Should I report this breeder to the RSPCA?

[cavymama]

Hello all. First of all I know I’ve done a list of things wrong with this breeder, I wasn’t anywhere near thorough enough, and honestly after my experience I’ll probably never buy another puppy again.

Also, this is a long one, apologies!

When I was looking for my dog (cavalier KC spaniel) I knew to look for a kennel club dog to ensure the breeder was legitimate, so when I came across a litter that wasn’t KC registered but the breeder assured us she could register the puppy we wanted for an extra £300, we thought that was fine. The total we paid for him was £1300, and he was sent home with a vaccination/worming/fleaing record. She told us she’d send his kennel club papers in a few weeks when she got them.

The second we got him home he had diarrhoea in our garden. When it hadn’t stopped after a few days we took him to the vet for a stool sample test, and it turns out he has SIX different infections (4 parasites and 2 bacterial). All the time we’d been texting the breeder worried and she’d been assuring us he just had a nervous tummy. The vet has told us it’s really unusual to see this many things come back positive from a stool sample.

We’ve treated the roundworm, he’s on antibiotics for his giardia, and we’re going to the vet later today to pick up the next round of medication for his campylobacter. The diarrhoea hasn’t stopped yet, it’s been 2 weeks constant of that now, and I’m really worried about my dog. It’s also been incredibly draining to spend 2 weeks constantly cleaning up diarrhoea at all hours of the night and day.

So far in tests and meds we’ve spent £350, as his insurance hasn’t kicked in yet. The vet has warned us that because he’s had all these ‘preexisting conditions’ insurance might become more expensive in the future.

On top of all that, my fiancé has contracted the dog’s cryptosporidium and has been very ill stuck in the bathroom for the last few days.

I’m starting to wonder that these kennel club papers aren’t coming and that she was lying about them, and that she was lying about his mum’s heart testing too.

I haven’t confronted the breeder about all of this yet, I don’t want to go in all guns blazing as I still need to get the kennel club papers off her, but I really think it’s appropriate that she pays our vet bills, given that she sent him home to us ill. I’m also thinking that she should probably be reported to the kennel club and/or RSPCA.

What do I message her? The last texts were her telling us his diarrhoea was nervous stomach and not to worry. How do I approach this?

Hells bells there are some judgemental people on here.

Don't let pups play outside because they might pick up a bug? Haven't you all read the research that say children need to play out in the dirt to give them their proper immunities? What sort of sterile lives do you want young pups to live? I grew up on a farm and we and any pups that happened along all played outside.

OP the only reason to report this breeder is if they stitch you up over the pedigree or if their vaccinations etc turn out to be fake. Otherwise pups like kids get sick. They get treated and generally get better. You were unlucky to get a vet bill not covered by insurance, not a good introduction to dog keeping but it sounds as if the pup is getting over it now. and worming its way into your hearts.

How people can live with themselves when they suggest trying to cause as much trouble for the breeder I really don't know. The envy leading to report to tax people because someone might make some money. The nastiness to sic the RSPCA onto someone when they are likely to grab all of their animals and sell them off to other people. The only neutral people who could deal with consumer issues like this are Trading Standards, usually accessed via Consumer Direct helpline (which has now been taken over by Citizens Advice).

Hope pup is starting to feel better now.

Were the parents health tested? Beautiful breed but the Heath issues would completely put me off. Don't most of them have heart issues by 4 or 5 years old? I would only consider a breeder that was very involved with breeding for better health.

Maybe I’m wrong and Im happy to stand corrected as Im no expert but I always understood that you had to be very careful with puppies going outside till they’d had all their vaccinations then a couple of weeks after that.
If this puppy has picked up loads of infections then someone wasn’t being very careful.

I'm glad to hear that your puppy is getting better OP

Personally I think it can be very difficult to spot a breeder which is a front for a puppy farm. I agree that you have checked out all the things that people are advised to do and I think a lot of people aren't aware of how puppy farms use family homes as a front. I have learned an awful lot from this board.

I have some suspicions about the people we bought our dog from; we met the mum and siblings, visited a couple of times before we bought our puppy home, and he is a lovely , healthy little dog, but knowing what I know now there were a couple of things that didn't ring quite true. I don't know for certain, as I say, they are suspicions, and that's in the past.

If I were to buy another dog I would be looking at an older dog any way .

I always understood that you had to be very careful with puppies going outside till they’d had all their vaccinations then a couple of weeks after that.
That's 'outside in the street where unvaccinated dogs may go' not 'outside in your garden' - you want them to experience the outdoors and different surfaces underfoot and so on good and early in their lives.

It sounds to me as if OP acted with a reasonable level of caution, though perhaps not quite enough, probably due to a lack of experience. However, I'd have been very suspicious about the KC registration issue: if I were buying a pedigree puppy, I'd expect to see the KC pedigree for the dam, and probably the sire too, and I would expect the puppy's KC registration to be included in the price. The clincher will be how the breeder reacts to news of the puppy's illness. Given the KC registration issue, I'm not holding out a huge amount of hope.

OP, I hope your puppy makes a full recovery, turns out to be healthy and that you have many good years with him. Chalk this up to experience and do more thorough due diligence next time.

Ok. The breeder wasn't a puppy farm. She was just a very irresponsible backyard breeder. Its very likely the bitches you saw were the mothers of the puppies. And hindsight it a wonderful thing!

Definitely report to the RSPCA, this is the sort of thing they will look into.

Speak to the breeder, tell her your puppy is very unwell, has X type of bacteria/virus and you are concerned the other puppies have it.

Ask for any proof of worming/.vaccinations, and the vet visit that should have occurred before the puppy was sold.
State the vets bill and ask her to pay it.
Ask again for the KC papers (but don't hold your breathe)

Report to the KC.

You need to tell the breeder ASAP that your puppy is ill. The others in the litter are also likely to be infected with the same parasites and need treating urgently! She also needs to rethink her breeding practices to figure out how so many parasites took hold.

I would be amazed if papers ever arrive.

Almost certainly the puppies parents were not registered or if they were they were endorsed and the puppy cannot be registered.
The papers will never come.
As an aside, I'm pretty sure it's £16 to register a puppy so you've well and truly been had for an extra £300.

I highly doubt the parents have been heart tested.

Yes i would definately report but don't expect much to happen as a result.

Hopefully your pup and DH feel better soon.