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This is our little Captain, and I want to
tell you his story.
In all my
years of having pets, I had never bought a puppy from a store. I'd always
gotten rescues and that's what I'll keep doing, but I feel that we were meant
to have this particular pet store dog.
 In April of 2007 I
purchased a schipperke puppy from Angel's Pet World in Hudson, Wisconsin. We
fell in love with him at first sight. We named him Captain.
Not long
after we got him, his problems started. The first was a skin condition, not
being able to fight off mites.
After our vet
treated that, a few months went by before we noticed that he wasn't walking
quite right. We discovered that he had a patella subluxation (an inherited
condition) and needed surgery on his knee. Since our purchase contract stated
that the pet store would pay up to purchase price for any surgery needed within
the year we got him, we notified Angel, the owner of Angel's Pet World. She
said we had to get another opinion from her vet. This vet told me there was
nothing wrong with our pup's knees and that I should let him treat Cappie. I
declined.
Our own vet,
whom we knew and trusted, did the surgery. Captain came home to heal, but he
healed very slowly. Then, one day in February 2008, he fell and tore the
ligament in the other knee. We once again took him to Dr. B, who regretfully
told us he needed surgery on that knee. She took care of Captain free of charge
from that point on.
This time,
after his surgery was done, Cappie stayed at the vet's to heal a little before
coming home. We went to see him every day and got regular updates on him from
Dr. B. But, once again, Captain just wasn't healing like he should. Dr. B.
tested his joint fluid -- and discovered our sweet little dog had systemic
lupus (also an inherited disease).
Our vet made
it her quest to do she could for Captain and for us. She contacted canine
specialists in Minnesota and tried whatever she could to make him better.
Finally, the realization came that, no matter what we did, he was getting worse
and worse. We were told that his muscles were turning into mush, and that he
eventually wouldn't be able to eat because his head would drop.
 Captain was the most
lovable, gentlest creature I have ever seen -- and the most valiant. Even at
the end, when he walked knock kneed because of the surgeries, he still tried to
run. In his last days, he would fall frequently, but he always tried to get
back up.
On June 10th
2008, my family couldn't bear to see him suffer anymore and Captain went to
sleep. He was only fifteen months old.
It breaks my
heart to this day knowing that a part of our family was genetically messed up
and never had a chance at life. That there is a breeder out there who is
continuously breeding Captain's genes - and that more puppies will die. We must
put an end to this horrendous act of none other than ignorance and greed!
Thank you for
taking the time to read my story. I didn't want it going untold.
--Elen
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