Chihuahua nearly put down twice after being bought from puppy farm

When Bambi's owners first brought her home, she didn't appear to have any issues but soon she developed 'cherry eyes' Photo:PACT Sanctuary (Image: Archant)

Bambi, now 10 months old, was bought from a puppy farm as an eight-week-old puppy by her new owners who were told if they didn’t take her, she would be sent to a farm to be repeatedly bred.

She was rescued by PACT Sanctuary, in Woodrising, near Hingham, where she has received medical help.

Puppy farms have multiple dogs who are continually bred and the puppies sold suffer with long-term health complications for the puppies.

The start of Bambi’s life was being inside a small crate with many other puppies and being trained on a puppy pad inside the same crate.

Charley Leske, who works at PACT Sanctuary, said: “At first when she arrived home with the owners, there were no issues present.

Bambi will be ready for rehoming once she has undergone the rest of her operations Photo: PACT Sanctuary (Image: Archant)

“Within the first few days of her being in her forever home she developed cherry eyes in both eyes.

“Since she had her vet check when the owners brought Bambi in and they discovered she also had a double hernia.

“Puppy farms cause many issues with breeding and health. There are occasions where the dogs are interbred which can cause health issues especially with breathing, infections and sometimes they can be born with extra toes.”

READ MORE: Smashed pelvis and partial eye: RSPCA East Norfolk’s work to save catsBambi’s owners were facing many costs to cover her surgery and money was an issue. The vets recommended that they should contact the breeder to return Bambi as they couldn’t afford the bills but her owners didn’t want to cause problems with the breeder.

Their suggestion of what to do next was to put Bambi to sleep.

Whilst the vets advised the owners to contact rescues, seek out financial help and not to make any quick decisions, the owners requested the vet practice to go through with euthanasia. The consent forms had been signed and the cannula had been placed into Bambi at eight-weeks-old.

But another member at the vet practice intervened and convinced Bambi’s owners into giving her another chance.

Bambi was able to leave the vets as a treatment plan was put into place to wait until Bambi was older, and to do a payment plan. She was microchipped and they started the vaccination course.

In August she was booked in again for euthanasia at 10 months old. The owners claimed she had become aggressive to other dogs and people to the point where she had bitten their friend.

The vet suggested again they sign Bambi over to the vet practice and since then Bambi who had been registered to be euthanised twice, has been with PACT Sanctuary.

Bambi has since been examined by the PACT vet who found that Bambi has a bilateral inguinal hernia, bilateral cherry eye and retained deciduous canines.

“She is doing amazing; her cherry eyes have been fixed. She is just the most perfect little dog,” said Ms Leske. “She has some more operations to undergo for dental, neutering and her hernia’s but once she has recovered from them, she will be ready to be rehomed.”

The RSPCA is concerned that Bambi’s story will become more common due to a spike in demands during lockdown.

An RSPCA spokesperson said: “Sadly, this is a story we hear all too often and that puppies coming from these places can often develop health and behaviour problems due to their poor start in life.

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“We do have concerns that the Covid-19 lockdown will have a huge impact on animal welfare - and that many puppies were bred during lockdown due to a spike in demand for puppies as families decided to add dogs to their families while at home more.

“We are concerned that puppies bred to sell in time for the summer boom could be left languishing and suffering in silence in terrible conditions on puppy farms, or will be abandoned and left to fend for themselves.

“While our teams work incredibly hard to investigate complaints of poor welfare and underground puppy farming and will do all we can to help shut down these awful businesses, we’re also relying on the public to ensure that they buy puppies in a responsible manner and do not inadvertently support criminal gangs who are using dogs to make a quick buck.

“We’d always encourage any family thinking of getting a dog to adopt a pet from their local rescue centre. If buying a puppy then we’d urge everyone to use The Puppy Contract to help them buy responsibly and find a happy, healthy dog. Most importantly, if you’re concerned about anything you see then walk away and contact the RSPCA on 0300 1234 999 or the local council.”