We received a ton of reaction to last week's story on Puppies R Love, the Miami pet shop which has been repeatedly sued for selling sick and dying pups. Something about this one line from reader Jennifer Nunez forced a sad groan out of us:
hey i would just like to yo email you concerning puppies r love i hope you can make it know the cruelty of this place its horrible r.i.p snoopy
She later explained that her puppy, newly-bought from Puppies R Love, was "constantly vomiting and had extreme diarrhea". She paid $2,000 in vet bills trying to save Snoopy--"those people (Puppies R Love) would not help me"-- but he died anyway.
Gisela Sonera also wrote in to give us a detailed account of her costly misadventures with a very sick Shih Tzu she purchased last month:
I saw a "Puppies R Love" announcement on Miami Herald and bought a Shih Tzu puppy on 12/01/10. The next day I noticed that the puppy was sneezing and having respiratory problems so I decided to take herback to the store. They said that it was a small cough due to the change of wheatear so they put her into a machine for 30 min. I took her back home and as the days pass by I noticed that the problem got worse and more frequent. I wanted a second opinion and took her to a vet.
The vet suggested blood test and chest radiology to make sure lungs were ok. After an estimate of $454, I decided to go back to the store this same day 12/7/10. I told the store that the puppy was sick and that I wanted my money back $640 but this did not work. They charged me $100 for the puppy to receive treatment and medication. I was told that the puppy will be given back completely healthy. They kept the puppy for a week. When I picked her up 12/14/10 they gave me a document which diagnosed the puppy with kennel cough, mild bronchitis and coccidia.They finally said that she was on the road for recovery. To the date the puppy still has the same symptoms, she was no sign of recovery and needs to continue treatment. I took her again to the Vet and they believe it's not kennel cough. I still need to make the tests to make sure which is really her health problem.
I have spent a lot of money and it has been a horrible experience. It's too bad I didn't search the place online before. After looking at all the negative feedback I'm in complete shock. At the end I find myself with a sick puppy.
An addendum a few days later:
The final story is that I tried selling it and since nobody will buy a sick pupy I found myself giving it away to someone that will take better care... It was a complete loss.
There was some encouraging news. Betty White, one of the activists who led a campaign against Puppies R Loves' sister store in Hallandale Beach, said they were turning their attention to the Miami store. You can reach her here.
Moral of the story: Adopt from the Humane Society.
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