Need Advice...

[suzybsyr]

Hello everyone... going to try to make this as short and to the point as possible. When I met my boyfriend he had a 9 month old EB. Little did I know that he got the pup from petland !! Well about a week after I met little Jeffery (the EB), he literally dropped dead. Come to find out the pup had a severely elongated soft palate, and the emergency vet determined the cause of death to be heat stroke (I believe he suffocated to death which caused his body temperature to raise). Looking back at the previous vet records from when the pup was only 12 weeks old, the vet stated that she was unable to visually see his epiglottis without manually pushing the soft palate away. I guess what I'd like advice on is whether anyone thinks we have a right to go after Petland and their horrible breeders/brokers?? I ask him all the time why he would EVER EVER get a dog from a pet store.... especially an EB.... (some men need so much guidance..... ugh...) Please let me know what you guys think....

Thanks!

 

[JeannieCO]

Oh gosh I'm so so sorry for your that you all had to go through that and lose the little guy. . I dont know if you have any recourse against Petland or not but if it was me I'd be writing their corporate office. You can find their main corporate contacts usually by a google search. They may even have corporate counsel. While I'm not an attorney I do work for a few of them and I've had to do this type of searches many times. Did your BF take him for a vet check after he got him? I ask because that's required by most breeders. Again, I am so sorry for your loss!

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

You will find this article we have here interesting!

http://www.englishbulldognews.com/f...uld-You-Never-Purchase-A-Puppy-From-a-PetShop

 

[MamaAndi]

I would say you could certainly go after Petland...unless they had him sign some sort of waiver or "adoption contract" that stated they aren't liable for anything once you took possesion of the pup. I'm not sure what kind of papers you have to sign if any to buy a pup from them. I would say it's worth a try though!

 

[suzybsyr]

Thanks everyone! It's refreshing that everyone is so understanding. Trust me... i was not happy when I heard where he got his pup from.... (he heard an earful from me) but that is all in that past now. A little more information, he followed all their "rules" of when to take it to the vet, who to take it to and what not. Petland has up to a 3-year guarantee on hereditary and congenital disorders and after doing a lot of research I feel like this was an extreme case. This dog never should have been bred. We spoke to the store owner and he pretty much said take me to court.... so that is what we are in the process of doing. I have also written to the Better Busines Bureau. I have attached a shortened version of that summary here...

On or about 12/18/10 I purchased an English Bulldog puppy from Petland in
Cicero, NY. On Monday 12/20/10, I took the puppy to their recommended vet.
After owning the puppy for approximately 2 weeks, I noticed that he was very
lethargic and breathing very heavy. He did not like to go outside so I
immediately made another appointment with the vet that Petland uses in
Syracuse, NY. On 1/5/11 I brought the puppy back into the vet, at this time I
was told that some bulldogs have breathing problems, some which may eventually
need surgery once they are adults (over a year old). Everything seemed fine
until six months later when suddenly, on 7/23/2011, the dog collapsed in the
early morning while outside going to the bathroom. I immediately rushed him to
the emergency vet where they attempted to perform CPR, to no avail. The dog
could not be brought back and passed away. Their diagnosis, because they did
not know his prior history of breathing problems, was heat stroke. After the
dogs death, I contacted Petland and was told that when I was ready to come in
they would work something out for me. I was devastated with the way the dog
passed and it was not until recently, January 2012, that I decided I may be
ready to consider another puppy. Upon speaking to a Petland employee I was told
I should gather any vet records for the dog that passed so the store could see
what they could do. It was upon receiving those records that I learned of the
severity of a dog with an elongated soft palate. The vet noted in her records
(which I never received a copy of), that she could visibly see the blockage in
the dog and that she was unable to see into his epiglottis without manually
pushing the soft palate away. She also noted on that this was a MAJOR problem,
and never voiced those issues to myself. Upon further research, I found that
dogs with this condition can suddenly drop dead from heat stroke, pretty much due to
suffocation and that this is a genetic problem that should never be bred into
the dogs with responsible breeders. I contacted Petland upon learning of this
information and in hopes of receiving compensation for the pain and suffering
that I have endured through this and what I encountered was a rude and uncaring store
owner. Even the employees and store manager were willing to give me a puppy for
free, as their warranty states, or refund my money. This condition, I believe,
falls under Petland's warranty which covers any genetic and hereditary
conditions up to 3 years and given the dog's sudden death, I was not able to get the
necessary treatment.

Honestly all we want is Justice for Jeffrey, the pup, and to know that these so called caring stores are dong the right thing, which they obviously aren't. To have such a beautiful dog pretty much ripped away from you and then be told by the store owner that it was your fault.... he has no clue the animal lover I am. I have been rescueing, fostering and re-homeing cats and kittens for years (my boyfriend is the dog one) this just boils my blood!! Sorry for venting!

 

[cali~jenn]

First off, never apologize for venting about this stuff, that is what we are here for. I am soooo sorry you have had to go thru this and that poor baby must have suffered so. I know nothing about the law here but I say for sure try and go after them for something if nothing other than to get the story heard and maybe make a change somewhere. Maybe try and contact the local news and see if they will run with this story even. I would also go to your yelp type of online searches and post your story and rating so others may learn from this. Sadly until it is known, the horror of what comes out of pet stores like this from bad experiences, people will continue to keep them in business.

 

[Bizzymammabee]

Very sorry to hear this. Not sure about the recourse though as I am not sure if they gave you any paperwork to go with the sale. One thing I do have to stress to any new buyer, never use the seller's "recommended" vet, even if it's several free visits. I find that they can be a bit biased as they are getting referrals/payments from the seller. If you can post the docs that they gave you with the sale. I am pretty good with legalese (work at a law firm) and I would like to see what they had you sign. Lots of places require a necropsy as proof in a claim.

 

[suzybsyr]

Thanks [MENTION=390]cali~jenn[/MENTION] for the reassurance. I have thought about going to the local news as well. I know this is not going to be a fast easy process on any account. I have also thought about starting a facebook page on the awareness of this issue. I have found a few articles but if anyone knows of links that provide further information on the elongated soft palate and the dangers of such I would love to see them!!

 

[bulldog family]

Contact the local news media and newspaper also. Let little Jeffrey's voice be heard!!!!

 

[suzybsyr]

Hi [MENTION=4054]Bizzymammabee[/MENTION] - The only reason he took the dog to their "recommended" vet was because that was part of their "guarantee". Which states something along the lines of this "LIMITED 3-YEAR EXTENDED PUPPY WARRANTY-
Should a veterinarian diagnose, within the first year of this puppy's life, a hereditary or congenital disorder that is currently interfering with this puppy's ability to lead a normal life, this Petland retailer will allow full credit of the original purchase price toward the purchase of another puppy of your choice."

The recommended vet never disclosed the dangers of the palate problem and the dog seemed fine for the next few months with only breathing problems that he assumed were normal in bulldogs. (Her words to him were "Would you love the dog any less if there was something wrong with him"....well c'mon, how can you not love those faces). He did switch vets shortly after, but without knowing the seriousness he never thought to ask to look further into this problem because the dangers were never fully explained. Looking back (hindsight) the dog chocked very easily on his food, almost too easy. I am working on getting all the paperwork in order so hopefully can post them soon. If you see my long post above that is a pretty accurate timeline account of how things happened.

 

[Bizzymammabee]

It really is disgusting how that vet failed to mention the elongated palate. I know that I did find it as a possible problematic issue when I did my research. That vet should be fined or reported to the local vet association for his negligence in disclosing the issue.

 

[suzybsyr]

The vet's words in person and what we now see that she wrote on her report are completely contradictory (that this was a major problem/defect). To not even be able to see in the dogs throat without manually moving the flap of tissue!! It's no wonder the dog died at such a young age, I honestly feel he was not given a fair chance at life! On 12/20/10 when the puppy was brought in for his initial visit, why wasn't it noticed then if they did a thorough exam? But on 1/5/11, only 16 days later, it was visibly noticeable! Funny and convenient how this is after the first 14-day guarantee they give owners.

 

[suzybsyr]

Just received a call back from the vet hospital who tended to the dog upon his death and was reviewing the records.... they agree that the death was linked to this elongated palate! This is a great step forward in going after this guy!!

 

[Bizzymammabee]

Good luck. I hope you can get enough attention and help in the fight against puppy mills and these unconscionable sellers. Nothing worse than falling in love with a new baby only to lose them like that.