Two new additions

One of my MIL's colleagues turned up to work one day and announced that she was going away for two weeks and somebody would need to look after her fish. And then she left. So Kay (MIL) brought him over to me. We called him Poppet and have had him ever since. He's a blue Siamese Fighting Fish but I can't get a good shot of him.

So I went out today and got him a little friend and a new bigger dual tank and some plants. It's not the best pic but I took it on my phone. Meet Precious:



And here is my girlfriend's new addition. She has two precious cats and some goldfish, and today this little man joined the family. He is an eight-week Rhodesian Ridgeback. He doesn't have a name yet. He is TOO gorgeous. Max would not let him go the whole time we were there!

I know a couple who used to own a rhodesian ridgeback, he was called Simba. Beautiful, but approx the size of a horse by the time he was fully grown.
I love wrinkly puppy skin!

Isn't he gorgeous?? Apparently he hasn't gone potty once inside, was fetching the ball today and spent the night curled up on the bed with one of her cats, Nelson. Amazing.

Oh, and they've called him Bruce, btw. Good name!!

Egads, I wouldn't let him go either! What a cutie!

What a cutie. Such a lovely little fellow! We used to know people who had a Rhodesian Ridgeback. He was a lovely guy.

Well, my girlfriend just called in tears. Bruce has some kind of genetic deformity in his front legs that will require surgery. I did try to warn her not to buy a puppy from a backyard breeder but these guys did seem to be more quality `breeders'. All the puppies looked very healthy and she got to meet the parents and see where they were raised etc. Unfortunately with BYBs you always take this risk and she is unfortunately one of the unlucky ones. I have encouraged her to call them to see if they will offer any kind of assistance but I don't fancy her luck there.

She is devastated and will of course undergo the surgery and do whatever it takes but they have only had the little guy for four days and she's heartbroken.

Could anyone spare some extra-strong healing vibes for little Bruce?

I'd be looking to see if your state has any puppy lemon laws, and following it through. I'd also make it very very known via papers and posters exactly what is wrong with the pup, that those people bred it, and that they are not taking responsibility for what they created and sold.

I hate BYBs and would love to see them all go out of 'business'.

Lots of for little Bruce and his humans.

What a CUTIE!

What a little cutie, its sad to hear that he has this problem. I do hope he will recover fast from his surgery. I cant stand BYB's. Just because you have 2 animals that can mate and have puppies does not make you a breeder. Why dont people realize that these are lives they are messing up. It makes me sad and i hope your little guy is well after this.

Well, she called the `breeder' and told her about Bruce. Here is a rough overview of the conversation from after my friend outlined the problem.

BYB: `Well, you chose him'
Friend: `Yes but he's not fine. Are you prepared to take some responsibility?'
BYB: `He was fine when he left. All the others are fine'
Friend: `Well he's not fine now'
BYB: `You must have fed him too much'
Friend: `I've had him four days, you're telling me it's my fault in four days?'
BYB: `There's nothing wrong with the others. You didn't have to choose that one'
Friend: `You told us that if we wanted a perfect specimen of a Ridgeback we should take him. Along with his dislocated tail which we didn't say anything about when we took him'.
BYB: `Well, he was fine when he left'.

And then she hung up. I think my friend made her nervous though because she insisted on the name of her vet and the BYB called back later to see if my friend had been in touch with the vet. I think she might actually take it further now even though there's probably not much that can be done. It's actually not about the money she paid and will continue to spend, but absolutely about the principle. If she can ensure this women never breeds again or is forced to get a license and do it properly, she will.

But that conversation (and there was a lot more to it) is one of the many reasons I HATE BYBs so much

he looks so young and cute