This is not specific to the Corgi breed; however, I have to vent my frustration in regards to my latest experience with backyard breeders on here. 

I'm work at an apartment complex, and one of our maintenance employee's Bichon Frise just had ANOTHER litter of puppies. Mind you, she is 8 years old and this is her third litter. (She had two litters this past year alone.) The puppies are, of course, adorable and look like fat little teddy bears. Regardless of their adorable appearance, I'm totally disgusted with the fact that the owners have put the mother through wayyyyy too many pregnancies, especially for her age. In addition to that, the puppies are not purebred, they're mixed with miniature poodle. Despite the fact that the dogs are technically mutts, the maintenance employee was asking $350-400 per dog. Not only is their asking price ridiculously high, but the puppies haven't been de-wormed or given their first vaccination. They've sold one of the three pups to someone already, and he just sold one to a tenant for $350. When he handed over the pup, he did not mention the fact that he needed to be dewormed and fully vaccinated immediately. He also did not tell the purchaser that the puppy cannot go outside until it receives all of its shots. It wasn't until I saw the tenant leave the building with the dog in hand, ready to take it for a walk when I had to flag her down and let her know that the puppy shouldn't be outside until he's had his shots because he could contract parvo or distemper. She then replied, "Oh, I've had a couple dogs that have gotten that. One died, one survived. Where's the cheapest place to get puppy shots?" At that point, I didn't know whether or not to cry or slap my forehead in total disbelief. I gave her the address and phone number to the SPCA, and encouraged her to socialize him in safe, indoor environments or carry him when outside until his vaccinations were complete. 

Multiple things deeply disturbed me about this scenario, but I think the worst part was the maintenance guy's reaction when I told him I had to stop the tenant from taking the puppy outside. His reaction? "Well, I don't want them to spend all their money on puppy shots before they pay the dog off. Besides, he's out of my hands now." Since this person is technically my colleague, it took everything I had to stay professional and not scream at him for his disgustingly selfish ignorance. I just said, "Well you don't want the puppy to die before they pay it off either!"

 I want to make sure that the puppy survives its new home. I really want this puppy to be safe and happy, but I doubt that the tenant who purchased him is up to speed or aware of the expenses and care required for a dog. I feel like I've assisted as much as an outsider can in a situation like this, but I really want to prevent this BYB from breeding his dog in the future again. Has anyone here ever encountered a backyard breeder with no scruples before? Did you call them out on it? Give them advice?

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In general, I really dislike backyard breeders and puppy mill breeders who breed with no scruples but I don't like to categorize all backyard breeders into the same lump. 350-400 bucks is a lot to pay for a mutt with no vet work!  And 8 year old mother is not good.

I also got Pazu from a backyard breeder. Hence why I know he is 7/8 Corgi and 1/8 Chihuahua. But I also had a list of questions that I wanted answered when I visited.  The lady lived on a farm a few hours north and there was a horse ranch next door.  Pazu came with all his shots, declawed, his tails docked and dewormed and she put together a small pedigree for me as well.  He was socialized with children, horses, other dogs, and cats and she started him on crate training as well.  The mother and father appeared to be both in excellent health and nice temperament. She gave me some of their food to transition and explained to me why she chose the food she did. All the pups seemed very healthy and well-adjusted.  When Pazu was 6 months old, Pazu had an overnight sleepover with his sister Bandit.  And he was so happy to see them again - he was squealing.  It was a beautiful moment of reunion. We've visited a few more times. Pazu is close to 1 yr and half now and just been very healthy so far - no allergies, no torn ligaments, no broken teeth, very nice white teeth, soft coat, no growth plate problems.

It's hard for me to say that I would never take Pazu in again, if I knew what I knew now about backyard breeders.  I think I would ask the same set of questions that I would expect from any "good" breeder (and I guess I don't expect a health guarantee - that just reminds me of the movie Gattaca).  I think there are backyard breeders that are truly selfish and money oriented... but considering wolves had to have been backyard bred into the family dogs we have now... much like, how corgis have become corgis as opposed to the foxes or whatever breed they were before over hundreds of years... we'd never have the beautiful corgis we have today.  

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