Why buying a puppy in this pandemic is a bad idea
People have asked us why they shouldn’t get a puppy during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is why:
Naturewatch Foundation #hotline4puppies received a report at the beginning of April, from a person who had responded to an online advert for French Bulldogs, at the end of March and during COVID 19 Lockdown.
They arranged to meet in a supermarket car park, despite social distancing and travel restrictions. The puppy was clearly not home loved. The puppy clearly was scared and omitting a smell which was partly masked by the use of toilet freshener.
The buyer, once seeing the puppy, was intent on saving him and paid over £800 in cash. The buyer took the puppy to the vet where it was diagnosed with:
Infected ears, conjunctivitis in both eyes, fleas, worms, diarrhoea, nasal discharge, sickness and underdeveloped muscle mass, consistent with being previously locked in somewhere with little ventilation.
Outcome
Sadly, the buyer didn’t have any paperwork for the puppy and on this occasion no further investigation was possible. The advert had been removed and it was impossible to identify the seller. The buyer paid out additional veterinary fees.
We very much hope there is a happy ending for this poor pup although there is no guarantee. Sadly, tens of thousands of puppies are bred on puppy farms in the UK, with the breeding dogs kept unloved and in awful conditions until they are discarded as no longer useful.
Don’t buy a puppy in the pandemic!
