Do homework before buyirgdogs to avoid puppy mills

ORLANDO, Fla. -Thesereader questions wereanswered by experts attendingthe North American Vet-erinary Conference here fan.tó-zo with mole than 8,oooveterinary professionals fromaround the world.

Q: our rr-year-old wantsa dog. We've had goldenretrievers before, and this timestopped at a pet store. What'syour opinion about buyingfrom the pet store? - 8.1.,cyberspace

A: Don't do it! Responsiblebreeders never, ever sell to apet store. Resporrsible breederswagt to knowwho is purchas-ing their pets, which would beimpossible if they soldto þetstores.

Dr. Nancy Soares of Macun-gie, Pa., incomingpresident ofthe American Animal Hos-pital Association agrees. "Inmy experience, pet stores aremiddlemen between puppymills andthe enduser."

Soares continues: "The caredogs at pet st'ores receive isvariable, what goes onbehind-the-scenes canbe shocking.Iiut even for dogs well caredfor, were they well-socializedbefore being pulled awày fromtheir mothers? Do they havehe¡itable disease, sometimestntning up later in life? Andwhat kind of nutrition did theyhave? Do theyhave properlydeveloped immune systems?"

And even if the puppy isperfectly healthy, and social-ized, what about the mothersofthese dogs?

"These poor dogs are breed-inq machines. living in ter¡ible

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veterinary care. They don't i'care about producing healthy s

pets. They care about produc.íling. And by purchasing a dogfrom a pet store, you're sup-porting puppy mill profits, "Soares says.

Another problem withdogs purihased at pet storesis they're often not accurateexamples of the breed or mixthey're sold as. So, consumersaren't purchasing what theythinli they are, which is fraud.

If you want a purebred dog,they're available from repu-table breeders and rescues, as ,

well as shelters.Anyone canioin the

Facebook page Veterinari ,\Professionals Against PuppyMills: www.facebook.com,l .!veterinar¡rrofessionalsagain- -t

qtpuppymils.Q: We reallyresearched

breeders - I think we did a .

good job. We found our min-iature Schnauzer puppy, andbroughthim home in Septeni-'ber. Unfortunately, Chief wasill from the moment he steppedfoot in our home. The breedergavé him a haircut, and hisentire body had sores that wereinfected. He also had worms.

".Then, it was discovered he had i

a hereditary liver shunt. He I

underwent surgery, and while"'

STEVE DALE

LæVegæReview-Journal I reviewjournal.com I Sunday,January3i,2016 Fi

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under it was discovered he had a heartmurmru. V/e lost him on Thanks$v-ing. Thebreeder didnot offer a sincereresponse, though she said she'd returnthe cost ofthe dog - so far, that hasn'thappened.

How does ourfamilymove forwardand find a reputable breeder? Can youoffer tips so thís devastatüg heart-ache doesn't happen to other families?- K. M., Schaumburg, trll.

ll¡ "Wtrile this is tragic, it's not likelythis'dog éver receivedlove urtíl youcame into the picture," says Dr. MaryGardner, co-fgr:nder of Lap of Love, anationwide network of veterinarianswhose goal is to empower pet ownersto care for their geriatric or sick pets,offering counseling and in - homeeuthanasía.. "There are certaínly repu-table breeders, this was not one."

Reputable brèeders provide a con-tract,.whieh indicatesthe purchaseprice'will be returnedif a provengenêtic problem occurs within areasonable time frame after purchase.Of course, a responsible breeder'wouldn't have sold an obviously illdog in the first place.

Gar{ner, who isbasedinLos Ange-'les, says, "When choosing a breeder,or evena rescue,"visit the place wherethe dog is at."

Doesthe dog's mothe¡ appeühealthy andis her temp'erament typi-

. cal fo¡ the breed you're thinking aboutbuying, as the canine apple doesn't fallfa¡ fromthe tree. If he's around, meetdad dog, too. Is the facility clean?Does the breeder participate in dogshows? (That's a sign that the breedercares about her line of dogs, and bet-tering the breed). If the breeder breedsmultiple dog breeds, that's a red flag.

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And another red flag is breeding morethan a few litters a year.

"Don't rely on the Internet,', Gatd-ner says. ¿'The reality is that very badbreeders tell people what they want tohear. If the breeder doesn't allow a sitevisit - forget about it."

Gardner $ves you huge props forhanginginwhen other dog ownersmight not have. r'I understand it; theseguys rire so fast to dig little holes in ou¡hearts," she says. '¡You have noth-ing to feel guilty about. You may feelbetter when you do get another pet,who willbe one very lucky dog.,'

Q: My 5 -year-old male ragdolldeveloped serious chronic drainagefrom his right eye about a year ago.After rebeiving an eye òintment, thesituation hasnlt changed. The veteri-narian said the problem is caused by achronic incurable virus. What do youknow? - C.M., Hayward, Wis.

Ollie is a 3-year-oldminiature pinscher/Chihuahua mix. Afterenduring abuse, heneeds to be aroundkind, gentle, lovingpeople. He loves tosit in your,lap. Heenjoys other sweetdogs, so a homewith a furry brotheror sister would bebest for him. Ollie isneutered, vaccinatedand microchipped. Totake Ollie home, con-tact Kiss 4 HomelessAnimals by calling ortexting Amy at 702-439-L942 or emailingkim@tixcorp.com.

A: 'iThe virus you're speaking aboutis the herpes virus," says Chicagofeline veterinarian Dr. Colleen Cu¡-t'igan, president of the AmericanAssociation of Feline Practitioners."Herpes viruses will often come andgo througþout a cat's life, and you areright, there's no ma$c cure, but youcan treat the slmrptoms. "

If this problem is a new one, perhapsthere's another erplanation. Currigansays that it's possible that you cat mayhave a blocked tear duct. If that turnsout to be the issue,,you may want to seea veterinary ophthatmolo$st.

- Stwe Dale welcomes q.æstío*/"o -møtts fr om r eader s. Altltøgh he can' tanswø all of the¡n índividually, he'llanswer those of gmør al intcr est ín hiscolumn. S end e - maíl to p etw orld@ stev edale.tv. Include your nanæ, cib¡ andstate.

Ollie