Complaint Review: Pomsky Perfection - Boyd Wisconsin

This is a report about Pomsky Perfection – a Pomsky (Pomeranian/Husky) breeder in Eau Claire (Boyd), Wisconsin. I will also send documentation of the medical test and one of the medical bills (names redacted for privacy) to this website to be attached to the bottom of this report.

Here is a Summary of what happened to us, with more details below:

• We received the puppy on Sept 10. Four days after we picked up the puppy, he developed diarrhea and vomiting, stopped eating, and became lethargic. 
• We made a Vet appointment for the next day. That appointment was 5 days after the day we had received the puppy. Stool and blood samples were taken for testing. 
• He tested positive for Parvovirus (aka “Parvo”). We notified the breeder. (Breeder did not offer any suggestions throughout this process.) We had also notified the breeder on Sept 15 that he was not eating. 
• He later developed severe pneumonia in his right lung. The Parvo postive test result came on Sept 16. We have emailed a copy of the lab report to the breeder. 
• In the first two weeks of owning the puppy we’d spent a total of nearly $5500, including the $1500 payment for the puppy. We asked for partial reimbursement ($1500) for medical expenses. Breeder refused. 
• After we'd spent $4000 in medical expenses, and the puppy was healthy, THEN the breeder offtered a full refund - if we would return the puppy!!!
• We feel that a responsible breeder should have provided compensation for some of the healthcare expenses.

Dogs start showing symptoms 5-10 days after being exposed to Parvo. Our Dog started showing signs four days after we received him from the breeder. As you can see, he was exposed to Parvo at least one day BEFORE we received him. Multiple Vets told us the same. Parvovirus is very serious.  If you are not familiar with it, please read about it.  It is very contagious and very durable.  It can live on soil or flooring for a very long time.  Secondary infections can also occur as a result of the weakened immune system. Other dogs within the same household/kennel may not exhibit the symptoms of Parvo, even though their feces carries the virus. Our puppy was not tested for Parvo when he received his wellness exam (it's just not a standard test) by the breeder’s Vet.

Our puppy then had Veterinary care on each of the next several days, by the mobile Vet service who had cared for our previous dog. He received fluids and meds each day. His status improved, but then quickly deteriorated. He started coughing and became extremely lethargic. He had a high fever. We took him to the VES (Veterinary Emergency Service) in Madison. He was immediately put into isolation (because of the positive test for Parvo) and was again tested and treated. X-rays showed that he had pneumonia, a secondary infection to the Parvo. We notified the breeder again, the day he was hospitalized (Sept 21 - Breeder did not respond at all for three days, when we contacted them again). The breeder mentioned that they’d never had Parvo before (and did not offer any other advice). The Vets were quite certain that he had the Parvo before we received him. We had never had any experience with any of these VES Vets before, but they took great care of our puppy.

After seven days of hospitalization, when we finally were able to bring home our puppy from the VES, our Vet bills were at $3700, and he would still need some follow-up appointments and continued medication. At this point, we notified the breeder that his health had improved, and we asked (begged) the breeder to refund the $1500 we had paid for the puppy. We could then use that to pay for some of the bills. After all, the breeder had given us a puppy that was unhealthy at the time we received it from them. The breeder refused. In previous communications, the breeder had claimed no responsibility, and also insinuated that there was something fishy going on. However, now that she knew he was getting healthy, she "kindly" offered (she tried to make it sound SUPER nice, like they were going "above and beyond") to give us the $1500 - if we gave back the puppy!!! We would then be out nearly $4000 with no puppy to show for it! We’d have simply paid all that money to restore the health of their puppy. Of course, then the breeder could sell the puppy to someone else, and would be out nothing.

This breeder’s health agreement guarantees the puppy for FIVE DAYS, or for one year if the puppy dies of a congenital defect. It is basically worthless, unless the puppy dies within a year, and only if from a confirmed congenital issue. Or if the puppy becomes so sick within five days, that you return it. If you are considering getting a puppy, please read about ‘puppy health guarantees’ as they can vary greatly. This breeder referred to the health guarantee over and over during this situation. Many "health guarantees" are to protect the breeder, not the customer. Get a copy of the agreement before you go to pick up the puppy. Our state laws offer you, as the buyer, very little protection. Although the health guarantee didn't entitle us to anything, we were hoping that a breeder would stand behind their puppies, as a responsible breeder would, if diagnosed with Parvo six days after delivery.

I would also recommend looking at how often a breeder has litters. I wish we had done more research before puchasing. And do not buy a puppy without visting the breeder's kennel in person, and seeing the puppy and its parents. I feel like this is a mistake we made. We had never before encountered a breeder who wouldn’t let us visit their property. We knew this was a red flag, but ignored it. Before purchasing our puppy, we had searched the internet for info about the breeder, and had not found any complaints. However, on the day that our puppy was hospitalized, I again searched for Pomsky Perfection. Now there was a complaint near the top of my search results, and the complaint had just been filed during the previous week! Another customer’s puppy had been very sick from the day they received it.

We are experienced dog/puppy owners.  Our house has a completely fenced-in backyard, which has not had any other dog in it for the past 18 months (our last dog passed away in April of last year). Same for the car we drove our puppy home in.

I do not normally write reviews or complaints on the internet, but I am writing this one in the hopes of saving someone else from the heartache and expense that we went through. Imagine standing in a Veterinary hospital, looking at your new family member lying in isolation, occasionally coughing but not otherwise moving. And you’re crying and thinking that he really may not make it through to the next day, and there’s nothing that you can do. And then the breeder denies the medical consensus (that the puppy had Parvo before we received him), and blames you for the issues and costs of the unhealthy puppy they have given you.

Please do not make the mistakes that we made in locating a puppy to purchase. Get a copy of the health agreement in advance, and negotiate its terms, if needed. And look for a breeder who is breeding dogs for the improvement and health of the breed, and not simply to make money. If you notice any red flags regarding a breeder, please take them seriously. Otherwise, you may find yourself in a very stressful, expensive situation, like we did. Next month we will be receiving a huge credit card bill, so we are still paying for our mistake.