OK, so here's the deal. We picked Maggie up from the breeder last Saturday. The breeder mentioned nothing about her being sick, but about 15 minutes into the ride home, she started coughing and her nose started running. We got her home, and the coughing continued into the night and the following day. She was also lethargic, but I wasn't sure how much of the lethergy was anxiety and nervousness from being seperated from her Mother and siblings.
We watched her all day Sunday, and the coughing seemed to be getting worse, so we took her to the vet on Monday. She was diagnosed with kennel cough, given an antibiotic shot, and prescribed antibiotics and a cough syrup. The bill came to $89.00.
She seemed to be doing better on Tuesday and Wednesday...was eating well, running around, and acting all kinds of puppy crazy. Then on Thursday afternoon she started in with diarrhea. Friday, she continued with the diarrhea, slept a lot more than she had the previous days, and ate only once in the morning...complete loss of appetite.
Yesterday (Saturday) the diarrhea got worse, she started throwing up, refused to eat the entire day, and became very lethargic. This morning was even worse, and I could see that she was becoming dehydrated, so I called an Emergency Vet and took her in this afternoon.
He ran a viral test for Parvo and Distemper, which fortunately came out negative. His diagnosis was dehydration, secondary to a gastrointestinal bacterial type of infection from the antibiotics. She also had lost 1 pound 2 ounces. He gave her a 50cc subcutaneous fluid bolus, prescribed a different antibiotic for the coughing, and gave her a prescription of Reglan and Metronidazole for the diarrhea and vomitting. This bill came to $279.00.
I called the breeder this afternon to ask if Maggie had been sick prior to us picking her up last Saturday, and also if any of her other siblings have been sick. She told me that all of the pups had a cough the previous week, but that they all got over it within a couple of days.
I explained to her everything that transpired with Maggie from the time we picked her up, including the two trips to the vet. She seemed totally unconcerned, and basically told me that if we wouldn't have put her on the antibiotics, she probably would have gotten over the kennel cough on her own, and that today's trip to the vet wouldn't have been necessary.
Now here's my question. Since Maggie was sick the day we picked her up, and we had to take her to the vet a day and a half later, then again today, shouldn't the breeder be responsible for part, if not all of the vet bill? We paid $650 for her assuming we were getting a healthy puppy, which has totally not been the case. I'm thinking about mailing her a copy of both vet receipts and asking her to pay for half, but I don't know if that would be appropriate.
BTW...Maggie is doing a little better this evening. The fluid bolus seems to have perked her up a little, and the new medication has also helped with the vomitting. For the past couple of hours she has been able to keep water down...BIG sigh of relief!
She needs to be rechecked in two days, which will be a minimum of $65 for the office visit. So what do you all think...does the breeder have any responsibility with any of this or am I totally on my own? Either way, I will do whatever it takes to get her healthy, but it sure would be nice if the breeder would step up to the plate and help out.
We watched her all day Sunday, and the coughing seemed to be getting worse, so we took her to the vet on Monday. She was diagnosed with kennel cough, given an antibiotic shot, and prescribed antibiotics and a cough syrup. The bill came to $89.00.
She seemed to be doing better on Tuesday and Wednesday...was eating well, running around, and acting all kinds of puppy crazy. Then on Thursday afternoon she started in with diarrhea. Friday, she continued with the diarrhea, slept a lot more than she had the previous days, and ate only once in the morning...complete loss of appetite.
Yesterday (Saturday) the diarrhea got worse, she started throwing up, refused to eat the entire day, and became very lethargic. This morning was even worse, and I could see that she was becoming dehydrated, so I called an Emergency Vet and took her in this afternoon.
He ran a viral test for Parvo and Distemper, which fortunately came out negative. His diagnosis was dehydration, secondary to a gastrointestinal bacterial type of infection from the antibiotics. She also had lost 1 pound 2 ounces. He gave her a 50cc subcutaneous fluid bolus, prescribed a different antibiotic for the coughing, and gave her a prescription of Reglan and Metronidazole for the diarrhea and vomitting. This bill came to $279.00.
I called the breeder this afternon to ask if Maggie had been sick prior to us picking her up last Saturday, and also if any of her other siblings have been sick. She told me that all of the pups had a cough the previous week, but that they all got over it within a couple of days.
I explained to her everything that transpired with Maggie from the time we picked her up, including the two trips to the vet. She seemed totally unconcerned, and basically told me that if we wouldn't have put her on the antibiotics, she probably would have gotten over the kennel cough on her own, and that today's trip to the vet wouldn't have been necessary.
Now here's my question. Since Maggie was sick the day we picked her up, and we had to take her to the vet a day and a half later, then again today, shouldn't the breeder be responsible for part, if not all of the vet bill? We paid $650 for her assuming we were getting a healthy puppy, which has totally not been the case. I'm thinking about mailing her a copy of both vet receipts and asking her to pay for half, but I don't know if that would be appropriate.
BTW...Maggie is doing a little better this evening. The fluid bolus seems to have perked her up a little, and the new medication has also helped with the vomitting. For the past couple of hours she has been able to keep water down...BIG sigh of relief!
She needs to be rechecked in two days, which will be a minimum of $65 for the office visit. So what do you all think...does the breeder have any responsibility with any of this or am I totally on my own? Either way, I will do whatever it takes to get her healthy, but it sure would be nice if the breeder would step up to the plate and help out.
