EPISODE 13: PERSISTENT SPIRITS…

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Lately I haven’t been able to shake this feeling I’ve had. I’ve been wanting to get another dog. Maybe not a fresh pup, but a rescue, something that would help me get rid of this nagging feeling. You know, that feeling of immediate satisfaction. Scratching the itch. Feeding a hungry stomach. In my case, it would be mending a broken heart. With all the changes that continue to happen in my life, I know that now is definitely not the right time. I’ve got greater things to tackle than my own personal feelings. I’ve got a family to raise and support. Their feelings are far more important than mine. I’ve got to be a team player…

For those of you who are new to my website, I apologize for the current look. It’s a little empty, I know. I’ve taken down most of the pages and left my bio and blog. I’m re-launching a new site very soon (thanks to all of my current followers for your patience). For you newbies, the reason why I mentioned this is because if this is truly the first time you are reading my blog, well thank you. In order for you to get the full story, I encourage you to read my previous episodes (#6 “2 Weeks Bliss…”, #7 “Deuces”, #10 “The Awful Truth”) so that you may understand exactly what I have gone through in the beginning of this year. Thanks again.

Okay, so back to this feeling…. It’s strange. I just can’t get the dogs out of my mind, especially lately, which is why I find it even stranger that earlier this morning I got an e-mail from someone who had recently read my blog. I was floored by the e-mail, mainly because it has been almost 5 months since my ordeal took place and people are STILL reading my stories. I want to share it with you, my readers. In the interest of protecting the e-mailer’s privacy, I’ve edited only the person’s name from the original letter. The rest is all from her original e-mail, untouched and unedited. To my new friend, thank you for your letter. I’m glad that after all this time, my posts about Shelby and Deuce are still being circulated. People, please continue to allow my personal loss to be your gain. STOP buying from backyard breeders and do your due diligence when researching the right pet. Thank you so much for your support. Here’s the letter:

“Hi DJ Kariz,

My name is __________, I live in Bracebridge only a few minutes away
from the home of Debbie Pilon. I own a 5 ½ year old pug named Bruce, he is
my life. Bruce was one of Debbie’s puppies my husband and I brought into
our home after a tragedy had struck our lives.

We thought we had lost Bruce around the age of 3. A very long story and one
that I too don’t blame anyone for, but the events surrounding Bruce’s
illness share some of the events that took place around Shelby’s. I am so
sorry you lost Shelby – I just can’t imagine.

I can’t explain this, but I keep my eyes and ears open for any mention of
Debbie Pilon – when I hear her name my heart stops and this brings me to the
purpose of my email. I was searching the web this morning when I came
across your post.

As I am sure you are aware La Dog House is no longer. When I saw the ‘For
Lease’ sign on the front window several months ago I knew in my heart
something was up. A breeder in the Muskoka area was in the news around the
same time the store closed (accused of running a mill) but there has never
been any mention of her name. It’s all been very hush hush and since then I
do not have any information on what transpired with Debbie. During the time
of the ‘investigation’ the residence of Muskoka were asked to call in if
anyone felt they had any dealings with a puppy mill in the area. I called
in and left a message for the office in charge – I said if the breeder you
are investigating is Debbie – then I had something to say. Unfortunately,
we played phone tag for several weeks – no conversation ever took place.

Here is my story …

I visited the Pilon residence back in February 2006 (this was before La Dog
House was around) on several occasions before bringing Bruce home. There
was no sign of any ‘funniness’ for lack of a better word. I can assure you,
had you visited her residence you would have thought the same. Don’t for
one second waste any time blaming yourself for not checking out her farm.
It’s situated in a nice area of Bracebridge (on Ziska Rd) surrounded by nice
homes. I went to pick up Bruce when it was time and couldn’t wait to get
him home. Debbie handed me a receipt and said his papers would ‘follow in
the mail’. For weeks I waited for these papers (not that it mattered –
Bruce had carved a spot for himself in our family and wasn’t going
anywhere). Eventually I stopped checking the mail and figured there had
been a disconnect somewhere along the line – I’d paid top notch for him but
I didn’t care and certainly didn’t think anything of it – I didn’t need
papers to tell me how awesome my dog was! A year later I put a friend of
mine (Jen) in touch with Debbie. Jen purchased a female pug and brought her
home to Toronto to meet her two young girls.

Around the age of 3, Bruce started having small seizure like symptoms. To
make a very long story short the vet told us he may have PDE – Pug Dog
Encephalitis – a lesion in the brain (I believe caused by infection) with no
treatment and an extremely painful death for a pug with this diagnosis. We
were told to prepare for the worst – with PDE there is no choice but putting
them down. We went to the end of the earth for MRIs, X-rays and Ultra
Sounds to rule out PDE. We were fortunate enough that Bruce did not have
PDE – his symptoms just vanished. During this time I too tried to contact
Debbie with no luck. Within a few months of this happening I heard from
Jen. Their pug, Molly had to be put down. After doing some research I
found another family had purchased a pug from Debbie and they to lost their
pug to a grand mal seizure around the age of 3 – when PDE rears its ugly
head.

One afternoon I get a phone call from none other … Debbie. Her husband is
a reputable roofer in the Muskoka area. He had done some work for my
husband’s construction company. Debbie was looking for payment. I
mentioned to Debbie what had transpired with Bruce over the past several
months and she calmly said it was my fault I had give him the lepto vaccine,
that pugs react terribly to this particular shot. This blew me away – I had
never once heard her mention these words and I had no idea where we were
going with our conversation. It went from bad to worse. I argued with her
and said she had never mentioned anything to me about NOT giving him a
certain vaccine. Again, she calmly said she had and this was the first
thing she tells all her ‘pug clients’. I then took the opportunity to tell
her I had never received papers for Bruce like she had promised. To this
she said, she never promised papers – papers only increase the price of a
dog. I haven’t spoken to her since.

When I look back at my first vet visit with Bruce, I remember a particular
conversation I had with the vet. He had asked me where I ‘purchased’ Bruce
and when I told him from Debbie Pilon, he said I hadn’t done my homework –
nothing more was said. I was shaken to the core. My husband and I had been
through enough in life (we had buried two baby boys a year apart from each
other) and I didn’t have the strength to imagine what might happen to Bruce
down the road. It wasn’t until months later another vet who was looking
after Bruce (while my original vet was away) said Debbie was not welcome in
most veterinarian centres in that she didn’t pay her bills. I heard this
from more than one source.

Anyway, I wanted to share with you my story after I was so emotionally
touched by yours. I hope over these past few months since Shelby’s passing
you have been able to find some sort of peace. I guess my intention with
this email was maybe helping you fit together any missing pieces you may
require in your search for ‘justice’ over Shelby’s name. She sounded like a
wonderful and warm guardian.

Take care,

_________”