The Ottawa Citizen

Jake Rupert

'I'm in a horrible situation'

Pet owner, breeder blame
each other for dog's disease

Paws R Us Kennel

Tuesday, September 5th, 2000

When Stacey Leroux drove to Shawville about a month ago and bought her yellow Labrador retriever, Sammy, she had no idea what she was getting into.

After spending more than $1,400 on veterinary bills and medication to treat the potentially deadly parvovirus, and having arguments with the people who sold her Sammy, she knows buying a dog can come with serious headaches.

"It was my first time buying a dog," says the 28-year-old single mother of three. "If I had any idea of what would happen, I don't know if I would have got a dog."

But the woman who sold her Sammy, Nicole Labombard of Paws Are Us Kennels, says she and her family operate to the highest standards. Ms. Labombard says she has good reason not to refund Ms. Leroux's money or pay part of the vet bills.

"It (the parvovirus) came two weeks after she got the dog from me," she says. "She took that dog all over the place. To animal hospitals -- all over. A puppy is like a baby. You don't stress them. If you start moving them around all over the place, you're going to get them sick."

When Ms. Leroux decided to buy a dog, she opened up the classified ads in an Ottawa newspaper. She was looking for a Labrador because she'd heard they were great with children and easy to train.

A couple of ads only offered Labs, no other breeds. One of those breeders quoted her a price of $500 for a registered purebred dog, tattooed and with papers as proof of its pedigree.

Ms. Leroux then called Paws Are Us, which advertised about 12 breeds of dogs in late July and was quoted $300 to $350 for a Labrador, depending on the age of the puppy. With her fixed income, she decided to go with Paws Are Us.

The woman gave her directions to a farm outside of Shawville, and asked Ms. Leroux to phone an hour ahead to let them know she was coming.

The next day she did so, and fell in love with the yellow ball of fur brought out for her inspection. When she said she wanted to pay by cheque, the woman selling the dog balked, and arranged to bring the dog to Ms. Leroux's house in Ottawa's south end the next day.

Cash was exchanged, a contract signed and Sammy became Ms. Leroux's property on July 28.

From the outset, Ms. Leroux worried something was wrong with Sammy. He slept all day and, when awake, he moped. He didn't eat much or have the energy a puppy usually has.

About eight days later, Sammy started coughing badly. Ms. Leroux took him to an animal hospital in Prescott, where she was visiting friends, and he was diagnosed with kennel cough and given medication.

Five days later, Sammy became extremely ill, vomiting, not eating, lying on his side, and suffering diarrhea.

Hunt Club Animal Hospital said he had parvo and had had it for some time. Signs of the disease appear 10 to 14 days after contact with the virus. Canine parvovirus (parvo for short) attacks mainly young dogs. It acts fast and can kill a puppy if left untreated. It is mainly spread in dog feces and is very contagious in kennels.

"The worse the sanitary conditions are, the more chance there will be parvo, and the more chance it will spread," says Dr. Bernhard Pukay of the Bayview Animal Hospital.

Alta Vista Animal Hospital vets told Mrs. Leroux about the cost of treating a dog with full-blown parvo. She decided she couldn't watch him get sicker or have him put down. Sammy, quarantined for four days at the hospital, got the first of weeks of treatment to rid the virus.

Paws Are Us refused to refund any money or help with vet bills. The contract Ms. Leroux signed left the breeder responsible only if the dog had to be put down or died from hereditary problems not treatable with medication or surgery -- only if the dog died within 12 months of purchase.

Ten days into the parvo treatment, Sammy had more energy, was eating, and acted more like a puppy. But last week he started vomiting, acted lethargic, ran a fever and suffered diarrhea again.

"I'm in a horrible situation," says Ms. Leroux. She has spent all her extra money, but she and her children have grown to love Sammy and want him to live a healthy life. "I just don't know what to do."

  The Lives of Dogs at Paws R Us