Center’s mistakes
shorten pet’s time
by Rhonda Cookus
reporter

Everyone remembers the decision to get a pet because it is always big and important.
People want the right type of animal, and, if at all possible, to save one someone else could not care for or want.
People pay anywhere from $100-$1,000 for their pets, and those seem to need more medical attention than pets that were found or adopted.
I have heard more than once that mutts or adopted animals end up living a healthier life than those bought from a breeder.
My experience with adopting and attempting to do a good deed went wrong. My adopted mutt was not the healthiest.
When my boyfriend and I approached our one-year anniversary, we decided our gift to each other would be a dog. We wanted something perfect for us. The decision to buy or adopt was somewhat difficult.
My choice was a big dog we could take to the lake, and he had his heart set on a hunting dog. In order to please us both, we decided on a lab.
We went to a local animal shelter and picked out the perfect dog. As soon as we got him out of his cage to “get to know him,” he jumped up and put his paws around my neck. We were in love.
A few days later we got to take him home. We named him Blu.
When we got Blu, he had fleas and worms as many puppies do.
Soon after those problems were taken care of, he started scratching all the time and had extremely large dandruff flakes. We tried bathing him with moisturizing dog shampoos, but nothing worked.
The adoption center gave us papers saying he had all of his shots and had been de-fleaed and de-wormed, so we weren’t concerned about anything serious. Just to be safe, we took him to the vet.
Blu had scabies, a type of mite that can be given to humans and almost impossible to cure. Continuously, he went to the vet, every visit costing at least $100.
Later, Blu was diagnosed with demodectic mange—one of the worst types and difficult to cure.
We bought an anti-parasite medication and gave Blu the instructed dosage. He got sicker. He no longer would eat or drink. Although this only lasted a few days, he lost a tremendous amount of weight; our optimism could not save him.
He suffered for three days and died in his sleep. We had to bury him.
When I told the vet’s receptionist Blu’s symptoms, she said it sounded like parvo, but we needed testing to be sure.
I was angry my puppy was taken away by ignorance and untruthfulness. The center nor its vet had warned us about parvo.
In two months we spent more than $1,000 and became attached to Blu.
Although the end experience was horrible, we cherish our time with Blu and are happy to think he was with a family who loved him when he died.