Every now and then someone says to me, "Oh, Christie, you should have been a vet!" And maybe I should have, but I can tell you, I'm not sure I could stand it. I have a lot of friends who are vets or veterinary technicians, and had I entered their profession, it's highly possible I'd be in prison now for going on a rooftop rampage in frustration.
One of those friends is Nancy Campbell, a licensed veterinary technician in the Seattle area who runs the Vet Techs blog. She's been writing about a little pregnant chihuahua who was brought into their hospital with one dead puppy and one who was refusing to be born.
It's not a pretty story:
I have nothing against responsible breeding and breeders. But it really bugs me when someone brings in a dog that has nothing to offer its owner other than it's womb as if it were a piggy bank. There was nothing special about this chihuahua, there's rarely anything special about many of the dogs that are brought in with dystocia or pyometra. They're just money machines. It breaks my heart, they're special to me and they should have been wrapped up in the security of a loving home as someone's companion...not a 4 legged ATM.
And then...the daughter had the audacity to look at me while saying this to her mother, "They don't care about dogs, they'd rather kill her, they only care about the bottom line. It's all about the money for them, otherwise they'd help her. They kill dogs all day when people can't pay."
I was thunderstruck.
Who exactly cares only about the money? We're ready to help the dog, are we the ones withholding care? Who is breeding their poor examples of a breed to make a buck? When did we become responsible for someone else's poor judgment?
Last I heard, since my shift was over and someone else took over for me, the little chi was waiting for the needle in room 1.
More here. Fortunately, in her update this morning, Nancy reported the owner had relented and the chihuahua was in the hospital having her C-section. Not sure it counts as a "happy ending," but it's better than the one I saw coming.
I think that's the point Nancy Campbell is making. That the woman was NOT a responsible breeder. Nancy knows the difference, trust me!
Posted by: Gina Spadafori | 05 October 2007 at 08:00 PM
Happy to hear that! Just read what she wrote wrong, I guess!
Posted by: The OTHER Pat | 05 October 2007 at 08:00 PM
The article says "I have nothing against responsible breeding and breeders."
Huh? The RESPONSIBLE breeders don't view their dogs as nothing but 4-legged ATMs. It's all the OTHER kinds of breeders that do.
When will people stop lumping them all together . . . . .
Posted by: The OTHER Pat | 05 October 2007 at 08:00 PM
Ahhh, the four-legged ATM. I'm familiar with the piggy bank uterus, too. Here's my take:
http://www.dolittler.com/index.cfm/2006/11/6/pet.vet.dog.cat.vs.11.6.06
Posted by: Dr. Patty Khuly | 05 October 2007 at 08:00 PM
One day a freind and I had been to a rescueers house. She had several rescues from puppy mills. One was a beautiful little blonde cocker spaniel , she was about nine years old. As a young dog she had her rear leg run over by an ironed wheeled tracor.The Mennonite puppy mill operator had decided that he would not spend the money to have her leg fixed. She has learned to live with her handicap and drags her rear leg. The rescue person had her to a vet and a decision was made that because of her age not to amputate her leg.
When we left we drove around the corner and saw a puppy mill we stopped and asked if they had any dogs they did not want . There were several cockers running loose. We were not allowed in the barn or house. We saw one little blonde cocker laying under a tree and one of her eyes looked infected , it was cone shaped and protruded from the socket. we asked about her as she looked like she was in pain. The woman told us they had decided not to do surgery or treat her eye. The woman told us to come back the next day and they would let us have 3 dogs. When we arrived the next day we were told they had decided not to let us take the little girl with the eye problems. I asked if they would reconsider if I promised to take her to my vet. The woman talked to her husband and they agreed to let us have Patsy. The woman also told us patsy had stopped having big litters and her last litters only had 3 pups. We left with 3 dogs. We called my vet as we drove and he had us bring Patsy in an hour later. He said her eye had to be removed immediately, but he couldn't operate until she was cleaned up. She was a matted mess of poop . urine, burdocks and would need a bath. We contacted a groomer and had her cleaned the next day. She had her first eye removed the next day. We tried to save the other eye but were unable to. So a couple of months later that eye was removed. Patsy started in obedience , she is now a canine good citizen and volunteers in a nursing home . She has learned more commands than I ever imagined she could.One of the amazing things about Patsy is he doesn't hate people for what they did to her, she forgives and loves people. She doesn't just survive, she thrives!
The other 2 dogs went to a no kill shelter , were groomed ,spayed, neutured and went into forever homes.
Posted by: thomas | 06 October 2007 at 08:00 PM
I live in an average neighborhood and even though we have a city ordinance limiting houses to just 2 dogs, there are people in the neighborhood - and not by any stretch of the imagination can you call them "breeders" - who keep dogs to reproduce and sell. Why would you buy one from someone who just wants to make a few hundred extra dollars and knows nothing about "breeding"? And what about these crazy mixed breed dogs like Puggles and Labradoodle? We used to call them mutts.
Posted by: perkysmom | 09 October 2007 at 08:00 PM