Care Collars

Unless you are involved with rescue groups, the back yard breeders don’t seem like such a bad lot. Their dogs are usually family pets, many are purebred registered animals, the people seem nice enough. So what’s the big deal?

Here is the story of Rosie, a beautiful sweet purebred boxer. She came into Boxer Rescue Canada through a shelter in the lower mainland. She was found as a stray in an industrial area and no one came to claim her. That in itself is strange, a sweet purebred dog and no one is looking for her. She did have a nasty skin condition but would that be enough reason to abandon her?

The shelter took her to the vets and found that not only did she have a skin condition; she had a urinary tract infection, fluid on her lungs and a very bad heart murmur. So, we will assume she was abandoned because of her medical condition. This is not uncommon in rescue.

As many purebred registered dogs are tattooed, BRC checked for her tattoo. It was very faded but they were able to make out enough to find her through the CKC registry. Here is what they found.

Rosie was born on Feb 14 1999, she had just turned 6 years old. Her breeder sold her to her first owner who bred her 4 times. In 2001 she had a litter of 8 puppies, in 2002 she had a litter of 9 puppies, in 2003 she had a litter of 7 puppies and in 2004 she had a litter of 10 puppies.

This is a total of 34 puppies. She made lots of money for her owners but they didn’t put any back into her. They didn’t do any health checks on her or they would have found the heart murmur and never have bred her again. They didn’t even keep her and let he enjoy the rest of her life with the only family she knew. She was done and they sold her in November 2004. They didn’t even spay her to ensure she wouldn’t be bred again.

So what is to become of Rosie? Another vet check has confirmed boxer cardiomyopathy (also known as ARVC). She could drop dead anytime. She has a high risk of pyrometria because of her many litters and needs to be spayed. It is a high risk for her to have the surgery but a higher risk to her health if it isn’t done. So after she had regained some of her health, is spayed and her skin is cleared up, is she adoptable? Will there be a family out there willing to take the risk of losing this sweet girl at any time? Everyone hoped so as she so deserves to be loved and pampered.

And what of all the puppies? Well, since it is obvious Rosie’s owners aren’t really in it for the dogs, some of those pups didn’t end up in the right homes. Two of her pups have already gone through Boxer Rescue to their forever homes. The rest of the pups are also at risk of boxer cardiomyopathy. It is genetic. Some will drop dead at a young age on their unsuspecting owners.

So the rescuers ask that you please adopt a rescue but if you must have a puppy, make sure it is from a reputable breeder. The pups cost more but there is a reason for it. The dogs that reputable breeders have don’t pay with their lives to make money for their owners. Also make sure all your pets are spayed and neutered. This reduces many health risks as well as stopping unwanted pregnancies.

What became of Rosie you ask? Well, as she got better with the good care she received in her first foster home, her personality and spirit started to emerge. She was actually a feisty little girl! She couldn’t stay at that foster home and ended up in Sooke on Vancouver Island. It took another 5 months but Rosie has found her permanent foster mom who adores her. Rosie is finally loved for herself and not for what she could earn from her puppies. Care Collars continues to pay for her medications, which run close to $70/mth.

July 2007 Update: I visited Rosie and her mom and Rosie looks wonderful! One would never suspect that she has a severe heart condition, she was bouncing around and really wanted to get going, no standing around for this girl! Rosie's mom has decided that other animals need Care Collar support more than Rosie so she will pay for all of Rosie's costs from now on. I am very grateful Rosie has such a great home and is doing so well.