred without our permission.

We would like to seek some kind of compensation, she was sick when we got her, even if her symptons weren't showing. It's not about getting money back, that we can cope with, but its about hitting them where it hurts.

I'm sure I will get a few comments on here about puppy farming, and I'm not proud of it but I am glad we got her and gave her even 48 hours of love rather than leaving her there alone to suffer.

Any thoughts/advice would be grateful.

I've also posted this on Consumer Rights and someone suggested I post it here too.

mrcol1000

Have you tried actually going back to the garden centre and speaking to them first?
You know you shouldn't buy them from places like that but you still did. So sadly your just have to live with it. You probably did the dog some kind of favour in that it died at a vets rather than potentially having symptons ignored or dying in a much horrible way by the owners once they realised the dog was ill and needed potentially expensive vet treatment.
I would move on from this as taking your sadness out on the garden centre isn't really going to achieve anything and may just end up causing you more problems and prolonging your sadness. Just give it a few months and if you still want a dog go to a rescue and get one from there or get one from a proper breeder.
As long as people like you buy from these people they will sell dogs. If no-one brought the dogs from them then they would find some other way of making money.

EmptyPockets

Yes ok, you bought her from a 'place like that' when you knew you shouldn't, but you're not the first and, very sadly, you won't be the last. You did what you did with good intentions, you wanted to give the pup a good, loving home, and no one can admonish you for that.

I'm so sorry to hear you lost your little pup, but I would also agree with the comment made above: move on. Don't hinder your grieving process with bitterness. Trying to 'hit them where it hurts' will not alter the fact that she is gone. You need to grieve for her, give yourselves time to get over it and then see if you still have it in your heart to offer your home to another dog who really needs your love.

Best of luck,

EP x♥x

cinderellacomplex

I totally disagree... if it were me I would be letting local newspapers know, making a lot of noise and pushing it as far as I could. Places like that get away with this kind of stuff because they are allowed to. You could start by having your vet write a letter detailing her pre-existing and severe illness and see how they respond. And if it isn't about getting the money back then consider donating it to a rescue centre which helps unwanted or lost dogs - taking from the bad guys and giving to the good ones... robin hood style I suppose.

But that's just what I would do, it doesn't mean that it is right for you. I'm really sorry that you had to go through any of this, and I totally know where you are coming from. I adore border collies and knowing what they are like as dogs it breaks my heart to see them in cages.

Fawny_2

So sorry for your loss, she was with you for just a short time but I'm sure you gave her happyness & love. I didn't realise that places like garden centre we allowed to sell dogs, I think it's terrible. I agree with the above I too would be letting the papers know, not trying to get money back but just trying to make sure others do not suffer.

Equaliser123

EmptyPockets wrote: »

Trying to 'hit them where it hurts' will not alter the fact that she is gone. You need to grieve for her, give yourselves time to get over it and then see if you still have it in your heart to offer your home to another dog who really needs your love.

It's not a case of that. Surely it is recovering the (very high) costs incurred.

mrcol1000

cinderellacomplex wrote: »

I totally disagree... if it were me I would be letting local newspapers know, making a lot of noise and pushing it as far as I could. Places like that get away with this kind of stuff because they are allowed to.

Its not that they are allowed to its that people aren't bothered. Everyones idea of mistreatement is different because dogs can't tell us how they feel. I personally think getting a dog when you work full time and locking it up all day is cruelty but a lot of people would disagree. Some people think nothing of buying their dog from a shop.
It would be a very slow news day for the local newspaper to make much of a story of what happened. You'd also have to prove the garden centre knew the dog was ill when it sold it. Also in these tight times is the local paper going to turn on what is probably one of its advertisers? I doubt it.

Sometimes you have to be brutally honest with yourself and wonder if you want to do something because its the right thing to do. Or if your just doing it for the sake of making yourself feel better. If your doing it for the latter then your just going to make things worse for yourself

Really the only way to stop places like this selling dogs is not to buy from them in the first place regardless of your motives. The more dogs they sell the more likely they are to stock more. You can protest and write letters but as long as they can turn a profit out of it they will.

Sagz_2

So sorry for your loss xx

Have you contacted the LA Environmental Health Department? The garden centre should be licensed by them. Also contact your LA Dog Warden and complain to them. YES get the local papers involved, you need to stop people buying from them - they will then stop stocking these poor pups.

This link may be of help http://www.dogstrust.org.uk/az/b/batteryfarmeddogs/supportthecampaign.aspx

Equaliser123

OP - as suggested, just write the letter, recover your money and take whatever action you consider appropriate AFTER you have recovered your money.

foreign_correspondent

So sorry... the ultimate problem with these places is that as long as people buy from them, they will continue to exist, and will perpetuate their cruel practices. They see the pups merely as a commodity, not as sentient creatures, and the pups normally come from puppy farms - which is where your pups parents will probably be today, sadly.

Whilst I can fully understand your reasons for getting her, but by doing so you have actually supported their business and encouraged them to continue trading, albeit unintentionally - this is not you fault, btw, it is clearly theirs - but for anyone else reading and considering buying from these places, there are plenty of good reasons not to - not least the suffering your pup endured, (and other pups no doubt) and the sad experience you have had.

It may be worth speaking to trading standards and the environmental health office at your local council as others have said. It might help if your vet is willing to write a vet report - did the shop provide evidence she had been given her first jabs? It is tragic that this unscrupulous trade still exists, but as long as it keeps being profitable, it will - so I hope you can get your money back, and encourage others you know locally, not to buy from them.

sarabe

I am so sorry that you lost this pup. I would have done the same as you, rightly or wrongly, and rescued her too.

Write, email and telephone environmental health. This place must have a licence. It is quite likely that the rest of the litter died of parvo also so hopefully others will contact them soon.

Trading standards too should take an interest.