Dear Editor:
RE: ‘It’s heartbreaking’: family calls attention to suspected puppy mills, March 30.
My heart goes out to the England family for the ordeal they had to go through. The proliferation of puppy mills in Wellington County has been common knowledge for years and yet no level of government has chosen to do anything about it. Apparently neither has the College of Veterinarians of Ontario (CVO), which is abhorrent.
A year ago, our current rescue Westie was not in good health and we wanted to get another one. The registered Westie breeders priced themselves out of our range and the rescue group would not be able to help us as we no longer had a fenced backyard. So we turned to Kijiji to see what we could find.
There were several Westie puppies being advertised, many as young as six weeks old (far too young). One advert stated that now that the puppies were nine weeks old, they were ready to be adopted and that the mother was on site. My husband and I made an appointment to see them that afternoon.
Yes, the puppies were housed in a barn, but it was warm and brightly lit and the cubicles were spacious. The office where we did our transactions overlooked the cubicles and you could observe the puppies playing and interacting.
The minute Laddie (as we named him) was placed in my arms his little tail never stopped wagging – safe to say he chose us! We paid cash for the transaction but there was also a lot of paperwork to deal with, including a vaccination book signed by a local, reputable veterinarian and a puppy guarantee/agreement.
We were required to take the puppy to our own vet within three days to have him checked and he was guaranteed for one year against inherited congenital defects.
Laddie is now a healthy, happy typical Westie and the joy of our lives.
Anyone going this route needs to be aware of potential problems but having a health guarantee for a year is a good sign. You should also investigate the veterinary practice that has signed the vaccination certificate. Now if the CVO would just do their part and, instead of protecting veterinarians, weed out the bad ones, some of the risk buyers face would be reduced.
I hope the Englands find a furry child for their family and thank them for bringing this problem out in the open. Maybe local government will be shamed into doing something.
Some breeders have got a bad name over the years and, in some cases, it is justified, but there are caring, responsible breeders out there – we were just lucky enough to find one right away.
Sandra Solomon,
Belwood