[aloha86]

:( I bought a puppy a week ago. He turned 6 weeks on Friday. I know that's young to be away from his mom but the women selling him was going on a trip and wasn't going to be able to take care of me(horrible I know) so I had to take the little guy. He seemed fine the first couple days then started throwing up. He's now throwing up anymore but had diarrhea so I took him into the emergency vet. He's now there... the vet says he is extremely under weight(which is hard to tell because he's a little fluff ball-half pom half Lhasa), has hypoglycemia, and he wasn't eating so he's now staying over night at the vets. It's going to cost me $625 per 24hours to have him there. I bought him for $650. I know some states have laws that protect buyers from things like this. I live in Hawaii and I don't think Hawaii has any such laws. I really CAN'T afford to leave him in the vet for more than 24hours but I know he probably needs it... and he has a 50-75% chance of living. Is there anything legally I can do... to get the breeders to pay the vet care? Please help... I've been crying like crazy, I want to help the puppy, I just need some advice please there is no way I can afford it... I just paid a deposit to the vet from my rent money! HELP!

[froggy7]

There are pet lemon laws. However, the first question that is going to come up is: When did you first take the puppy to a vet? Normally you have to do so within a certain amount of time of purchasing the dog. The only potential out you might have is if you can have a vet prove that the seller knew (or should have known) the puppy was sick when she sold it to you. And, unfortunately, often these laws only apply to "breeders", people who sell over a certain number of animals a year, and not the person who just has an accidental litter to place. And the law is designed to make you whole, not put you in a better place, so quite often the pet lemon laws only will refund the cost of the pup, force the breeder to take it back and replace it with a healthy pup, or pay a certain amount of the vet fees.

I'd be talking to the vet if I were you. Explain your situation, and see what they can do. They may be willing to take payments. They may know whether there is a law you can use to get money. (However, that won't be quick... even if you get a judgement, it will be up to you to find out what assets the seller has to enforce the judgement on. And if she doesn't have any assets, you may never see a penny of the judgment, which won't help with the vet bill.) One option, which may be difficult for you, is that they may agree to treat the puppy if you agree to sign it over to them and allow them to find it a new home.

[aloha86]

He is now at the Pet Hospital. He had parasites, was under weight, hypoglycemia, anemic, malnutrition, has low white blood cells, and may have an infection all brought on from the parasites. IMy vet is writing me a letter stating we received the dog with signs of being sick/parasites. It should be easy to clear the parasites but because he's so little it caused other problems in him. I may be able to take him tonight with a checkup in the morning. I hope everything works out. He's really a trouper! I've only had him for a week. I originally brought him to an emergency clinic the second day I got him but thye were bad vets! I told them I thought he was hypoglycemia and they ruled out hyperglycemia and tested him for parvo which was negative. He was still sick they didn't do anything for me. When I brought him to the vet he's with no the first thing she said was that he was hypoglycemia. I'm going to go visit him today. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to get a refund for what we paid for him but it's going straight to his vet bills. Is there anyway or law that says the person who sole me the pet would have to be responsible somewhat for the vet bills/care?

[froggy7]

It doesn't appear that Hawaii does have a pet lemon law. So you may be out of luck. And just as an fyi, many of the pet lemon laws only allow for reimbursement up to the price of the dog, and some only allow for a refund or exchange of the dog.

[teachnk]

I am so sorry your pup is having such a rough time. I am curious, wasn't there any kind of health guarantee in the breeder's contract when you purchased the puppy?

[klandreth]

First of all, 6 weeks is not too young to be away from mother. By then the female has already weaned the pups, and it is standard to be sold at 6 weeks. It also is not uncommon for pups to have parasites, as they get round worms through moms milk. That is why pups are to be vaccinated and dewormed every 2-4 weeks, depending on prevelance, starting at 6 weeks. Sounds like this puppy had parvo, and the vet hospital treated appropriately. The hypoglycemia is from the pup not eating and vomiting, and he prrobably wasn't hypoglycemic when he was first seen. That is determined by testing their glucose level, which gives you an accurate result. However, parvo tests are done on a snap test with fecal material, which is not very sensitive and oftern gives false-positives.

Sounds like you are just as liable for the pups condition as the breeder, depending on how much you researched about owning a pup, and how informed the breeder was. Any young pup should not be exposed to other dogs until their immune systems have had a chance to develop (aka until they've had at least 2 vaccinations)