cant Believe it:'(

jasmine

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A friend of mine imported a shiba from Latvia, he arrived last sat afternoon with 2 couriers, who put him in her hallway, in his cage and shot off.
The pup was a bit wobbly but they thought he had been sedated, on weds another friend saw the pup and said straight away that something wasn't right.
He was taken to the vet on thurs morning, as son as the vet looked at him she saw he was blind in his right eye , wasn't sure about his left, some vision but possibly just shadows.
He was xrayed and his skull was caved in just above his eye, his right eye was half inch further back than his left. He was fitting on thurs night, he had a bleed on the brain.
Poor little soul was put to sleep this morning :'(
His breeder has said he was fine when he left, so only the couriers know what happened.
I am in tears writing this, met him twice and he was such a sweetheart.
I've never experienced cruelty first hand before and it stinks :'(
 
Oh my God, that is so sad. Your poor friend and that poor pup. I'm hoping it was an accidental injury, surely no-one could deliberately harm a pup they were transporting :(
 
The cynical me says that this is a case of cashing in on a faulty dog..deliver,drop it and run like hell before the defect is discovered.And WHY on earth import from Latvia? Plenty of Shibas here surely? Without outward sign of injury this could well have been an old problem,even a whelping box accident,no doubt the money had already been paid over.
 
How very strange?

I assume the dog was flown in to the UK? Surely the dog would have been unloaded at the airport and checked? Or was the whole journey by road? Also, how on earth could such an injury happen whilst inside a cage? Very odd.
 
The reason we import dogs into the country is to widen the small gene pool we have over here.
The pup came over by ferry and we have since found out that after 12 on Saturday, no one checks animals coming in to port.
 
That is awful, poor pup. It doesn't sound as if it was someone exporting "a faulty dog" as suggested. If this was an old injury surely the fitting would have manifested itself sooner rather than him gradually getting worse with his new owner. As Jasmine says, plenty of breeds import from overseas to improve the gene pool.
 
Jasmine,

I'm not in any way pointing an accusatory finger at either you, or your friend, but there is something about this which simply doesn't ring true. I accept the facts as you've described them, but the questions must be there, you'll agree.

Was the puppy bought and paid for before dispatch?

What arrangements did your friend make with the breeder?

If delivery was included in the purchase price, did your friend enquire as to the delivery system to be used?

Were the arrangements such that a courier was used with a door to door delivery system, and if it was, have they explained these appalling injuries, assuming that the puppy wasn't dispatched in the arrived state?

If the puppy was driven from Latvia to a Channel ferry crossing, and from there to your friends house by courier, that would probably have entailed at least 48 hrs of caged travel, without access to exercise of any sought. Was this the case?

Puppies are generally made of elastic, they can survive the most dreadful falls, and for such massive damage to have occurred to the puppy whilst in the cage, then the cage would have been in a sorry state too, I would have thought. What sort of cage was it?

Finally, useless though they may generally be, has your friend spoken with the RSPCA?

I feel genuinely sick for your friend and for you, but the whole planned for import system employed, from what you say, sounds a little less than ideal.

Alec.
 
Do dogs still need that vet flea/tick treatment 24-48 hours before import into the UK?
If so, perhaps that vet could be contacted for confirmation that dog was OK up to 48 hours before arrival? If this injury happened while in the couriers care, then they need to be taken to task. At the very least, the couriers will surely have insurance so that at the very least financial compensation can be sought for the value of the animal - not that it brings the poor, poor puppy back. Plus perhaps a big loud fuss to let other people know whom to avoid.
 
Alec, just wrote a huge reply and it dissapeared :-(

So heres a shorter one....the pup was paid for before despatch and the breeder arranged all the travel, courier etc .

The couriers dumped the pup in his cage, into the house and were gone, before any questions could be asked.

Yes thats right about 48 hrs, again she would have asked about exercise, when he was last fed/ had a drink etc.

He was travelled in a metal cage which is in perfect condition, our thoughts were, perhaps something in the van had fell on him, but if he was in a cage, not possible.

I agree, questions will be asked. The breeder has exported dogs all over the world and not had any problems before. The pup had a vets certificate stating that he was ok to travel etc.
 
Very small update (will know more tom).....the vet thinks that the pup may have been born with the skull deformity.
I am seeing my friend tom, she said she would tell me more then.
 
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I'm so sorry to read this post. I hope your friend manages to get to the bottom of what happened. I know it won't bring the poor wee might back but it may help prevent any more from suffering.

((((((((((hugs))))))))) to you and your friend.

RIP poor puppy. xx
 
Well i spoke to my friend and it seems that the triangle shaped dent in the pups skull was a deformity and NOT a horrible act of cruelty as was first thought.

I suspect the breeder must have known, but we dont always see whats under our noses do we :-(

At least the pup is not suffering now x
 
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