My husband & I found an English Bulldog, which was almost 4 months old, on Mr Walkers site & called & spoke to him about the puppy. He said it was still available & if I wanted it, I would need to overnight him a check in the amount of $1800, which I did.
The following weekend we drove from Arkansas to Georgia to pick the puppy up. We were about an hour away from his house when he called & told me the puppy was acting "funny" & was trying to catch me before we left. I had told him earlier in the week that we would be leaving on Saturday night so we would be there early Sunday morning. So he said he would call a "vet friend" of his. So he called him & called me back at which time he told me the vet said, without seeing the puppy, it was probably just an inner ear infection. So his wife put some peroxide in his ear & he told me the pup was fine.
When we arrived he stated the puppy was acting disoriented, staggering, & just really acting funny. He said he had never seen anything like it. He also stated he had cleaned the pup's kennel w / bleach but had been doing this for several years & it had never affected any of his other dogs.
We got the pup out of his kennel & let him walk around & he was walking very tender footed on his gravel driveway. When I questioned him about this he said it was just from the gravel. I asked him SEVERAL times if he thought the pup was having seizures & he assured me he was not.
He also told me in conversation that a lady had bought a pup from him & once she got home, for some reason she wasn't happy w / the pup & wanted her money back and wanted to also keep the pup.
When he refused to refund her money, he told me that she filed suit on him & his atty suggested he didn't pursue a countersuit as she was an atty herself. I know this should have thrown up a red flag to me but I had already fallen in love w / this adorable puppy.
We brought him home on March 12 & on March 13 I took him to the vet for a check up & to get his last set of shots. When I got him there the vet looked at his paws & told me he had chemical burns, from the bleach. He gave me some medicine & we treated him for the burns over the next several days. The bleach also caused him to lose several teeth from licking his paws.
His first "episode" was on March 16. They followed as such... April 4,12, 20,22, 25, May 5,6, 8,9, 12,20. The vet determined in the midst of all of it he was having seizures & put him on medication. When we tested his phenabarb levels & they were w/in range & he was still having the seizures we knew something else was going on so our vet consulted w/a specialist in another town & was told to do some more test. So he did & found out his liver wasn't functioning properly.
We were told he had to have a surgery and there was a 90% chance once they got in him that they would be able to fix him. There was a 10% chance they could not fix him & there would be nothing further they could do for him. The surgery was $2500, and again there was still no guarantee.
He had the surgery on May 23 at which time his condition was a lot worse than expected. He was getting NO blood flow at all to his liver. The vet stated he had not seen a dog as old as Miles, at which time he was 6 months old, that had a condition as bad as him. He said Miles should have died at 3-4 months old. I have been told by the vet that this is a birth defect and Miles would have started showing signs shortly after birth.
Which leads me to believe the breeder knew something was wrong w / him. I was also told by the vet that this could be a POSSIBLE inbred dog, and that he would never be a NORMAL puppy or dog but if the surgery worked he would be healthy.By "not normal" he means that Miles basically is like a special needs child.
The breeder told me that there were 2 other liter mates to Miles, at which time I do not know if there is something wrong w / them as well, but I am trying to locate where his siblings are at this time.
At this time, Miles is doing better, but we still won't know FOR SURE for 2 months when we have to perform another blood test on him to see if his acid levels have decreased.
We have incurred over $3000 in vet bills plus the money we paid for him. There has also been a lot of emotional ups & downs. I have also been advised not to breed him as this is hereditary.
I have filed a complaint w / the Better Business Bureau in the breeders town & they have closed the case as unresolved.
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The breeder states he has done nothing wrong & I will not get 1 dime from him & also stated I needed mental help. He said this whole thing was stupid. If he thinks this is stupid then that shows you what he thinks of his breeding. He is in it for 1 reason & 1 reason only... Money.
He has also stated that he didn't know what me & my children did to this dog once we got him home but the pup was fine when I left w / him, which is a lie. My children & I have given this pup nothing but the love & affection he deserves. If I was going to mistreat an animal, I sure wouldn't put the time, money, stress, & emotion in it that I have.
The condition Miles has makes me love him no less, but I have paid a lot of money for an AKC registered dog that I still don't know if he is even going to live or not.
I feel like as a reputable breeder he should have stood behind his "product" & stepped up to the plate & taken the responsiblity for his actions.instead he has lied and said some very rude things about me.
My intentions are to keep him from doing this to another family & another puppy as it is NOT fair or humanely right to either. And I will not stop until I see this is accomplished.
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