My wife and I recently bought a Shihtza-poo puppy from a rescue on 21 Apr 06. The rescue stated ,"Animals that go thru this rescue are spay/neutered, brought up to date on their vaccinations, checked for heartworms and parasites, and leave to go to their new homes after our vet tells us they are in great health again." While my wife was driving home from picking up our new puppy she found fleas on the dog. She stopped by a Petsmart to get a flea bath and they said that the puppy was a living flea farm. On Sunday 23 Apr 06 I had to take the dog to the ER and found that the dog tested positive for parvo. Currently the dog is in the hospital being treated for parvo. I spent $250 to adopt the dog, another $280 at the ER, and the hospital bill looks like it is going to be about $600-$800. On top of all this we did not get any documentation for our puppy. Can anyone help me with this issue. I am a new dog owner and I am not sure of what I can do about this situation.

Hi, fergy,
I am so sorry to hear this. There are so many Animal Shelters nationwide with dogs and puppes, to adopt, at about $20.
In your particular case, I could be wrong, but I really don't think there is anything you can do. You might try calling the Better Business Bureau in your local area, and asking them if there is anything that can be done.
Even some Breeders will not refund money for a puppy that is found to have Parvo later.

There are several things you can do. How effective they will be is a different question.

You refer to getting the dog from "a rescue". The first thing I would do is contact your local consumer affairs folks and ASPCA. It may be that a "rescue" needs to be licensed by the locality. If they are falsely advertising, then the locality will want to know. If they are mistreating or not taking proper care of pets, the ASPCA will want to know.

As for recovering your money, you could take them to small claims court. With the testimony from Petsmart and the vet. You should have no problem getting a judgement against the rescue. Whether you can get the money awarded is a different matter.

There is this treatment that I used when I my dog had parvo it is actually really good it is really cheap and can be ordered over night it is called parvaid and is made by amber technology it is also all natural and also saved my litter of puppys that had parvo I know it does not pertain to what u are talking about but useful if u do get another puppy lol

I am going through the same thing with my puppy we just bought her 8 days ago and Saturday she started getting sick I took her to the ER Monday morning and found out she had parvo. We bought her from a breeder and she said she had had all her shots. I have 2 othe puppies at my home that don't have parvo so I know the dog had it before I got her... But like in your case we have no way to prove this... Did you puppy make it? We go in today to talk to the vet:o( I think we might have to put her down.

Did you take the puppy to the Petsmart when you got the flea medicine? If you did, you may have a hard time proving that the pup didn't get infected there, because of the number of animals that go in and out of the store.

I just remembered something that has nothing to do with the legal aspects of this case, but may help your puppy.

The FDA has just approved a drug to treat vomiting in dogs. It's called Cerenia, and the blurb says it's intended for cases "in which vomiting -- whatever its cause -- can be a serious health hazard. " That includes parvo. So, if your vet hasn't heard of it, you may want to mention it to him and see if he thinks it will help your dog. Good luck!