Don't Buy a Dog on Craigslist

This is a PSA within a story.

My therapist was suggesting I get a dog to help with my anxiety of being alone. I brought this up to my mother and she agreed with the condition that the dog would have to be reasonable price and she would have the final say. My mom wanted a girl puppy; since we already had a boy puppy. I agreed and then quickly began the search to find the perfect pup.

There were several that I found online, but by the time my mom agreed to see them in person, they were already sold. This began to be frustrating. My friend suggested that I search on Craigslist because that is where she bought her dog. I then found the cutest pup on craigslist and immediately went to my mom for approval. My mom loved the size and breed of the dog and its litter. So she agreed and I texted the seller right away. The seller agreed to meet and set the meeting place at a parking lot of a Carls Jr. My mom and I both thought it was a little sketchy but we went along with it. We stopped at the bank, in case we wanted to buy the dog right away. When we got to the parking lot, the lady was standing there with the puppy in hand. She looked normal and told us a little bit about the puppy's parents. She even had a vet verification that the dog was healthy. She stated that the dog's breed was a poodle mixed with a yorkie. All this seemed informative and legit. My mom instantly fell in love with the pup and so did I, so we bought the puppy.

We took her to her new home and everything seemed perfect; until the next day. After the first night of having our puppy, we realized that her bowel movements were abnormal color. We started to think of reasons why this would occur. It wasn't the food because we bought the same food that she was given before.

The next day, she stopped eating and I didn't like how I felt about this. I begged my mom to take my dog to the vet. When we did, they gave us the scary news that our puppy had the virus, Parvo. This virus is very deadly to puppies because of the symptoms. Some symptoms include lethargy, non-appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, and dehydration. With puppies, the dehydration and non-appetite can make them more sick and prone to other illnesses. The doctor then stated that our puppy contracted it when she was born and that it is very likely that the other pups of the litter also had Parvo.

I right away texted the seller and told her of the virus the puppy had and to have the other dogs checked by the vet. She became very hostile and asked me to prove our dog was sick and accused me of having no proof. (I hope she did get the other puppies checked and I hope they are still alive today.) This scared me and my mom, and we both thought that keeping our puppy at the vet would be best way to keep her alive. Our puppy stayed there for five days and received IV treatment.

With daily updates, we prayed that our little puppy would be okay and we spent however much money we had to. We were very happy and relieved to get her back healthy after those five days. Although we hated that we spent thousands of dollars on her treatment, we would not have done anything less to save her. We really wish that the sellers told us of the virus before, so we at least were informed. I'm not sure if it would have affected our decision but it would have been nice to have known.

This puppy is still alive today and is nine months old. She is 20 pounds but not a yorkie poodle mix; she is a miniature schnauzer poodle mix. She is such a happy, energetic and loving puppy. I'm happy she was a fighter and is still with us today. All I can say is that Craigslist is not a very good place to buy animals and the people should not be trusted.

After going through this event and situation, I will not buy another animal from craigslist. Others should not, unless they have the dedication and money to help the animal if they are sick. Nobody online should be trusted and we learned the hard way.