Milo

I came across your story about Reggie and it brought up so many feelings about something I have been holding onto since November 2013. This has been going on for so long with so many puppies and so many little lives have been lost. I still think about it all the time.

In November 2013 I purchased a French bulldog from someone selling on Pets4homes, I asked all the correct questions like can I see the mum, rest of the litter, is he from the UK, had he been vaccinated, how old etc.

I was told the correct things to put my mind at rest and a week later I made the drive up north to see the puppy and collect him. When I arrived, I was met by a husband and wife, they didn’t speak much English, he was the only puppy there, another older French bulldog was there but I couldn’t tell if it was the puppy’s mother for sure even though I asked. They told me the other puppies had already gone to their homes and he was the last to go.

He looked really healthy and playful and they seemed nice, by that point I was already in love, he was the sweetest little creature and he had jumped in my lap and given me lots of kisses.

I decided to take him anyway as he needed a home at this point, and I knew I would give him a good one. After I paid, they handed me his vaccinations and I noticed he had a passport, I asked why he had a passport and that's when they said he had come in from Lithuania. I was really shocked, and they assured me he was well. At this point I now didn’t know what to do, I could leave him there but then I didn’t know what would happen to him. I decided to take him, and I would get him straight to my vets and get everything checked out.

I got him home and that night he was well running and about and I was so happy, I’d been through a difficult year personally and I had thought long and hard about this commitment for some months. The next day I took him to my vets and had him checked over, as well as the vaccines/passport checked. This is when some alarm bells started to ring, the vet looked at the passport and said he was very small for his age in weeks to have been able to get a passport and be in the country a few weeks, as they can't travel until all vaccines are complete and rabies were done, which usually makes them less cute and puppy like for sale. He checked him over and gave him a full bill of health and said keep an eye on him. Then literally that night he vomited twice, the next morning I took him straight back to the vet and again he looked at him and said he’s probably fine, just his tummy settling in a new house, new food and to keep an eye on him. Gave him an anti-sickness injection and sent me home.

He cried that night a little when I went to bed and I thought he was just missing his real mummy. I hold so much guilt about not having him in my bed that night when he must have been in terrible pain. In the morning I noticed a tiny bit of blood in some diarrhea when I was cleaning the puppy pads and it had a weird smell, I rushed him back to the vets and made them do a test for the Parvo Virus. I had worked one summer in a rescue centre in Greece for dogs and the smell of that virus in diarrhea is something I will never forget.

It was confirmed straight away by the vest and I knew what it meant; I was hysterical. I had him for 3 days, I asked them to do everything they could, and he was transferred to a special vet that tried for a further 4 days to save him, by any means they could.

I visited every day, he was kept in a special care area and I had to wear PPE to see him as not to spread it, as did the vets. On the fourth day around 5pm they called me and told me to hurry to the vets, I got there and opened his door to his cage, he used every bit of strength he had left to crawl into my arms and then he took his last breath. I am still traumatised. Aside from deep loss I feel it and guilt, It also cost me over £4500 in vet bills trying to save him.

I do know I gave him the best chance possible though and made his last moments full of love. I don't regret taking him because I know he felt safe enough to crawl into my arms and waited to say goodbye.

I have since found out that these puppies are having vaccines and rabies shots younger than they should, so they are still cute by the time they enter the UK. When vaccines aren’t done at the right time they don't work, meaning the puppies aren’t immune to the viruses they then all catch being transported together into our country. The survival rate is low.

This needs to stop, who knows how many lives have been lost since I went through this 5 years ago. Our Government need to step in and change the regulations allowing this kind of importation of underage puppies from farms abroad.

RIP MILO, forever in my heart xx