Howdy all, Possibly Blind Puppy. HELP & ADVICE NEEDED IF POSSIBLE...

Howdy,

Where do I start...

I was looking for a pup, preferably a Husky/Malamute/Akita type...I came across an advert on Gumtree, for Akita x Siberian Husky 8 week old pups, for sale locally, so went up to check them out on Monday night.

I turned up, to find the house they were living in was a total tip (however the dogs, older ones, looked in good state and were very friendly, there was several) and then there were the Pups. I've been brought up around big dogs, and had dogs in the family and friends families since as long as I can remember, but breeding - is something i'm not too familiar with (Im 23) anyway the pups were covered in crap / mud from head to toe, and on arrival it was clear this lady (who posted the advert and put her no. on the site, was a go between, middle-man so to speak) any way, after spending 10minutes in the smelly house (quite stupidly, upon reflection) I felt so sorry for the pups, apparently they hadn't taken to there mum, so had been on dried food for some time, and I just felt pity for them. The mam, and the Dad looked fine examples (However there was no Akita's to be seen anywhere) ...anyway, my heart got the better of me, and I took away one of the girls, and was 'at this time' over the MOON!...
Anyway, yesterday was Wednesday and it was becoming clear something was wrong with my Pup, Bowe. She seems shakey, and pretty un steady on her feet. Anyway, as any responsible owner would, I was straight on to the Vets and took her in that night after finishing work. It became quite clear (to more experienced eyes) the chances of her being 8 weeks, were slim (due to weight and size) things however were about to GET WORSE for me & Bowe! ...Turns out she's blind! Temp/or Totally, depending on age possibly? but its not a good start for the poor girl.
Trying to make a long story short here, I got straight on to the person responsible for the advert etc. within minutes of leaving the vets. I rang and basically told them what i've wrote above, and these were her words "errr, errmmm, right, ring back in 10minutes, ok?" ....so I did. No Answer. And again. No Answer. Then Answerphone! by now, without swearing, I WAS FUMING! So I sent some messages (lol) basically stating, I want to talk to the 'owner/breeder' of these pups and sort something out, then when I received NO REPLY I stepped it up a notch by basically stating I was going to drive through there to the house I got them from, and who ever was there was going to HAVE TO deal with me. NO REPLY. So I picked a mate up, and off we went. (9.00pm last night) got there, and there was nobody in...so I rang the number off the advert, and to my shock she answered! so I quickly explained I was outside the house, and that I wanted to talk to the owner/breeder of the dogs, and that I didn't want a war. So off she went to call him & get him to meet me at his house (he was genuinely out) and he did...so I explained my situation to him, and he offered me the following resolutions:

* Return the Puppy & get my money back.
* Swap the Pup for another, but he only had 2 boys left.
* Bear with my Pup as he said he's 'seen it' before and its quite common.

To me, none of these were the answer, firstly my pup has been introduced to my 2 daughters & fiancee and they love her to bits already. Secondly, I didn't really want a boy, I wanted a girl. Thirdly, I dont know If I can trust his "OPINION" on her getting better, however, with another 10mins of chatting with the bloke some OTHER things emerged.

* The Pups are only 5 weeks old, as of TODAY! 12th July 2012.
* The Pups are Siberian Husky (Full Breed) X Arctic Wolf (??????)
* He said he would bet me my money back, that the Pup would gain its eyesight, within the next 2 - 6 weeks.
* He said he'd bred these types of dogs for the last 7, 8 years.
* Before that he'd bred show winning German Shepherds, showed me pictures, with him in them etc. So I was buying 'abit' of what he was telling me.

SO, Thats my situation as of this morning. At home I have what seems at the minute to be a 'just gone' 5 week old Puppy, with 98-100% Blindness at the moment (after undergoing a few tests at the vets) And this idiot who obviously is happy selling 4-5week old pups with problems like mine has, offering me the choices above. Personally, I dont want my Pup going back anywhere near him or that house, I just dont know how much merit there is in waiting to see how she copes over these next 2-3 weeks, and see if her situation improves? I feel morally responsible for this pup now, and I dont want to write her off just yet especially if she's only 5 weeks old today.

HELP, ADVICE & OPINIONS will be much appreciated.

Any body with experience of the breed would be great, I THINK she might just be a Siberian Husky and have no 'Arctic Wolf' in her, but I could be totally wrong, as the Dad (who was the 'pack leader' & 'arctic wolf') did look just the same as some of the ones that come up after a quick google images search. I'm in the North East of England, and would welcome an experience breeder or someone with a lot more knowledge & expertise than I have, to pop round for a cup of tea/coffee and have a look at her? After a phone call to the Vets an hour ago, to inform her of my recent 'discoveries' she has told me, he could 'possibly' be speaking some truth, and with her not being 7-8 weeks old, and only 5 to give her some time to improve, as she hasn't by any means had the best start in life. So my minds made up to short term, to keep on looking after her, and see how things go in these next few weeks before she goes back to the vets.

Again, HELP, ADVICE & OPINIONS will be much appreciated!

Thanks man,

Mark & Bowe.

Oh I am so sorry, you were sucked in by total total scum With the best intentions in the world many really nice people fall for this scam from puppy farms - basically once you see the puppy, see the horrible conditions you just want to 'save' them
But anyways, too late now, you have her and you love her
What you do now depends on you, hopefully your girl wont be blind for life - but she may be - so I would prepair yourself for than and then if things arnt so bad then you get a nice surprise

I have a pretty horrible feeling that the dogs you saw were not her parents at all anyways - its a common ploy for the breeders to send the pups (and way too young ones) off to someone else to sell
So prepair yourself that your pups parents may not have had the best temprament

My sensible head say give her back and take the refund, dont support such horrible people and let them breed more litters

But I doubt I could do that if I had the pup in my arms either

Poor girl, she hasnt had the best start, if you are willing to put the work in she could end up being a lovely dog - but get yourself ready for the worst in every situation just incase

Hi Mark is there any vitamins or supplements the vet could give you to boost her a bit or puppy milk I don't know a single thing about tiny pups but If she had been away from mum so early she must need some extra support???

Hi Ben, I think a lot of what you say is right there matey, im convinced her mam & dad were present last night though (they weren't in the room on Monday) because they showed caring/guarding tendencies towards the two boy pups that were left when I handled them, or went near them, were as the other dogs just stood by watching (a little daunting, 7 big dogs in an average size front room, lol...and he talked me through the dogs that were there, what they were and how old they were, etc. etc. My sensible head, as yours, is saying take her back & get my money back. HOWEVER my missus doesn't want me to take her back to such a place, and wants to do everything she can to help her until we take her back to the vets for inoculations when she's 8 weeks (3 weeks time) ...I must say, I do agree.
I'm sick for her, sick for her brothers & sisters, and sick for the ones living how they are...but hey ho, nothing much I can do I soppose. I've rang the RSPCA this morning, and passed over all details, and problems with my pup, as of today...and there going to 'look into it'

I just hope i'm doing all I can for her in the mean time...

Hope more people/breeders/experts will be along shortly to advise/help me out.

Hi zoeyvonne, Exactly what I was thinking. The vet didn't really 'suggest' any thing special, just told me to keep feeding her, keep her well watered, started worming last night, and just keep a general eye on her and see if she improves.

I was hopeful last night may I add though, because I remember the vet didn't do a 'light test' she did do the cotton wool test, the ledge test a couple of others to test for blindness but didn't shine anything into her eyes. Well last night, I got out my LED Maglite, and shone in on, then off, then on, then off, at each of her eyes whilst she was in the dark to see if I could see 'any' reaction, and I was getting a slight squint the second the light hit her eyes but then the poor pup could just stare at it without blinking etc. she wouldn't follow the light with her eyes or anything, but I was hopeful that she could possible register it, if be it ever so slightly, so I did see a glimmer of hope...

I might just be kidding myself tho

I hope the Rspca can prosecute the gits

Me2 zoeyvonne, ********!

agreed unlikely tho
Might be something trading standards and the police can do as well as the details you are getting seem to be changing so you were lied to when you payed for her

Glad you think you saw her parents I am really doubtful that dad was a full wolf, wouldnt expect a full wolf to be in the sitting room greeting visitors!!

and I totaly understand you not giving her back, really doubt I would be able to, bring these scumbags to justice will help so much more than letting them sell her on to someone else

Maybe inform Gumtree too ?

Yeah I doubted the 'Wolf' scenario, but he did say if/when she goes back to the vets if thats what you decide to do, do not tell her she's crossed with the Wolf, because they could/will terminate her :/ ...bit worrying when the puppy is sat 40 miles away at my house, blind as a bat! not really 'customer service' at its best is it! hate people like him, and for that reason I wouldn't consider even taking it back to the idiot. I will take care of her with my family, and see how things go, just some help & advice from breeders/others etc in the mean time on things I could be doing would be great.

Murf, I've informed Gumtree...and The RSPCA its only right. Stop this crank in his tracks (hopefully)