OUR SICK PUP WAS ONLY FOUR WEEKS OLD
AFTER the death of her beloved bulldog, teacher Kaye Teale was desperate to find a replacement. She and partner Aurelijus Krudyk fell in love with an adorable chocolate labrador puppy for sale on the internet and immediately put down a £200 deposit. But as the day approached for them to visit their new pet’s home, the Wales-based breeder started making excuses.
Finally, he drove to their Brighton home to deliver the dog on May 27, when it should have been nine weeks old. But the pup he brought was tiny, had shorter ears and different coloured eyes. “It wasn’t the same puppy we saw in the photographs, but what could we do?” said Kaye. “We wanted to look after him so we handed over a further £800.”
Just hours later, it became apparent they had bought a very sick animal. They took the puppy, named Sawyer, to a vet who said it was probably just four weeks old and badly infected with a bacteria causing severe diarrhoea.
He had been vaccinated and chipped by a Kennel Club registered breeder, even though he was so tiny. “We think the vaccinations may have made him ill because he was given them too early,” she said.
“Sawyer is 17 weeks old now and is still not right. We can’t give him any processed food. Everything he eats is hand prepared.
“I trusted the breeder because he’s Kennel Club-registered, but many others have had problems with this man and some people have even lost their puppies.”
The couple managed to get £500 back and have complained to trading standards officials in Wales. But, sadly, it will probably be a fraction of the vets’ bills they face to help return Sawyer to health.