Poor Martha... we miss her... I sure hope that the pet store people actually treated her sickness and didn't just try to pawn her off on someone else...We could get another cavachon from a real breeder, but that would cost big bucks, so we decided to try craigslist.
On Monday, I found a litter of shih tzu puppies for a reasonable price, so I loaded up the kids in the van, and we went to look at them. After ringing the doorbell many times, the lady finally answered as we were just giving up and walking to our car. She apologized, and said that they were busy giving the puppies baths because they had discovered fleas... The overall situation at this house was not great, but it wasn't like we would ever have to see these people again, so I couldn't decide... but in the end, we decided to hold out for a different breed.
On Monday night, I found some schnoodle puppies (schnauzer poodle mix) for an even more reasonable price. Jordan and I talked and decided that I should investigate this one, and if it was a no, we'd pay the big bucks for the cavachon and just be done with it. We didn't want to drive all over the place looking at craigslist dogs and get the boys' hopes up and then come home without a dog.
I called the lady, and she suggested meeting south of downtown Ft. Worth since she lives 25 miles south of Ft. Worth. She suggested a restaurant that she knew of. We agreed to meet at 10:00 a.m.
We got to the restaurant right at 10:00, and the lady wasn't there, but we weren't worried yet. Actually, given the restaurant (sleazy cheap steak house with broken glass all over the parking lot) I should have taken that as a sign and just headed for home... but we didn't... I finally called the lady, and she said that she was just leaving the house and would be another 25 minutes. Fine, no problem, we went to get gas. That killed about 15 minutes. After it had been 35 min, I called her again. They were just getting out of construction traffic and would be another 10 min. Fine, we went to a gas station to get water bottles.
She had told me to look for a gold camaro. That description ended up being kind of a stretch. "Spray painted yellow" would have been a better fit.
The puppy was sure cute. Gresham would have nothing to do with her, though, because he wanted another "Martha." Aidan liked her. As I held her, fleas were crawling onto my shirt. The lady said that she hadn't had any shots yet. Hmmm. This was not exactly the healthy dog I had in mind. I called Jordan to get his opinion, while the lady and her daughter hovered over me and Gresham ran laps around the van (which was running). He shows his displeasure by being uncooperative.
Jordan figured that we could spend a lot at the vet on this dog and still not spend as much as a cavachon, but said that it was up to me since I would be the one to have to get rid of her fleas and such. I hesitantly decided to go for it.
Bad move.
Next time, I'll go with my gut reaction.
As soon as I paid, Gresham burst into tears that it wasn't a "Martha." We drove home, and the dog's nose kept running... here we go again... fleas were getting all over Aidan while he held her in the car.
I decided that this dog needed more care than we could give her. The people lied about her age, because she was obviously not really 8 weeks. (A vet later confirmed that she was 6 weeks.) She had more accidents in her first afternoon than Martha had all week. Aidan and I spent afternoon nap time trying to rid her of her fleas. Jordan gave her another flea bath right before bed time, and so we put her in her crate on the back porch so that the fleas could jump off her out there. By morning, the crate was covered with poop, and the puppy needed another bath.
But, the story has a happy ending! I was able to give the puppy to a teacher at my school who has been looking for a schnoodle! She took her to the vet and found out that she needs vitamins, antibiotics, and flea treatment. When I called to see how the puppy was doing, she had the vaporizer running for her. This dog is going to be a whole lot happier at their house...
Her new family named her "Ruby."
So now, we're saving up to buy a cavachon from a reputable breeder... maybe in the fall...
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