Puppy smuggling draws protests (smuggled in from Mexico; most die)

Sun-Sentinel ^ | 4/28/06

[Wolfstar]

Alarmed by cross-border sales of ill pets, animal groups push for law
By Vincent J. Schodolski
Tribune national correspondent

SAN DIEGO -- Sandra McConkey's cocker spaniel had just died. Halloween was approaching when she and her daughter Ashley, then 14, were walking through the parking lot of the Plaza Bonita mall here.

All of a sudden Ashley started shouting, McConkey recalled. "Mommy, look, puppies, let's buy one!"

There in a box were two cocker spaniel puppies. "They were adorable," McConkey said. "They looked just like our dog who had died."

McConkey said she bargained with the Mexican woman selling the puppies, and eventually she and her husband paid $300 for both after being assured they were purebreds and had received the initial inoculations from a veterinarian in Tijuana, just across the border.

Within hours, however, both dogs showed signs of illness, and not long after, both were dead.

"My girls had to watch all this," McConkey said, adding that Ashley and her older sister, Jennie, were terribly upset.

Thousands of puppies brought into the United States from Mexico every year suffer the same fate. According to veterinarians and animal-welfare workers, 75 percent or more of the animals from Mexican puppy farms die within days or weeks.

And now there is increasing traffic in puppies from Eastern Europe, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. In response, the group is pushing federal legislation to curb dog smuggling.

[SNIP]

Beyond canine ailments such as parvovirus, distemper and scabies, "these dogs have diseases that can be transmitted to human beings," said Madeline Bernstein, president of the Los Angeles branch of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. She mentioned ringworm and mange as examples.

[SNIP]

[RushCrush]

I'm new to the whole puppy vaccinations thing- what exactly is a parvo vaccination called? is it called Parvo or by some other name?

I don't remember my vet every mentioning that my pup needs this- is it something you have to ask for?

[Wolfstar]

Hi pollyannaish, your post #32 is remarkable for being so reasoned and reasonable. I agree with your point of view completely.

[brytlea]

If they ban the import of puppies under one year, then I cannot buy a purebred dog to improve my breeding program, from say Italy, right? (one of my breeds has a small American genepool and many people import puppies to add into their bloodlines).
susie

[darkwing104]

Good Advice...Thanks

[brytlea]

OOO cute! THank you
susie

[pollyannaish]

So, basically you are sick and tired. ; ). I know that feeling.

Thanks for your answer. I think that trying to throw a Monkey Wrench in things, not to mention the hygiene aspects, seem fair enough and despite the murky nature of the expected outcome, you will certainly feel much better! Sometimes that is the most important thing—you just have to stick it to the man. (Ok, at least I do.)

You are absolutely correct about the Mexican government of course. Unfortunately, I am too young to give up yet. And, for that matter I'm a bit, uh, pollyannaish. So I'll keep trying.

Thanks again for your response. I really do need to get going, but that refresh button just keeps calling me back. LOL.

Have a great afternoon.

[Wolfstar]

The consumer gets what they deserve, I suppose, but the poor dogs do not.

Yep, the innocents do not. I posted the article to call attention to the fact that puppy smuggling is a problem and there is legislation pending in Congress. That the woman used by the author of the article for a human interest angle was stupid and/or too soft-hearted to use her head, is not aspect of the story I care about.

[HairOfTheDog]

Has your pup had 'shots' of any kind? Any vaccination combo recommended for puppies would contain at least rabies, parvovirus and distemper. Parvovirus is the number one killer of puppies, far more common than rabies or distemper.

[Tinman93]

I've heard they also have cat juggling down there too!!!

[RushCrush]

Yes she has had everything the vet says she needs to this point (6 months old). Cost me about $300 all together. I have a list at home of what the shots are. I just don't remember ever hearing the word Parvo.

I'll check tonight. Thank God for FR!

[brytlea]

Usually included in a 5 or 7 way shot, like DHLPP. (I think that's distemper, hepatitis, lepto, parainfluenza and parvo).
susie

[pollyannaish]

He gave a perfectly legitimate answer at 24. As I responded, I see things differently, but can certainly understand where he is coming from.

I have no problem accepting things I disagree with, as long as they have thought it through. It's that knee jerk stuff that causes problems.

Not that I would know that from experience of course. ; ).

I've got to get going, but it's been fun talking to you! Have a wonderful afternoon.

[brytlea]

Are you suggesting that we cannot talk, on this thread, about things that don't interest YOU?
susie

[shield]

They're not necessarily smuggled in from MX...they're stolen in the US and sold in the US. I lived in El Paso for a short time and had a full blooded beautiful Alaskan Malamute. He had gotten out of the backyard and was laying on the driveway. I was out...when I came home he was gone. I knew he'd have never left on his own. Then the next day I saw a truck driving around my neighborhood with 2 mexicans in it. In the back of the truck were dogs. So I ran out of my house, jumped in my car and chased them. They knew I was on to them, so:

They let my dog go...he was too far from home to find his way home. I ran an ad in the paper and someone called about a week later, a Mexican couple. She wanted me to come pick him up cause she couldn't afford to feed him. When I got there it was my dog and the place he was at was south of where I lived and further east. He had tried to find his way home but over shot it and was too far south. Besides, her husband had seen him knew he was a great dog and picked him up. The moral of this story is...they steal dogs and resale them to other Americans...those dogs are not necessarily born in Mexico.

[isrul]

The papers, why didn't they ask for the steenking papers?

[pollyannaish]

Hi Wolfstar! Thanks.

I'm headed out, so I'll see you later on the dose? And of course—power to the puppies. : D.

[GSWarrior]

[Wolfstar]

I don't remember my vet every mentioning that my pup needs this- is it something you have to ask for?

Assuming your vet is competent, the parvo innoculation is included in the series of puppy shots. At a minimum, vets usually give a combined innoculation for rabbies, distemper, parvo, bordetella (kennel cough).

Other vaccines include leptospirosis, coronavirus, canine parainfluenza, and Borrelia burgdorferi (causes Lyme Disease), and often what is recommended depends on the region of the country. As your vet what is recommended for your area.

Here's a link to more info about puppy shots: PetEducation.com

[Wolfstar]

If they ban the import of puppies under one year, then I cannot buy a purebred dog to improve my breeding program, from say Italy, right? (one of my breeds has a small American genepool and many people import puppies to add into their bloodlines).

Susie, I don't know the provisions of the PAWS bill pending before Congress. It is targeted at puppy mills and smuggling, though, so my guess is there may be exceptions for legitimate breeders. Some states are moving to license dog breeders as a means to control puppy mills.

[shhrubbery!]

I'm new to the whole puppy vaccinations thing- what exactly is a parvo vaccination called? is it called Parvo or by some other name?

I don't remember my vet every mentioning that my pup needs this- is it something you have to ask for?

It's usually called either DHPP (for Distemper, Hepatitis, Parvovirus, and Parainfluenza vaccines) or DHLPP if there's Leptospirosis vaccine included.

I think which vaccinations your vet recommends might depend partly on the area where you live.

For example, we live in an area where deer ticks are common, hence Lyme disease is a worry (though the guide dog organization that owns our puppies does not want them vaccinated for Lyme disease for some reason).

If you live in Arizona, you might not have deer ticks there and thus have no reason to consider a Lyme disease vaccination.

However, as the previous poster wrote, I believe PARVO is a danger everywhere.