My boyfriend and I decided to purchase our long desired Golden Retriever puppy from Puppiesmart, Inc. in Miami. We purchased little Lincoln on April 5, 2009, Lincoln expressed all the love and excitement to us, and we knew he was going to be the start of our new family. Lincoln appeared to be a healthy puppy at 11 weeks of age, 8.9 lbs. The petsore sold us our dog with his first set of shots administered on March 26, 2009, which should have been done earlier. We didn’t think much of it, since they confirmed that he was completely healthy.

That same day we went to Petsmart to buy Lincoln everything he needed. Soon after, when we walked him later that day we realized he had diarrhea with tinges of blood. We took him to our Vet to have him checked and have his second set of shots were administered on April 7, 2009. Lincoln seemed to have a gastrointestinal problems, and it could be easily treated with antibiotics. Even after his antibiotics his stool continued to be loose and he always seemed tired. We figured since he is a puppy it was normal that he slept for the most part of the day.

A few days later we noticed that his eyes were extremely red and droopy, teary eyes began to show, with a little cough, nasal discharge, and difficult breathing. We were very concerned and we took him to the animal hospital the next day on April 20, 2009. Our vet immediately began to treat him, Lincoln had a fever of 102.9F, and he was quickly placed in an incubator with neubalizer treatment to help him breathe. Lincoln was diagnosed with pneumonia and anemia, and laboratory tests were sent to test him for possible Canine Distemper We immediately contacted the Petstore to inform what was going on with Lincoln. The pet store felt that it was normal since he is a puppy, and we agreed to wait for the final results.

April 25, 2009, Lincoln was diagnosed with Distemper. Canine Distemper is a contagious, incurable, often fatal, multisystemic viral disease that affects the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and central nervous systems. Young puppies between 3 and 6 months old are most susceptible to infection and disease and are more likely to die. If they recover it will permanently damage the dog’s neurological system. Eventually, Distemper will cause seizures, progressive deterioration of mental abilities, paralysis, motor skills problems, blindness and other severe damages that will limit him from ever being a normal dog.

That same day we went back to the Pet store to complain that they had sold us a sick puppy. The Pet store did not want to return the vet bills, but after having a discussion he decided to refund our money for the dog only. The owner mentioned that we can have him treated with his vet, or if we decide to put him down, we can bring him back. Truthfully, words cannot express the immense sadness and anger that I feel. This pet store continues to be in business, and they somehow get away with selling these sick dogs. They do not care for their well-being, and their negligence causes these severe illnesses in these puppies. They administer their shots late and expect the puppy to be healthy when they clearly been exposed to other sick dogs. Nevertheless, they do not care and they somehow get away with selling these ill puppies.

At this point, Lincoln is fighting for his life and we are doing everything we can to keep him alive. Unfortunately, this virus has no cure and there are no medications for it. We want people to know that this puppy store sells sick dogs, and to please realize the emotional damage they are causing families, aside from the incredible amount of medical expenses. It isn’t fair that these sick puppies are sold to enthusiastic families that only want to provide a wonderful home for them, only to find out that they are severely ill.

Now we are faced with the most difficult decision of our lives, to either put him down if he doesn’t seem to recover, or allow him to recover only to expect his health to be permanently damaged in the future. We love our dog so much, and we want him to recover. Ultimately we are faced with the toughest decision of our lives, between wanting the best for our dog and doing what is right, whether it is here with us or in heaven. But we won’t give up on our little Lincoln, because we know he has that fire in his eye to live and be a part of our family. Please do not buy from this puppiesmart store on 40th street Bird Road. We need to inform our Miami-Dade community about our rights and demand that this store gets closed. Or else this puppy store will continue to irreparably damage families forever.

He is much better now, we have him on lots of medication. He plays and runs around, barks when he wants, and he eats like crazy. It is so wonderful to see him better, now is just the unpredictable part, how soon will the neurological symptoms appear. I am truly scared! I coping with this and I just want everyone out there to know not to give up on their pet with Distemper. They still deserve a chance to live.