Hoping for some advice on my and our girls problem.

[GSDOwner2023]

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.

But that's exactly what happens

I suspect small claims will simply throw the case out as the dog will have been "sold as seen".

Motorina, yes we have their real name & address.

Margotrosa, no mention in their advert "sold as seen" IT HAS to state this in writing too!!

Honestly as s much as you don't want to hear it margotrose is spot on in what they are saying. Your posts are full of just about every red flag conceivable and you have absolutely no chance of pursuing this through the courts. The ad doesn't have to state sold as seen for it to apply.

In hindsight they were obviously dogdy people who grew bored of their puppy when the reality set in. I'm afraid you have two choices realistically either accept the dog will have lifelong issues and the costs taut go with that or re-home the dog via a reputable charity.

Fact is you bear some responsibility for the situation you find yourself in because any responsible dog owner would have insisted on seeing the dog in its home environment beforehand.

Scams are so common that the standard pet selling websites include instructions for ensuring you're not being scammed.

Yes the seller pulled a fast one and take it to small claims if you want but everyone here is going to tell you that unfortunately you should have researched more carefully beforehand. You must know this true because you pointed out that you didn't get to visit the dog in its own home before buying, so on some level you must have been aware this was a red flag.

I'm glad your dog now had a loving home where they will be taken care of and hope she recovers her health quickly in your care.

You bought a dog from strangers on the internet with no 'contract' which states 'in the event of' etc.

I am not sure why you think that the former owners are in some way financially liable.

I've had rescues and I've got a pup from a good breeder. Both came with insurance to cover these eventualities until we could arrange our own. Pup had been vet checked but had a return clause if our own vet found anything we were concerned about at her first check with us.

For a private sale, much like vehicles you pay your money and take your chance. Really it's small fry compared to what that dog is going to cost you over its lifetime.

Write off the cost as the price of saving a vulnerable dog from a lifetime of neglect. What would you do if Judge Judy small claims court rules that you should return the dog and get your money back?

Actually in 2023 I would hope that people would find a reputable breeder, shelter or foster home, wait for the right dog to become available, visit them several times, and get an up to date vet report before bringing them home.

And lots of people find these good places through friends or family recommendations, so no, in 2023 everyone is not buying dogs from strangers. 🤦🏻‍♀️

They don't have to mention it in their adverts.

You bought a dog off a private seller on the internet without doing any checks - that's on you I'm afraid, no matter how much you want to shout and tell people they're wrong.

If this person was running a business then it would be different but they're just a random stranger trying to get rid of their dog. They don't owe you anything.

Did the original owners have insurance? If so have you continued with the same provider?
Does your own insurance cover pre-existing conditions?

We had 3 days of contact over WhatsApp which you’d know if you read my post.

I asked them personally about health issues which I was told there was none so whatever you say they are in the wrong.

im now removing my post because it seems to me people are here are quick to judge when all I’ve done is save a girl from going anywhere where she may have been used to breed from.

We had 3 days of contact over WhatsApp which you’d know if you read my post.

Irrelevant.

I asked them personally about health issues which I was told there was none so whatever you say they are in the wrong.

Also irrelevant. You should have taken the dog to the vets.

They did have insurance but we don’t know what company they used as they never told us about the issue and that they’d claimed on it (as stated on previous vet history however doesn’t state what company they used)

we have insured her but unfortunately it doesn’t cover pre existing conditions and when looking for an insurance company that does they don’t accept the medical condition that she has for some odd reason

we did take the dog to the vets. Have you not read any of my post 🤣

No body takes another persons dog to the vets before purchasing it, how could we when the microchip wasn’t changed to our name until after purchase? And why would I have needed to take her upon initial arrival when I was assured “that there was nothing medically wrong with her”

honestly your “facts” make no sense.

it wasn’t until 24 hours later that we noticed the head shaking and ear scratching, and she would chew at her paws which we were told “was out of boredom”

whatever you think like I say we saved another precious canine from being put into rescue. These rescues are already so full it wouldn’t be fair to stress this poor girl out.

It scares me that people still buy living beings off random internet adverts.

Luckily this dog only has ear problems and isn't aggressive or a guarder or pregnant.

So a breeder, shelter or rescue still aren’t strangers no?

We bought a GSD puppy from a “reputable breeder” many years ago and he was poorly too. Just because someone recommends someone doesn’t mean you “know them”

What was the point in posting when you're just going to tell everyone they're wrong anyway? 🙄

Maybe you shouldn’t be on the internet then if it scares you that much.

we did a good thing bringing this girl into a home where we know she will have the best life.

and for your info, we saw her on a video call, around another dog and around a baby THIS is why we knew she was okay in every other aspect. We were searching for a while after losing our last two GSDs. One to cancer and the other one shortly after due to losing his brother. So it wasn’t like we had jumped the gun at the first dog we saw advertised as we had turned down other dogs prior to our girl.

don’t judge a book by its cover some people are doing rescues a favour by rehoming these advertised dogs and working with them to give them the best chance at life Which is EXACTLY what I am doing.

I was just wondering the same. Look the bottom line is that there is absolutely nothing you can do about the situation now. Let's just hope others read this and decide to use reputable shelters to re-home via instead of Dodgy Dave from Gumtree.

What was the point in you commenting if you aren’t going to be of any help? 2023, and still you can’t show support. I’d have thought people would see where I’m coming from rather than jumping down my throat all because I purchased this dog online rather than going through a rescue.

I'm not here to mollycoddle anyone.

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. A video call and a WhatsApp conversation mean nothing.

Went to well known rescue. Met dog. Long chat with rescue people. All medical history shared. Full vet notes shared. A months insurance with dog and take back at any time should we not wish to keep dog for whatever reason.

Went to meet breeder. Met pups. Met mum. Met aunt, granny, cousin and older pup from pervious litter. Shown pups pedigree and vet notes (very slight underbite which should correct - it did). Signed contract which included insurance and optional take back if anything found in first year. Spoke to owners of previous litter. Researched breedline. Spoke to others with breedline. Saw dads judging notes.

You - got dog delivered from the internet after WhatsApp messages. No insurance details shared or asked for going by your posts

Big difference, no?

For the record no, my breeder wasn't a stranger. We were in touch before the litter was even conceived, met both parents, met the puppies multiple times in their own home.

They were vet checked three times, and once again with us, came with all their medical records and proof of vaccination, as well as a month of insurance.

We're still in touch with the breeder almost six years on, he still offers advice and support and would never, ever sell his puppies to someone on the basis of a WhatsApp conversation and video chat.

Because there is no garuntee that the rescue knows full history of a dog either. Our girl is brilliant in every other way from training to being a people person (which with my experience with shepherds we know is a luxury).
(Atleast the previous owners did something right)
the way I see it I could’ve gone through a rescue but then she’d have only gone to rescue herself, we are getting her sorted and she’s living her best life and we can see from how much she loves us and visa Versa that she really is happy here. Yes I wasn’t happy about certain things but at the end of the day rescue or not we have given our girl the life she needs.