vet check after purchase
by vita
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
I had a terrible experience that I hope people will learn from. We bought a maltese puppy a week ago, a darling little female. Since she could not have next vaccination for a week, I did not set up vet appointment till today. When the vet listened to her heart, his face dropped, she had a severe heart murmur. After much discussion of alternatives, his opinion was that this condition was not compatible with quality of life. She would live perhaps two years and suffer, each day getting worse. I was devastated. Decided to bring her back to breeder and we did choose another wonderful puppy that I immediately brought to the vet. He is happy and healthy. As I said to the vet,"check his heart and if his heart is good, I will open mine" And I did. His name is Boris and he has been here at home 4 hours and I feel already that this is a love match.
Point of story. This was not a disretutable breeder. This defect is not in the line. It was just an anomaly. Never the less, I would have saved some of the heartbreak if I had my vet check her immediately.. If I have bonded with this puppy in 5 hours, can you imagine how attached I had become in a week. Please, no matter what breed you buy, from the purchase, to the vet, immediately. When I returned this evening to the vet he said, I have been thinking of you all day. The joy on his face when he heard the strong, healthy heartbeat, brightened his face. I don't want another person to go through this, please follow my advice.
DISCUSSION:
I can't understand why the breeder's vet didn't notice the heart murmur when the puppies were immunized for the first time. It would be interesting to see the health records for the puppy. Glad you are happy with Boris. ----KathyD
KathyD
Vita, your words hit home for sure and I agree that although we can often find very healthy babies, a trip to the vet is a small price to pay - a small investment of time - and yet the value of such is priceless. You are lucky to have gotten your pup from a breeder who took the dog back - many out there would have offered you a guarantee limited to hours and left you high and dry. I'm so glad that you have Boris now, and thank you for sharing your experience.
Leslie R
Good point! Fortunately, everything worked out for you. When I got Noah, I took him to my vet before I ever brought him home. After passing his exam, I called his breeder to tell her that all was well. Enjoy your new love!
April B
Vita, I was really sorry to hear of your horrible experience! Not only for what you had gone through but it also brought back some very sad memories for me. The very same thing had happened to us. We had already had Evie, a Maltese also, here at home. We brought home another female and the two of them bonded instantly! We took her to the vet the very next day and received the same devastating news as you did. I thought my heart would break and we had only had her 24 hours. We called the breeders, again, like you, a reputable one, and were abe to take her back and choose another furbaby - again, like you, a little boy this time. We drove directly from the breeders to the vets and everything checked out fine. Unfortunately, Evie and Teddy didn't take to each other very well at first. I'm sure she was wondering what had happened to her "sister". After a couple of days though, Evie and Teddy decided each was here to stay and have become inseparable and the best of buddies. Again, I'm sorry to hear that you had to go through the heartache also but I'm glad that you brought home a healthy little boy - best of luck to both of you. And I hope that others heed your advice!
Sandie, Evie and Teddy
Kathy, first and second shots are usually given by the breeder and not the vet. Not because its less expensive, but because taking a puppy that young, unimmunized, to a vets office or clinic is the worst thing one could do. Commonsense will tell you why.
Jay
After reading about the unfortunate situation of another reader on this site who had bonded with her pet before finding out she had a heart murmer at the vet one week later, I thought I should ask this question. My wife & I are flying out of state to pick up our puppy at the end of February. She had wanted to find a vet in that area to check the Maltese puppy immediately before flying him back to our home. I had thought that it would be too difficult to get a stool sample and see any symptoms (ie., stratching, coughing, sneezing, etc.) by going the same day to a vet. I also felt we should allow one day back home to watch the puppy and then take the puppy to a local vet to not only establish a new doctor in the area but to be able to discuss any symptoms we see. My wife feels that we should do both as a double insurance in making sure our puppy is healthy. The puppy will be twelve weeks and we will be getting a healthy certificate for him before getting on the plane. The breeder says her puppies are checked by a vet before going to a new home.
Kenneth
Jay, sounds like a good idea and one I would never have thought of. (I microchip them so I don't know why) Did you get the immunization vaccines from the lab, or order from your vet? Do you keep an epipan handy or do you have something else in case of allergic reactions. I suppose these would generally occur with the second shots if they were going to happen. Maybe this is something I could start doing with my litters, thank you for your info. I heartily agree that keeping them away unecessarily from the vet's office is a great idea---KathyD
KathyD
Kathy, we usually got our vaccine from Jeffers and always have Epinephrine on hand in case of an allergic reaction. Never had to use it though. We don't give any Lepto until the 1st year booster. We also have a stethoscope to listen to their hearts. It doesn't take long to recognize an irregular heartbeat, murmur or congested lungs, once you know what healthy ones sounds like. We do whatever we can to keep them away from the vets until they are at least 12 weeks old.
Jay
We too had a scare with heart murmur. We bought Charley at a pet store (I know, I know... but, we didn't know any better then). We took him home and four days later took him to the vet. The doctor there told us that Charley had a heart murmur -- that they rank the severity on a scale of six -- and that Charley had a "2". He said that he would support our decision to take Charley back to the store. But, we had already fallen in love with the little guy, so we decided to bring him home, love him a lot and give him a good life. When we went back to the vet about a month later for some shots, the doctor (a different one than the first) listened to his heart and said the murmur was very pronounced...about a "4". Not great news. Then, when we had him neutered at 6 months, the doctor (the third one) said that his murmur was "very slight"-- about a "1". Now, at 9 months, he's a happy, active little guy. It's been a little like a rollercoaster ride. Has anyone else had experiences like this?
T & Charley
I can't tell you how I appreciate the replies to my posting. My heart goes out to all of those people who did have a "similar" experience. But I am filled with joy to know there are so many well wishers out there for my darling new puppy. My daughter is a pediatrician and she has shed somelight on the "how can a heart murmur go undiagnosed" part of the situation. She says it is common to send a baby home from the hospital with a clean bill of health and around two months, upon examination, a significant heart murmur is present. My vet said it was possible that the puppy had been checked by the vet, even as recently as a month previous, and no problem was noted. In one posting the point was made that breeders often give shots to the members of a new litter, rather than take the little family to the vet. Sure this proceedure saves money, but I can understand that exposing a litter to a visit to a vet, multiple visits, really, would put the pups in harms way. At one point in my life I bred persian cats, and one of the first things I learned was to give innoculations. Sure it was a financial consideration but the safety of the animals was a consideration. I insisted on paying for the first vet visit when the kittens were sold. That gave me a little more insurance that the new owner would at least get the kitten to a vet for one visit, not for innoculations, cause they were complete, but to establish a relationship with a vet that would hopefully follow through for the animals life. Wish more breeders would stand behind their confidence that they are transferring healthy little beings, by such an offer. Once agin, I have to thank all who responded to the posting. I will kepp you updated on Boris and his progress. Todat he mastered retrieving a teensie tinsie ball. A lab retriever he is, in a maltese body.
vita
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