new puppy - where did you get your dog from?
By kimberlylynn
@kimberlylynn (978)
United States
September 9, 2008 9:27pm CST
we adopted our puppy from a shelter after searching for several weeks. I wanted to find one from a home as I thought that would be better but we just couldn't find one so we went a different route. I guess my only complaint is I picked him up and pretty much had to take him to the vet because the doctgor who did the fixing said he had ringworm and when I brought him to my vet he said he has bronchitis. The vet pretty much said these things should have been caught and the dog not put up for adoption in that condition. Of course I can't take him back, would be too hard. So it's already cost me $100 to adopt and I spent $100 on items (cate, food, etc) and now over $100 today on vet and at last one follow or more and more meds if he doesn't recover. They give you some insurance policy but I called and they said the deductible is $100 for each illness so basically it is worthless because the bronchitis and the worms are two separate illnesses so it would have to be over $200. I know here are so many dogs and illnesses in the shelter but it really didn't save me any money getting it from there verses a reputable breeder. I just hope he makes it, my kids would be very upset. Where did you get your dog from and was it a good experience?
4 responses
@sandra966 (269)
• Spain
11 Sep 08
We got our last dog by opening our front door too.
We live in Spain, and there are lots of stray cats and dogs here as well.
We just opened the door and there he was, sitting on our driveway. All day long he was there, so we gave him some treats but he would take them and sit in the middle of the road to eat them. So we scooped him up and took him to the vet and made sure he wasn't owned, and then adopted him.
Luckily he had nothing too badly wrong with him. We got the stuff for fleas and worms, and touch wood, he's been a lovely little companion for the kids.
@kimberlylynn (978)
• United States
14 Sep 08
Sounds like he picked you! I think fleas and worms are pretty common so I would expect that for sure in a wild dog. Thanks!
@sidyboy (284)
• United States
10 Sep 08
The bronchitis was most likely kennel cough- so make sure that your dog isn't around any other dogs because he can give it to them (it's airborne). Basically, kennel cough is a dog cold- they'll sneeze, cough, etc- some of them do get it much worse than others and it can lead to pneumonia, which is why many vets will prescribe an antibiotic to prevent that.
The dog I adopted from the shelter also had kennel cough- but I didn't find that out until he was here for a week (kennel cough has an incubation period)- and all my dogs ended up with it.
As for the ringworm-make sure you wash yourself very well after handling the dog, and don't let others touch him until he's over this- ringworm can be transmitted to humans. Keep up with the treatments and everything should be fine though.
As for my own dogs, 3 I got from where I work. My boss shows/breeds Schnauzers, and 2 of them were born with health defects so I took them, and the third was a trade for my paid vacation. The Weim was the one I adopted from the shelter, and my most recent dog is a 7 year old Schnauzer that was owned by a man who couldn't care for him anymore since he had cancer and was weak from the treatments, so I took him in.
Anyway, no dog is cheap- some may be cheap/free to GET, but you always have medical costs, supplies, and food. The two that I got from where I work that had health defects were free- but I could have bought several healthy puppies for what I've put into these guys. Just a dental cleaning is twice as expensive since I have to have an echocardiogram done prior to the procedure to make sure their hearts are still ok (their defects are with their hearts), plus all the bloodwork that I have run prior to anything- but they're well worth it. With my one boy, the heart specialist told me that I'd be lucky to have him live to be a year and a half- last May he celebrated his TENTH birthday- and his heart is still not showing any signs of failure.
Just keep in mind that at least you have this dog and are willing to take care of him and help get him better so he can live a wonderful life. Enjoy him!
@kimberlylynn (978)
• United States
14 Sep 08
Thanks for sharing - we are certainly trying to do everything we were told and he still has the sneezing and discharge out his nose but the cough seems better and the ringworm has not seemed to spread. It is so hard to keep the kids (and ourselves) away from the puppy but they are trying and get annoyed that they have to wash their hands all the time. He of course wants to get out and play and be a puppy but I try to limit it for everyone's safety and soon enough he will be getting into plenty of puppy trouble as expected. Hopefully the antibiotics will work and the ointment clear it up. I just feel that the dog shouldn't have been put out for adoption in this condition. I did buy the dog insurance though as I have had dogs in the past and I know that I would never be able to say no to treatment and that things happen with them just as it does people.
@ronaldinu (12422)
• Malta
10 Sep 08
I got mine from a reputable breeder. They dont trick people otherwise they ruin their reputation. In my case I had nothing to complain.
@kimberlylynn (978)
• United States
14 Sep 08
yeah I think the key is definitely to check on the reputation of a breeder. I really didn't want a specific breed a mutt is fine with us but a healthy dog would have been an easier start!
@Jennifer_1 (36)
• Malaysia
10 Sep 08
my dog get from my birthday. my mum and dad give me a birthday present that's is a dog.
