Health Problem Cover-up?

[SarahBee]

Hi all,

I was wondering if I could get your opinion and thoughts on my situation. My husband and I adopted Lulu about 3 weeks ago from a local rescue (from what I understand this is a very reputable rescue). We were told by both the rescue and her foster mom that she has NO pre-existing health problems whatsoever. They said she was checked by a vet and is in PERFECT health and had received consistent vet care her entire life.

So last week she developed a UTI and we took her to the vet (we were planning on taking her anyway just to get checked out). The vet visit was full of surprises. Not only did she have a UTI, but she also ended up having a severely engorged bladder (see my previous post in the Health section for all the sad details) due most likely to stones blocking her urine flow. The vet said that he is certain she has had bladder problems for a long time and this is not an isolated incident. She spent 3 days at the vet because he was very worried about further blockage and kidney damage, and we just brought her home this evening.

Also, the vet discovered that she has severe luxating patellas in both rear legs. Her one rear leg is so bad that the kneecap is completely out of the joint. Fortunately she is not in pain right now from this and we are going to start her on glucosamine. He said this problem is obvious, and any vet would immediately notice her knees are very bad.

So I am kind of disturbed that the rescue insisted she was 100% healthy. Had we known about these health issues ahead of time, we absolutely would have still adopted her!!! It just would have been nice to know. I feel like it's the rescue's job to be totally upfront and honest with all adoptive families.

Should I bother to tell them about the situation, or just keep my mouth shut and be happy we have our sweet little girl on the road to recovery?

[Co-Pilot in Flight]

Hi all,

I was wondering if I could get your opinion and thoughts on my situation. My husband and I adopted Lulu about 3 weeks ago from a local rescue (from what I understand this is a very reputable rescue). We were told by both the rescue and her foster mom that she has NO pre-existing health problems whatsoever. They said she was checked by a vet and is in PERFECT health and had received consistent vet care her entire life.

So last week she developed a UTI and we took her to the vet (we were planning on taking her anyway just to get checked out). The vet visit was full of surprises. Not only did she have a UTI, but she also ended up having a severely engorged bladder (see my previous post in the Health section for all the sad details) due most likely to stones blocking her urine flow. The vet said that he is certain she has had bladder problems for a long time and this is not an isolated incident. She spent 3 days at the vet because he was very worried about further blockage and kidney damage, and we just brought her home this evening.

Also, the vet discovered that she has severe luxating patellas in both rear legs. Her one rear leg is so bad that the kneecap is completely out of the joint. Fortunately she is not in pain right now from this and we are going to start her on glucosamine. He said this problem is obvious, and any vet would immediately notice her knees are very bad.

So I am kind of disturbed that the rescue insisted she was 100% healthy. Had we known about these health issues ahead of time, we absolutely would have still adopted her!!! It just would have been nice to know. I feel like it's the rescue's job to be totally upfront and honest with all adoptive families.

Should I bother to tell them about the situation, or just keep my mouth shut and be happy we have our sweet little girl on the road to recovery?

I would let the rescue know everything your vet has documented.
I can't comment on if the rescue knew, but I do know that the knee surgery alone is expensive and not everyone could afford to adopt a pet with all the health problems you mentioned right off the bat. How old is Libby, sometimes puppies have loose knees but they tighten up as they get older.

I say the following for everyone: It's good to get YOUR vet to check out any pet you bring home within 48 hours. Usually if you have documented problems in the time frame you have some recourse. Maybe the rescue could refund your adoption fee. I know rescues really need the money but Miss Libby is looking like she will cost you a few thousand over the next year or so with the knees and all.

[SarahBee]

She is 4 years old so the fact that her knees are so bad already is scary! Poor baby. We will have to start putting away a bigger amount of savings for her vet care than we had originally planned. She is so worth it of course!!!

I feel bad asking them to refund the adoption fee since I know it does go towards such a good cause (they do lots of puppy mill rescues in particular).

[SairaLV]

I agree with Sara, definately let the rescue know! They should let their vet know-I know we would want to figure out what happened if that occurred with us.

[Cimaron]

Here is my opinion as a foster mom...I'm not the most experienced, having only had 2 fosters, but I'll give it a go.
First, you should tell the rescue that your vet, upon examining her, did have a different opinion than theirs. They will probably want to know.
Second, they may have been honest with you...if a foster isn't in the home very long, certain health problems may not become obvious. I'm not sure about their particular situation and how thorough their vet was in examining the dog. He/she may just have made a mistake, or had a different opinion about the knee condition. Of course, I'm not sure who this rescue is; most of the not-for-profit ones are truly good but there are some for profit organizations out there that are pretty bad. I don't know who you are dealing with.
Sorry you had this experience. I hope you are able to work it out with the rescue.

[SairaLV]

I agree with this too! Some pugs we don't have in rescue that long, they come in, go to the vet, and then go to their adoptive homes a couple of days later. It is possible the vet missed it-how the rescue handles it when you tell them should tell you a lot.

Did you get the vet records when you got her?

Here is my opinion as a foster mom...I'm not the most experienced, having only had 2 fosters, but I'll give it a go.
First, you should tell the rescue that your vet, upon examining her, did have a different opinion than theirs. They will probably want to know.
Second, they may have been honest with you...if a foster isn't in the home very long, certain health problems may not become obvious. I'm not sure about their particular situation and how thorough their vet was in examining the dog. He/she may just have made a mistake, or had a different opinion about the knee condition. Of course, I'm not sure who this rescue is; most of the not-for-profit ones are truly good but there are some for profit organizations out there that are pretty bad. I don't know who you are dealing with.
Sorry you had this experience. I hope you are able to work it out with the rescue.

[Reboundmom]

When we adopted our husky through a local breed rescue, he had just been neutered (He was a stray). When he developed some rather unpleasant complications which necessitated several emergency and regular vet trips, I told them about it. They graciously offered to help us pay for all the unexpected vet bills. We declined because, as you said, they needed the money more than we did, but they certainly did want to know what had happened. And now that I think about it, he also had an ear infection. That's how we knew how special he was - he must have been in horrible pain but he never got nasty. I kept him as doped up as I dared until I was sure he wasn't hurting any more!

[Co-Pilot in Flight]

She is 4 years old so the fact that her knees are so bad already is scary! Poor baby. We will have to start putting away a bigger amount of savings for her vet care than we had originally planned. She is so worth it of course!!!

I feel bad asking them to refund the adoption fee since I know it does go towards such a good cause (they do lots of puppy mill rescues in particular).

That is very thoughtful of you. I still think even if you don't want money to change hands, the should know. Perhaps they were trying a new vet and would want to know of this oversight. There are just a lot of possibilities and I would think as good of a reputation as they have, they would want to know.

And yes at 4 years old her knees will not get better sorry. I just asked because at Co-Pilot 5 month old puppy appt. the vet noticed a slight LP and she grew right into it and has great knees now, and I got her from a reputable breeder.

[SarahBee]

I agree with this too! Some pugs we don't have in rescue that long, they come in, go to the vet, and then go to their adoptive homes a couple of days later. It is possible the vet missed it-how the rescue handles it when you tell them should tell you a lot.

Did you get the vet records when you got her?

We got her spay certificate and her most recent vaccination records... that's it

I don't want to name the rescue because I really don't want to bash them in any way. I guess I'm more irked by their vet that gave her a clean bill of health.

I did send a big e-mail to her foster mom detailing the problems our vet found (not an angry e-mail!) and I haven't heard back yet... I'm sure she is probably upset to find all this out and feels bad about it.

[sfgiants]

The rescue I work with would definitely want to know. They work hard to find good vets that are willing to give us discounts, and its very important to us that we use quality vets that know pugs and provide great care.

That said, a vet we used was recently convicted of hitting a chihuahua patient! We were horrified, as he had a good record with our pugs. Unfortunately, vets are human and make mistakes (although hitting a dog isn't a mistake, its a crime and we will never use him again). But if we found out a vet we were using wasn't getting the correct diagnosis, we would find a vet that could.

Also, this may be the case of a foster home failing to communicate with the rescue about health issues or vet records.

I certainly hope that the rescue responds favorably.