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ForumsGerman Shepherd Dog > 8 month old GSD puppy PTS after only owning for 19 days !!! (105 replies)
8 month old GSD puppy PTS after only owning for 19 days !!! by dogshome9 on 14 October 2011 - 01:04 |
| Just over 4 weeks ago a family came to view a 12 week old male puppy that I had for sale but after looking at him they asked if their children could play with my 8 month old female in the adjacent large play area. I did let the parents know that she was available as she still had soft ears and that it were not likely to change because of her age and that was the only reason she was available as she was never going to make a conformation show dog. She was very healthy, extremely active, loved to play tug and chase a ball. After watching the children and her playing and running fetching her ball, the whole time being extremely gentle with the children in general being a perfect add for any prospective buyer. Of course this family fell in love and asked if they could have her and I agreed, thinking that their situation and her temperament would be perfect, they also owned and a 7 year old GSD and a Rottie that was also 8 months. They also lived on an acre of land so lots of room for her to run and play. Wind the story on 1 week later I get an email saying that they were very happy with her and no problems at all, her and the Rottie were best friends ( photo to prove it) but my puppy was not eating as well as they thought she should and did I give her 1 or 2 meals a day ( I had told them before leaving and it was written in my puppy pack 2 x meals because she was so active it had been difficult to keep weight on her). Two weeks later another email telling me that they had regrettably had to put her to sleep as she had Hip Dysplasia and that she had already suffered enough pain during her short life and they didn't want her to suffer any more WTF, they also attached a copy of the vet bill and their payment receipt from me asking that I pay them back. I was devastated, felt like my heart had been ripped out. My immediate response was that Prior to paying a cent that I wanted the xrays sent to a specialist and I would pay for that but they refused my offer. They had booked her in to be speyed and asked their vet to put an xray through to check her hips as she had been limping. The vet xrayed prior to the surgery and thought they were ok so she was speyed. When the owners picked her up, ( this is when things become cloudy ) the vet tells them that the hips are not perfect but she is only 8 months lets re xray at 12 months and send them for grading. I have no idea what transpired here during this conversation but the owners decided to have her euthanized. I rung the vet concerned who gave me a rather hurried rundown of what transpired (as she was busy?) but she claimed that she did not say that the puppy had Hip Dysplasia only that the hips were not perfect. My next step was to ring and speak to the Veterinary Clinic Manager who basically reiterated the same story that the owners were not told that she had HD. I then asked that the xray be sent to a specialist radiologist who reads xrays for our AZ scheme here as I had already asked the owner and they had refused. Said vet then tells me that the xrays were not of good enough quality and would be undiagnostic for HD and that They required the owners permission first. I also asked why did they allowed a health puppy to PTS, answer was because they were the owners and that is what they asked to be done. I then email puppy buyer asking if the vet actually said that she had HD ......... so far no answer to that but now they have stated that they give permission for a specialist viewing the xray. Some one is telling lies .... puppy owner or vet .... I do want to have the xray assessed but I won't until I have the truth first. It would be so easy to give them the money and be over it but I sold |
dogshome9 by Dawulf on 14 October 2011 - 01:39 |
| That is terrible! I'm so sorry you've been put through that - and the poor pup! I'd be going after those bastards with a baseball bat... terrible situation all around... |
Dawulf by starrchar on 14 October 2011 - 01:42 |
| Wow, I would be terribly upset and angry...to put it mildly. Did they ever try to contact you at all? This is just one more incident that confirms why I could never be a breeder. I would literally be heartbroken. Of course, this raises another question in my mind. How could a vet in all good conscience put an 8 month old pup to sleep that didn't have something severely wrong with it? An innocent 8 month old pup!!!!! I'm getting more upset as I write this. Grrrr I hope you get to the bottom of this. The best, Char |
starrchar by jdiaz1791 on 14 October 2011 - 01:55 |
| I wouldn't believe the vets, they are a bunch of crooks, they all now work on commissions like car salesmen...UnF.....believable ..check your state law,but they had to give you the chance to take her and do your x-rays...how do you know,in fact,that they xrayed her...maybe they sold her and are telling you this....All I can tell you is that every now and then, you will find people that will brake your heart and you would wonder if all the sleepless nights and sacrifices growing puppies are worth it..........But then I think about the people that my puppies have changed their lives and they call you years later to thank you.........Good luck |
jdiaz1791 by aloysius17 on 14 October 2011 - 02:13 |
| I am not sure about laws in the US, i am quite sure that they are similar to English laws, but it seems to me they would not be able to successfully claim because they unreasonably destroyed the young bitch and did not allow you to remedy the situation. Further pups are meant to be x-rayed at 12 months for HD and ED, sooner x rays will not give an accurate readings because the hips and elbows are still developing significantly. I am not a lawyer but it is only my opinion and therefore do not take responsibility for any comments made of this forum..... If they persist I must insist you seek legal advice. |
by dogshome9 on 14 October 2011 - 02:19 |
| I have been breeding for 8 years and only have 1 or 2 litters a year --- my tattoos are only up to 46 so that tells you how many litters I have had and this is my first dissapointment, I thought that I was a great judge of character. This puppy was a joy to own and she is in my avitar running as always, I thought she deserved better than being a kennel dog if she was not showable BOY was I wrong. Of the puppies that I have sold, many keep me informed of their progress as they grow up and of their acheivments along the way with lots of photos. For some reason the end of my first post is missing but what it was supposed to say was that I sold them a happy healthy puppy. There is no way I would have let her go had she shown any signs of being lame. My puppy folder, as I always point out, states for new owners to contact me first if they have a problem of any kind with the puppy, I think it is time to revamp my contract. |
by Chaz Reinhold on 14 October 2011 - 02:33 |
| I'm not saying you did anything wrong, but I probably would have never sold to a family with young kids, a 7 yr old gsd and a puppy Rott. 1 acre doesn't give one more time and I just don't understand why someone wants another pup when they have one. Seemed like salmon from the beginning. Id tell em to piss off. |
Chaz Reinhold by dogshome9 on 14 October 2011 - 03:06 |
Chaz, Many of my puppies go to homes with young children with no trouble what so ever these children were 5years old & 7 so not babies and they were very sensible with my dogs, both puppies and adult ones. I also take a great deal of notice of the way children react with my dogs before making up my mind to allow them to have a puppy, I also watch the way adults react also, I am never afraid to tell a person that they should go and look else where as I won't sell them one of mine. These people did not ring any alarm bells for me. I will not sell puppies to people who have babies and toddlers as for one thing they don't have the time and another it is easy for younger ones to be bumped or nipped by a playful puppy. |
by TingiesandTails on 14 October 2011 - 03:22 |
| It is very unethical for veterinarians to euthanize healthy dogs. Check with your laws.If they actually say that Hips were good and she was healthy enough to be spayed (I don't question what you write), that veterinary would have reacted highly unethical. What in the world were they thinking, putting her down after spaying her?? Unless they messed with the anethetics.... |
TingiesandTails by Chaz Reinhold on 14 October 2011 - 03:25 |
| Like I said, I'm not saying you did anything wrong. It's not so much the kids or their age. It's the kids, a dog and they already have a puppy. Why do they want another? And I would be more apt to sell to someone with a baby. Babies sleep, eat and crap. 5 and 7 year olds are just getting started in school. One is in kindergarten and the other in 2nd grade. These people should be worried about teaching the kids the alphabet, how to read, math, taking the to dance and soccer. But the kids arent even the red flag for me. |
by dogshome9 on 14 October 2011 - 04:31 |
| TingiesandTails, That is exactly what another breeder said to me, maybe she died under anesthetic or maybe they didn't even take an xray. I don't know but this is along way from being finished. Neither party is going to admit that they lied to me. Owner saying via email that she had HD> Quote " She was xrayed and found to be dysplasic, ie both femurs were worn down flat and less than half way into the sockets instead of 2/3. Her acetablum (hip socket) was too shallow to sustain the femur. On advise from our vet we had no alternative but to put her to sleep, as she had endured enough pain in her short 9 month life. They saw all of that in a poor quality xray not worthy of sending for a radiology specialist to read. This part of the email sounded alarm bells for me - far too much detail for a pet owner, sounds like something they read it on the net. Also if a puppy had such poor hips I would certainly have seen her in pain and limping ---- definately not the puppy that I had in my property for 8 months. Vets both tell me that they did not say that she had HD, Owner said that she did ?????? |
by Abby Normal on 14 October 2011 - 07:57 |
| How awful for you and for the poor puppy. You're right this isn't adding up. Why having only had the pup such a short time would they not have contacted you and returned her asking for a full refund instead? That surely would have been their simplest option. I too am appalled that any vet would have euthanised a healthy puppy that they had just spayed, despite what the owners may have demanded. Disgraceful. Most of the vets I know would have refused flat out. I second Starcharr, it's why I too could never breed. I hope you get to the bottom of it, but of course it's never going to bring your lovely girl back. Don't pay them a penny, in fact if it were me I would try and counter sue them! Awfully sad. |
Abby Normal by Q Man on 14 October 2011 - 13:22 |
| I wonder if the "owners" were informed of the condition of the puppy's hips before the puppy was PTS...or...Did the vet(s) act or supposedly act on their own and PTS the puppy on their own... It does sound to me as though something happened while the puppy was under and therefore the vet(s) acted or reacted to what they did... I would try and have the "owners" request the x-rays from the vet and would also like to have the puppy's body...but I'm sure the vet(s) didn't offer this and would have actually suggested against it... ~Bob~ |
Q Man by Brandi on 14 October 2011 - 14:39 |
| dogshome9, I'm sorry for your loss. This is just aweful. I think there is something fishy going on here. I don't think the Vet. acted on their own because I would think the new owners would be pissed and go after the Vet. with the help of you. I'm also not sure if something happened while she was "under" while being spayed because again, I would think the owner would want answeres. I read all the posts but forgot if it was listed, has the Vet. confirmed THEY put her to sleep? Something just is not right here. hmmm Again, I'm sorry for your loss. RIP sweet puppy. You were never given the chance.  |
Brandi by brynjulf on 14 October 2011 - 14:42 |
| Send the owners e-mail to the vet. Ask for clear clarification of what transpired in writing. Tell them you will need it in writing if you chose to pursure in court. The vet will either tell the truth or back peddle hard. Once you have the letter from the vet, send it on to the new owners. it will stop the he said , she said bit. Call everyone to the carpet. I personally would be furious. Dog murderers!!!! |
by gsdlvr4life on 14 October 2011 - 15:28 |
| This is so sad and i am so sorry that you have to endure this. I understand completly i found out in July that a pup from my Sept 2010 litter was shot because he barked to much:( Was absolutly and still am horrified. I am currently sueing him as my contract states i will "ALWAYS" take a pup back and he never contacted me:( Is there ANYWAY the dog they put to sleep was not yours and they are using your pups name to try and get money out of you? Was she microchipped,tattoo'd and they can show some kind of proof that it was indeed your dog? Just seems kinda scam like to me. |
gsdlvr4life by Trouble97 on 14 October 2011 - 17:05 |
| I am so sorry to hear that you had this happen! If the veterinarians euthanized a healthy dog or have acted unethically you can contact the Veterinary Medical Board in your state and file a complaint and the board can do an investigation. I worked for a couple different veterinary clinics and I have to say I will still drive my pets the 3 plus hours to the first clinic I worked for because they have outstanding ethics and are amazing veterinarians!! Dr. Pope has refused on many occasions when a patient would ask for a healthy animal to be euthanized! He has lost patients over this because he will for NO reason euthanize a healthy animal!! He will actually take in the animal and try and adopt it out to save their lives if he can!! He is one of the few veterinarians out there that are there for the welfare of the animals!!!! I have also worked for the other type of veterinarian with no ethics and willing to euthanize any animal at the owners request! Was the toughest job I have ever had! Euthanizing healthy animals and not reporting animal abuse! It was horrible that a dog that needed a surgery for a cruciate ligament could be euthanized because the doctor says he is too big and it would be really hard on him so the best thing would be to euthanize him!! I was horrified and did quit working there! The Veterinary Medical Board is there for a reason and they will check into the complaints and may be able to help you get to the bottom of what happened!! If more people filed complaints the unethical doctors would have to be responsible for their actions and face losing their licenses, being fined or suspeneded etc. I hope you find out the truth of what happened to your girl!!! |
Trouble97 by starrchar on 14 October 2011 - 19:38 |
| THis just really has me so upset. I'm not one to take legal action, but this would warrant it in my mind. Of course, I'm not a lawyer and don't even know what recourse you'd have, but I'd sure try to get all the vet records and go from there. This whole think is so disturbing. That poor puppy! Have they asked for their money back or anything of that sort? |
by dogshome9 on 15 October 2011 - 04:42 |
| Thank you all for your suggestions and for me I have never had any reason to take legal action against anyone but here I am giving thought to contacting our AVA and maybe if I cannot get to the bottom of this situation manybe they can offer some advise. brynjulf, great idea, I had not thought about send owners email to their vet, I will do that next week and hopefully I can get them to respond via email. gsdlvr4life yes she was both tattooed and microchippped but I am sure that she would have already been disposed of by now. Sorry for the dreadful loss your puppy. Q man I am told by the owner that she was - xrayed - desexed and owners talked to the vet at discharge - then they said in their first email to me that she was PTS on advise from their vet and not taken home.Both vets gave me a different story as in my earlier post. Also the owners were originally the ones NOT allowing me acsess to the xray, the vets were ok but they required the owners permission first. Yesterday the owners emailed me saying that they were going to get a second opinion from another local vet, not as I had asked them to do, send them for evaluation to a specialist radiologist who reads all of our GSD scheme xrays. Today I received an email with the result >> In my opinion there is flattening of the right femoral head. >> There is shallowing of the left acetabular socket compared to the right. >> The line of the dorsal acetabulum covers less than 2/3 of the left femoral head. >> In my opinion these changes support a diagnosis of canine hip dysplasia. (I wonder what degree that would be? ) They also sent me a copy of the receipt made out to a patient by the name of KANE ( blacked out but very clear under magnification ) not my puppy RICCI. Perhaps I am delusional but I would still like for the xrays to go to a specialist reader and I would also like to see a digital copy to be sent to me. |
by kitkat3478 on 15 October 2011 - 11:59 |
| Sure sounds like something very fishy. Who is the guilty party here. That is the question. I do not trust vets. I just had a person send me a report from a vet stating a dog they got from me has HD. The vets report goes on to say, "possibly" HD, due to the fact that German Shepherds are prone to HD. The dog was brought in for front leg lameness.x-rays were taken, but reports still states "possible". I smell a vet taking advantage of a person for a few x-tra bucks. |
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