Mandynchicko

Thank you all for the information! Unfortunately Dougie went downhill very quickly and yesterday morning was put to sleep... We are shattered and miss him terribly already. The breeder has contacted and I think she may have thought at first I was trying to "pull a swifty" on her, but she reimbursed the price I paid her for Dougie, so I'm relieved she cared, she's pretty upset this happened too.... I'm thinking of starting a bit of an awareness page for vets/breeders and us joe blows looking for our newest faithful friend, to raise awareness that we must be diligent in our checks and breeding, so this hopefully will save a lot of heartache for others.... I wouldn't wish this traumatic experience on anyone and if it can help even 1 person, I'd be happy.

I'm so very appreciative of overyones advice and replies xx We are in Townsville, North Queensland.. I don't think the "breeder" will reimburse the money I paid her for Dougie at all- she states she sought legal advice and does not legally have to pay me a cent.... I don't know if that's right or not. Also concerningly- I rang the RSPCA QLD and was advised there was no legal minimum age a breeder could sell a pup. I've been told by everyone else it's 8 weeks? I guess I just have to write off the costs all together and lesson learnt, but I think the worst part here is how do you tell your kids their bestest mate has to die? I can't cope watching Dougie struggle to breathe either... God, this sucks...

12 days ago we picked up our boy, Doug from the breeder. 2 days in, he's at the vet with suspected hookworm due to chronic diahorrea and white gums etc. Another trip to the vet a few days later and more medications, he's good- small fortune later.... Fast forward to 2 days ago I noticed his breathing was laboured and he was snotty. ANOTHER vet trip and xrays etc he's diagnosed with Pectus Excavatum- His sternum is very malformed and there is absolutely nothing to fix it. The vet highly recommends Dougie being put to sleep. We are devastated to say the least. We got Dougie at 6 weeks of age- we were under the impression he would be 7-8 when we could pick him up originally... I questioned the breeder and she was adamant he and his litter mates were old enough, so off we went. I spoke to the breeder about Dougie's health issues and she advised "he was fine when we was with me", "no other sick pups" and offered to reimburse the money paid for Dougie, however is now refusing and citing I get a 2nd opinion. This pup has been a money pit and sick since day 1, but I've booked another vet at my expense for a 2nd opinion and she can't answer my messages asking if she wants to come so she can see for herself. It's come to my attention she's a backyard breeder, Dougie has the worst Brachycephalic Obstructive airway they've seen also and he is technically the result of bad, backyard breeding. In my defence, I haven't bought a pup in 20 years- always RSPCA older dogs and 20ish years ago buying a dog from someone at home was 'the norm'. I feel like a moron- I'm aware and this has been a tragic and traumatic lesson to learn, I assure you! Where do we stand? She's not a registered breeder and this is a mess. Do we have ANY rights?