Petland Novi, MI : They Sold us an Epileptic Puppy Novi, Michigan
My husband and I bought a mini Australian Shepherd from Petland in Novi, MI in November of 2011: his name is Jack! For the first year of Jack's life he was happy and healthy with a guarantee that he came from a breeder and had healthy parents with no genetic issues. In January of 2013, 14 months after we bought Jack, we found him seizing in his cage in the middle of the night. During the month of January and February alone we have spent four nights in the emergency vet with him and he has had to endure countless seizures along with tests and needles (blood drawn, IV's, etc.). Not only have we had to watch out little dog suffer in a way that he cannot understand, we have spend over $2000 on his emergency vet visits alone.
Having been guaranteed a healthy, vibrant puppy we are shocked at how different life is turning out for Jack. He is not as lively as he was the first year of his life and he no longer enjoys car rides because he now correlates them with trips to the vet. After having spent an exorbitant amount of money for a dog, we assumed that he would be happy and healthy all the days of his life. WELL NO! He is now another victim of Petland's lack of care for their animals - they do not care about the genetic lines of their pets and their guarantees mean nothing!
DO NOT PURCHASE A PUPPY FROM PETLAND! We are only happy that we did because we got to save Jack from that place and he has found a forever home in our hearts!
3 Updates & Rebuttals
Christina
Flint,Michigan,
Response
#4General Comment
Sat, April 06, 2013
I'm sorry but I never said you were ignorant and if you had heeded all of the warnings over the years about buying a pup from a pet store because most buy their dogs from puppy mills things may be different.
I'm also sorry that your poor Jack is ill and uncomfortable. I pray that he has a happy stress free life. Get him a buddy from your local shelter.
Lindsey R.
Christina - Flint
#4Author of original report
Sat, April 06, 2013
Thank you for your rebuttal. I have done extensive research on the breed and also the condition. We are in no way saying that we do not love and care for our little pup. There is proof that Australian shepherds, especially mini's, are genetically prone to epilepsy. Do not think that we are ignorant of our animals condition, he is a member of our family just like a child would be - we don't see him as faulty, but he is not the healthy puppy that we were "guaranteed". I wrote this report to make sure people know that Petland doesn't screen it's animals. I dug into where they bought our dog from originally and it was a puppy mill that holds 258 adult animals. WE LOVE OUR JACK. We hate that he is on 3 different medications, twice a day to stop the seizures. Don't accuse people of ignorance when you don't know the whole situation.
Christina
Flint,Michigan,
No way to tell
#4General Comment
Sat, April 06, 2013
There is no way to tell if your puppy is going to develop epilepsy anymore than if a newborn baby will develop epilepsy at the age of eight short of extensive DNA testing. This is different than showing that his genetic line is healthy. I have a three year old dog who didn't develop seizures until he was two. There are adults who never showed symptoms as children. You take your chances just like when you have a baby.
I do find it a bit offensive that you are speaking of a prized family member as though they are faulty. Would you do that with any other family member. Bad mouth your husband because he had a faulty gene that affected one of your children? Also as for all the testing and costs I find you may have been ripped by your vet or your vet didn't prescribe anything on an initial visit to control his seizures. One visit to the ER clinic and ours was diagnosed and medicated until we could see our vet which then cost us nothing more than an office call. Our sweet boy takes a single med mixed in with his food every night and has been pretty much seizure free. He is his usual happy self.
I hope your sweet boy gets the right treatment and can live a healthy happy life. Just remember that if you are overly sensitive and upset about it your dog can sense that and develop depression. Treat him just like you would if he was 'normal' but take care for any activities that might lead to a seizure. Educate yourself. Not just by your vet. Do research.