Sheltie with a black eye.

BarbV said:
Poor smudge

I would be angry enough too, to send in editorials to the local newspaper.

This breeder should be brought down for failing to have the slightest concern for a pup that she only just recently sent to his home. I think we can all accept that sometimes bad things happen, but for the breeder to compleely ignore you? That just smells bad.
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I'm already ahead of you. :yes: I was going to write to the "cheers and jeers" section to our local paper. It appears every Saturday. They don't print your name, only your initials and your city/state (the paper is in a city that is on the Texas and Arkansas border so there are people from Arkansas and Texas who read that paper). I am going to wait until tomrrow and email her again.

Tomrrow is a holiday here, and so I really hope the vet is open today. Somebody said something about it at work, and I forgot all about it. Maybe that's why they made the appointment for Wednesday to begin with. I'm going to try it anyway. They open at 8, so I will be there right at about 8.

I figure she'll either give him a dip a few days early or start him on Interceptor, or both. I'm going to show the vet the pictures so maybe she can better understand how bad it's getting. When you see a lot of cats and dogs every day it's hard to remember how one certain animal looked two weeks ago. :biggrin2:
 
Just got back the vet's. Also, I made a mistake. The holiday is next week. :lol: They were open.

The people at the front desk looked at my pictures. They said it was normal. They said he has to go through all 4 dips (one every two weeks) before it will get any better. I asked if it was normal for it to be spreading like that, and they said yes. They said he had the worst type of mange possible, and that he would have this problem for the rest of his life. They said he could get cured of it and then it could come back. :( I already knew that, but I wish people would stop saying that. They also told me that stress caused it (true, but it's not the only factor).

The one girl that I went to school with told me that the vet should not have neutered Smudge the day she did. She said it could make his mange even worse, because it stressed him out. My argument with her is this - does it matter when he gets neutered? It doesn't matter if he's neutered today or next January. It's stressful either way. Either way it could have caused him problems. :rolleyes2:

So nothing has changed. I go back in on Wednesday. I did ask about cream, but I forgot the name (I gotta write it down!) so I didn't meantion it. I'll mention it next time. I did ask what I could put on it since it was cracking and bleeding. They told me...neosporin! :uhoh: I think I'm gonna go with baby vaseline until I can get the dog cream. I can't take the chance it would make him have a reaction.
 
My heart goes out to you and Smudge; its so difficult to see your baby suffer - not to mention having to make hard decisions because of finances. We will keep praying for a fast remission of his mange.
 
Thanks for the update and for continuing to be a strong advocate for your pup !

Jessica, I wondered whether you have made any decisions regarding supplements. I know that Chris and Ann are very pleased with their program; I've got my two dogs on Nupro Gold, which I order over the internet. It goes a long way and the dogs love the (dessicated liver) flavor in their food.
 
Gosh Jessica

We are just so sorry to read this last post.We all will continue to keep Smudge & you in prayer.

I would be unbelievably livid with this breeder.I would be as public about it as much as possible.There must be some way to get to this person,thru AKC.Theres got to be a way.
What was the name of the cream they asked you to get?
 
First of all I want to say again how sorry I am for you and your pup.

Here is how you might be able to have communication with her.

Send her a registered letter stating when you attempted to call her,
what has been going on with Smudge, and who you will contact to inform them of her lack of business ethics and to file complaints against her. Have your vet write up a letter also. Make copies.

Document everything that is happening with Smudge. Call and send everything you have on this breeder to:

Contacts: AKC
ASSA
Local organizations in your state
AZ Attorney General
AZ Agriculture Department

The Agriculture Department deals with stock from dogs, cattle, horses, etc..
They are the ones who will check out her kennel in your state.

Send them your registered letter, pictures, and documentation. If all else fails take her to small claims court. I have never been in court, but I don't believe they charge a huge amount of money to do so.

Your a good mom, and have moved through this process with Smudge in a positive way. Your doing a great job! Smudge is very fortunate to have you!!!

This is just a suggestion on what to do. I think so many people are upset for you and Smudge they are trying to help. In the end you have to do what you believe is right. I believe we would all like to give this breeder an eye that looks like your pup.

Praying good thoughts for positive results.
 
Very well said Sable. It is truly a sad thing that this breeder has not even bothered to answer messages.It only shows that she knows she is in the wrong.

After reading the posts again,I had a conversation with the gal that is coordinator of our local shelter in Chesterfield & also works for DEHEC. I know Jerry Lynn very well,as I have fostered many a pup for her that she has contacted us about. Jerry Lynn had the same suggestion as Sable.She said that you need to contact these folks,to follow thru about this breeder.

She wished you did not live so far,as she would be very willing to help Smudge out with any thing she could as far as meds,to help defrey some cost for you Jess.She did suggest that maybe your local shelter would help. Thats what they are there for,she thought for sure you should give it a try.
 
Neosporin is also used for humans so you should be able to get some from your local human chemist shop. Prob much cheaper than the vet supply at the chemist (mainly because the pharmacists buy the human stuff in bulk so get it for cheaper). The over the counter strength should be okay for a dog.
 
Oh my!! Poor Smudge & poor Mommy!! I hope you get it figured out for him soon & take this breeder down!!!
As for the cream, Blue had follicular (sp?) conjunctivitis when I got him and the vet gave him neo-poly-dex eye ointment. I'm sure it would work for the cracking around his eye.
 
Tomorrow morning I take Smudge back in for his scheduled dip. We'll see what the actual vet says tomorrow, but I'm going to guess it's the same thing. The girls at the front desk pretty much know what they're talking about. They've helped me several times over the phone. :yes: The name of the actual dog cream is in an earlier post that somebody else wrote. I did go ahead and buy some baby vaseline last night though. I'm going to apply some later this afternoon. That's going to be FUN. :lol:

As for the supplements, for right now I'm just using ProPet dog vitamins. My store didn't have the puppy vitamins in stock so I'm breaking the dog vitamins in half and giving him a piece. Today I'm going to go to the actual petstore (PetSmart) and see what they have. The reason I went ahead and bought the cheaper vitamins was because I wanted him to at least be taking something until I get something good. He needs an immune system boost ASAP. Tonight would have been Smudge's first obedience school class. I'm not taking him though, because I can't risk it. The vet said that he can't spread it to other animals or humans, but I'm sure the other owners would freak out (I know I would!). Also, since his immune system is so weak I can't risk the chance that there might be a sick dog there (since the owner might not know their dog is sick). I've read several websites that have said that keeping your dog away from health risks is critical to healing the mange up.

Before this I always just thought mange was hair loss. Boy was I wrong!

As for the breeder, I went back to my email to see when I actually emailed her. It was August 30th. So I think maybe I should give her a few more days. I did email the puppy mill website, and they told me they are launching an investigation (HA!), and that they have disabled her link for now. They told me to keep trying to contact her. I am going to write something in to my local paper, but I'm not allowed to write names. It wouldn't be in there until next Saturday though because of the deadlines and everything.

Like I've said before, I don't want money from this woman. I really don't. What I do want though is for her to stop breeding animals. Since her shelties are AKC registered (her min pins are not, according to her latest ad) would it be a good idea to let my local AKC club know about it, or should I just go directly to the big nachos?

Also, as for the money, it won't always be this bad. It's just that I'm needing a few weeks to catch up. I was planning on getting Smudge fixed, but when the vet decided it be done NOW it threw me off. The actual price for him getting neutered was not bad at all though. I always research prices on the internet to give me an idea. I think some of these people who write about their vet experiences must be going to a fancy vet or live in a bigger city. Either that or they have a much, much larger dog.
 
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