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[bookwh_ore]

Hi, I'm Kay, and I just adopted a chihuahua. Her name is Mina (my sister said she looked like a bat, which brought us to Dracula, and since we already have a Lucy, we had to have a Mina). She is so darn adorable. My boss has a chihuahua and I frankly cannot stand it. She's yappy and mean and she bites, so I never felt the desire to ever get one (

Comments

[midnight_d]

She deffinitely should have started her vaccinations by now. I'm concerned that you can't afford to take her to the vet for shots, which would be probably $60... which isn't that much. If you can't afford that, what would happen if she were to be very sick (the green vomit also concerns me). Before owning a pet one should have a financial back-up in order to pay for things like the vet, especially in the case of an emergency. If you have a credit card that you can use, please call the vet and make an appointment to get her checked out ASAP. I'm assing you got her from someone who was just giving her away/selling her on the side of the road? If that is the case and she hasn't had any vaccines yet, I'd be VERY concerned about her health, and you should get her checked out ASAP.

Please ask as many questions as you can, and we will try to help you.

[bookwh_ore]

Ah, $60 I can do. I was thinking this would be in the hundreds, which was why I was planning on waiting. When I'm at the vet thurs. I'll have to make the appointment and find out what she needs, when, and how much.

Yes, it was a woman on the side of the road selling them. I was worried they'd be very sickly, or something was wrong that she wouldn't tell me, but...I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make her well (assuming anything is wrong). I don't like the idea of not choosing the dog because of her health, although of course it would be more practical. I'd want to make her as well as possible.

Hope I'm making sense! I'm not sure Im conveying my thoughts properly.

[midnight_d]

You have a vet appointment for her for Thursday? Good. They will be able to check her out and at least give her the first set of shots she should have had weeks ago.

For the future, please don't purchase dogs off the side of the road.

[bookwh_ore]

Definetly not trying to be rude, but I am of the mind set that when I see sad little puppies on the side of the road, I'm going to try to rescue them. If a puppy or dog (or cat or bird or anything for that matter) is sick, better for them to be with me, because I know I'll be taking care of them, then to be at a shelter or with someone else who isn't caring for them.

I probably sounded like a poor person who randomly got a dog and can't afford it. It isn't the case.

Thanks for your advice, I really appreciate it from an experianced owner.

[midnight_d]

I just worry that you were giving money to someone who may do it again (breed their questionable dog). There are so many genetic problems that are possible in breeds like the Chihuahuas ( luxating patella, for one, which costs about $1,000 a leg to fix and is VERY painful for the dog) that if animals who are genetically predisposed (and not tested because they're bred by a BYB) have babies it is very likely that the babies will have it. There are many other problems that I won't get into here, but when people breed when they dont' know what they're doing, they create a very questionanle litter of pupies. This dog may end up being healthy happy and well for its whole life, but the likelihood of anything going wrong is much higher with a puppy from a BYB than it would be from a reputable breeder. And by giving money to the person who did this, you're perpetuating the problem. I'm sure you didn't know these things, and I don't blame you for that. But that is why so many of us become upset by these things.

[silverblaidd]

You're not rescuing them, you're buying them. You're giving these people money for irresponsibly breeding their animals, and you're encouraging them to do it again.

If you were pulling these animals from a bad situation, for free, with no money going to the owners or breeders, in order to improve their lives, then you would be rescuing.

What you did is called buying. It's basic consumerism. :)

[star_light_]

its not so much her health alone that is something to worry about when purchasing a dog from a backyard breeder, its that backyard breeders and puppy mills are the cause of so many dogs dying each day in shelters. They breed these dogs with only one thing in mind, profit. Dogs should only be bred to better the breed by professional breeders who do genetic testing, who have dogs who have ideal temperment and who has particpated in the show ring. There are so many dogs in the shelter right now because of people like the woman who sold you the dog, and by purchasing from a backyard breeder, the backyard breeder gets the profit they wanted, and therefore do it over and over, and their dogs are, especially in the case of a puppymill, horribly treated puppy making machines.

Im sure you didnt know any of this, and thats okay, im sure your going to make a great puppy mom and you will learn tons from this community, its been awesome to me since I joined like a year or two ago :)

[bookwh_ore]

Ah, okay. It's becoming clear to me, the byb. I know what puppy mills are (my town actually has a dump for abandoned puppies, I think someone comes along and eventually puts them down. It's really, really horrible). This was a mom with two little kids, who said her dog just had puppies and couldn't afford them, so I didn't even think of puppy mills/byb. But I understand.