Zachary and I had another corgi. Her name was Truffle...

We were were married last May 17th (2008) in Seguin, TX (like the Charlie Robison song). We honeymooned in the Netherlands/Belgium (hence the pup's name; we had chocolate on the mind!) That summer I had a pharmacy internship, split between a Walgreens in New Braunfels and one in Seguin, so we were staying in my grandmother's river house on the McQueeny river.

We knew we would be renting a house in San Antonio, so we would have a yard, and this was one of Zachary's conditions for getting a puppy. I searched all summer, and found a breeder who lived at a historic ranch north of San Antonio who had 2 pups left. On July 20th, we visited her and I told zachary if he didn't think it felt right, we could think about it and come back. But apparently he cared more that I really wanted the puppy and said we could get her right then.

Here she is with her brother, and with her parents:

We took her back to the river house (after stopping at the pet store) and 3 days later, got to the vet (sorry, yes, it took a while) She had already pooped, and though they tried, they couldn't get anything for a fecal sample but the breeder's records showed she had recently wormed them with "the good stuff". The vet said she looked good (except for the 5 ticks they found, yuck!), but gave us some eye ointment for her weepy eyes, as it bugged me. While I was away at work, Zachary was home with her, and said she slept a lot, and wasn't real cuddly. I said puppies just slept a lot. That weekend, we woke up to yellow mucousy.. vomit? all over the carpet and pee pads. It had white stringy things in it. A few minutes later, Truffle stooped over, and we realized it was coming from her behind. We had to go to the emergency vet (abandoning our friend who had stayed the night) and wait a long time (bringing some of the worms in a ziploc). They took her in eventually and we were told to come back in a few hours.

The vet was furious. She told us they found... I think 5 different types of worm infestations. And that the severity of the infestation in this young pup indicated she had been infected since birth, because the mom had to have had worms while pregnant. She told us, if we could, we should try to take her back, because there was no way to tell how serious the damage was (internal organ damage, intestinal blockages). I was crying, and Zachary was upset. I told Zachary I could part with her. The worse thing was the feeling of abandonment. That I was supposed to be her mom and there was no way for me to know if she would get a good home. (I shouldn't have been worried, she got a new family with two young girls within a few weeks)

The breeder was surprised, but agreeable with taking her back. She hadn't even cashed the check, so she just handed it back to us and we gave her the papers back (along with the food, some toys, and the bed we had bought). It was a long drive over there...a trail of tears. The breeder was willing to pay all of the vet bill (even though it was... over $300) but we told her it was ok, half was fine... it was expensive because it was an emergency visit, and not a nice small town vet. The drugs themselves were all about double normal price. The breeder said that she didn't understand all the accusations, her husband had screwed up and gotten... horse variety dewormer? but that the only difference was it didn't have the meaty taste dogs like, so maybe they hadn't gotten the full dose or had spit it up. (I'm starting to get a weird sense of vertigo writing this... is it the old emotions? or the caffeine from the large sweet tea I drank at lunch). Anyways, her story didn't match up with the vets conviction that the mother must have had worms while pregnant and just... we decided not to push anything. The breeder wasn't really defensive, just sorry it had turned out this way (she seemed to sincerely care, I think she just didn't know what she was doing, or that dogs are just dogs out on the ranch, a different mentality) She said we seemed like such a good couple as far as taking care of a puppy and she was sorry again.

A few days later she said she had no further problems with Truffle (whom their grandaughter had named Jasmine). No more worms in the stool, running around playing happily with her brother, taking her medicine fine, her regular vet saw no issues. She also sent me an e-mail when Truffle got her new family.

SO!
as far as this story goes. I don't know if we made the right choice. I know my husband thought it was very mature of me (I think his parents were impressed) that I would be able to look beyond "puppy love" and see when we had been... screwed over? made a decision too soon, irresponsibly? I felt selfish, and I should probably always feel selfish... but the fact that she found a good home, and when I look at Pooka, I really don't regret it.

TO LEARN A LESSON:
We should've been more aware of the red flags of a... dangerous breeder.
Her dogs had ticks (and the puppies!). She lives on a ranch, so its hard to control, but... they have stuff for that.
She had only been doing it a few years. She had two females (one the grandmother of the other) and the one male.
She was reluctant to bring the mom out. Turns out its because she was SO skinny (on the right):

the breeder said it was from nursing, and that normally happened with her females. We just believed her. She seemed real sincere, and she had all info on how she kept up with their worming. This seems to correspond with the vet's accusations, though.
The pup was very sleepy and kind've despondent when she wasn't playing. Also, the weepy eyes were probably a sign that something was going on.
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Here's a video of her. She was really cute.