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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

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Original poster

Hoping for some advice on my and our girls problem.

91 replies

GSDOwner2023 · 09/10/2023 22:49

Good evening,
I have just joined mumsnet to ask others opinions and whether I am doing the right thing.
So we purchased our beautiful canine friend just over 1 week ago. We saw her advertised online, with a lovely advert attached., which we thought was genuine.
The family brought her to us, so we never actually got to see how, or where she was living! Upon her arrival, she appeared OK with no issue's.
After 24 hours of her being with us, she started head-shaking vigorously and scratching her head/ears (especially her R ear) this concerned us (the previous owners, when I questioned her health before we agreed to the meet, said the only thing was "her ears bothered her")
48 hrs in, we decided to make an urgent appt with our vets and we were extremely surprised when our vet had to start her on Steroids, as her ear canal was that inflamed, she couldn't see what was actually causing the problem.
Fast forward to 4 days in, we finally received her previous vet record (this clearly shows past/recent history of ear infections (rods and cocci) which we were never made aware of by previous owner)
On the Friday, we returned to our vet, as advised, for her to then undergo a ear smear exam, only to discover the same condition/s as previous vets had diagnosed, this only leads me to believe that the issue that was underlying previously was never resolved and she's been left to suffer.
After explaining this to the previous owner, to come to some arrangement regards my finances, that I paid out for her they took it upon their-selves to deny all knowledge and then continue to block my number, meaning no contact can be made to find out if she ever had any antibiotics (she was prescribed steroids July 2022 and again recently by our own vet, our own vet has recommended an ear flush)
None of this is down to the fact we can't afford her treatment, only that we were clearly sold a poorly girl.
Now my only option would be to turn to the small claims in order to receive the payment that I am surely entitled to, both the money I paid for what I believed to be a healthy dog and the vet fees that I have had to spend in the last four days. So my question would be, am I doing the right thing by going to the small claims court to retrieve these costs?
Our girl will be going no-where, she deserves to now life a happy, pain free life, with lots of love, care and walkies, we absolutely dote on her, as she does us, already.
Thank you in advance for your help and advice.

OP posts:

margotrose · 09/10/2023 23:05

You bought a dog, unseen, over the internet. This is what happens unfortunately.

evianisyoung · 09/10/2023 23:05

Unfortunately I don’t think you’d have a leg to stand on at a small claims court, it seems more hassle than it’s worth. I’ve been at the vet today with my boy who has an ear infection, he’s on drops and steroids. I’m afraid ear infections/illness is part of parcel of owning a dog, you should’ve agreed to collect her from where they was living, seems dodgy they dropped her off to you in the first place

Original poster

GSDOwner2023 · 09/10/2023 23:17

Did you actually read my whole post @ margotrose?

OP posts:

margotrose · 09/10/2023 23:20

Yep. It doesn't change my answer.

This is what happens when you do stupid things like buy random dogs from strangers.

Original poster

GSDOwner2023 · 09/10/2023 23:23

Evianisyoung, I know full well ear infections are part & parcel, she isn't our 1st but when you've been advised you are buying a 'healthy dog' then receive the previous vet history 4 days later (she's only been with us 1 week, 1 day) with all this history of ear infections and have denial from previous owner (when I hold all relevant/clear evidence/messages) it doesn't bode well.

OP posts:

FiveShelties · 09/10/2023 23:23

Do you actually know where they live?

I think you will be throwing money away if you try to take legal action. Anyone who would sell a dog to random strangers is not going to care one bit whatever action you take.

Original poster

GSDOwner2023 · 09/10/2023 23:24

Margotrose, if you can't say anything helpful, don't comment!!

OP posts:

Honeysuckle16 · 09/10/2023 23:25

I’m so sorry this has happened to you. Sadly there are lots of red flags in your post and no doubt the unscrupulous breeder was very keen to pass on the puppy to new owners.

Unfortunately I don’t think you’ve much chance in small claims court. Many responsible breeders would pay for some or all of a pre-existing condition but you’d have to prove that the breeder deliberately withheld information and it’s likely they would deny all knowledge or say that ‘her ears bothered her’ was sufficient warning to you. However, I’m not a lawyer and you’d need specific advice on this.

Whether you go to court or not, let Environmental Health or the dog warden at your local council know that these people are selling poorly puppies. You won’t be the first or the last person to be taken in by them.

Meanwhile, concentrate on getting the ear infection cleared up as far as possible. Ear problems tend to become chronic and could mean many vet visits during your dog’s lifetime. Enjoy your pup despite this set-back.

Original poster

GSDOwner2023 · 09/10/2023 23:26

Fiveshelties, yes I do. We've been in touch with them via WhatsApp, where they have kept changing their story. We have clear evidence from the previous vet report, that this has been ongoing for sometime.

OP posts:

margotrose · 09/10/2023 23:26

GSDOwner2023 · 09/10/2023 23:24

Margotrose, if you can't say anything helpful, don't comment!!

You can't do anything.

You chose to buy a dog you know nothing about from total strangers you know nothing about. This is what happens. People lie.

You should have taken the dog to the vet before handing over your money 🤷‍♀️

Original poster

GSDOwner2023 · 09/10/2023 23:30

Honeysuckle16, thank you so much for your kind & honest reply.
Sadly she's not a puppy, she's 2 years old, we purchased her, from what we believed to be a genuine couple, who appeared to have their own reasons for rehoming her.
Whilst here, they said they'd forgotten her previous vet history, but were sure she was under vets4pets, after receiving her previous medical history from them, 4 days after, it was a completely different vets, which shows this on-going issue of rods in her R ear and Cocci in her L.

OP posts:

tsmainsqueeze · 09/10/2023 23:30

I am wondering if this is a wind up ,surely there is enough information out there to make people aware that this is not a responsible way to acquire a dog.

Original poster

GSDOwner2023 · 09/10/2023 23:32

Margotrose, yes of course, people are going to let you take THEIR dog to the vets, before you let go of your money 🤦‍♀️ let's be real here!

OP posts:

Original poster

GSDOwner2023 · 09/10/2023 23:32

Really?? FYI, it is NO wind up!!!

OP posts:

margotrose · 09/10/2023 23:34

GSDOwner2023 · 09/10/2023 23:32

Margotrose, yes of course, people are going to let you take THEIR dog to the vets, before you let go of your money 🤦‍♀️ let's be real here!

That's exactly what you should do and any decent, reputable person would accompany you too.

Honestly, your post is full of red flags. You can't go after the seller because you made an error in judgment - that's not how it works unfortunately.

I would actually say you're incredibly lucky that your dog "only" has ear problems and isn't aggressive or worse. What were you thinking?

margotrose · 09/10/2023 23:36

tsmainsqueeze · 09/10/2023 23:30

I am wondering if this is a wind up ,surely there is enough information out there to make people aware that this is not a responsible way to acquire a dog.

Well, you'd think it would be common sense not to buy a dog from a stranger in 2023 but apparently not 🙄

Honestly, I despair of people,

Original poster

GSDOwner2023 · 09/10/2023 23:37

Isn't buying a puppy, adult or rescue dog coming from a complete stranger who you do not know? This wasn't the point of my post either! My point was I was told she was healthy and that she has no previous health issues to then be sent her records which clearly state she has and it never have been sorted! But we did her a favour because she's now happier and getting the right treatment needed!

OP posts:

Honeysuckle16 · 09/10/2023 23:39

Thanks for your reply GSDOwner2023. Now that you’ve explained it’s an adult dog and therefore the vet report is longer than a few weeks, I think this might improve your chances at small claims but please get legal advice. It’s obvious the previous owners will do everything to wriggle out of responsibility and you’re likely to need a strong legal argument to be successful. Bear in mind also that the legal outcome might be that you’ll have your costs returned but only if you return your dog to the previous owners. Again, I’m not a solicitor!

RunningFromInsanity · 09/10/2023 23:39

If you do take them for a small claim court they may well say ok give us the dog back and we will refund you.

Unfortunately you made a bad decision and are now paying (literally) the consequences.

Original poster

GSDOwner2023 · 09/10/2023 23:39

If you're buying a dog from your mates then good for you. But "in 2023" EVERYONE is buying a dog from a complete stranger, puppy, adult or rescue all the owners are STRANGERS. And speak of common sense, do not comment on something if you have nothing positive to say. That is using your common sense!

OP posts:

FiveShelties · 09/10/2023 23:40

They were never going to tell you she had an ongoing problem. That could be the reason they are rehoming her.

LaviniasBigBloomers · 09/10/2023 23:40

You've done something unbelievably risky and given (from your user name) you now own a GSD, bad ears is hopefully the least of your worries. At least the previous owners have actually had DDog treated in the past, hopefully they've trained her too. You need to watch her like a hawk.

Original poster

GSDOwner2023 · 09/10/2023 23:43

We have already discussed this option with the previous owner but due to the reasons behind why they got rid (well the reasons we were told) they wouldn't take her back as they couldn't give her the life she needs, and now we are blocked by them there is no way of coming to some sort of agreement

OP posts:

Honeysuckle16 · 09/10/2023 23:57

GSDOwner2023, I think what others are saying is that by visiting a puppy or dog in its home, it’s possible to get an idea of the seller’s character and this substantially reduces (but doesn’t remove) the risk of things going wrong. Many prospective owners will visit a puppy or adult dog several times before taking it home, getting to know each other, so it’s less like buying from a stranger. Things can still go wrong, however, and all responsible breeders/adult dog owners will take back a dog if the new owners are unhappy for any reason at all, usually within 7 days of receiving the dog.

You clearly have the dog’s welfare uppermost in your mind and she is going to be much better cared for with you, so still a happy ending.

Motorina · 10/10/2023 02:26

If you’re going to bring a small claims case you’ll need their real name and address. Do you have it?

Your argument is, I assume, going to be you were sold an item which wasn’t as described. Which is fine. The normal resolution would be you return the item and get your money back. Would you be happy with that?

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