Owey

Yes, I think if there was any other pups looking for a family at the time we picked up Henry, my wife would have done so for sure!!!

Thanks Oceangirl. I would also like to introduce 'Henry' to you all. Henry came to us from Bordajoy BC's in Bungendore, Rowan there has been fantastic with us. We had a number of visits to select the right pup and we also had a lot of help from a Dancinbcs. Thanks to you both and of course Henry has been cleared of TNS, CEA and CL through DNA testing of his parents. I have posted a new post on the Introductions and Welcome Mat thread so just click here to see him. The kids decided on him because he looked a bit like our precious little Bailey. They are overjoyed to have another chance on a little BC pup. Owey

Hi everyone Just to let you all know that the refund came through for the purchase of Bailey, including the costs for his DNA testing and vet bills. Whilst we a happy we have received the refund, obviously we would rather have Bailey here getting under our feet and chewing our things. :p I know I have said it many times already, but thanks to you all for the help and support you have provided us. I will continue to view the forums here and on the odd occasion may even be able to provide someone, somewhere, some advice that no-one else has managed to provide, but I doubt it. LOL. More than likely it will be me, asking you all, for nuggets of wisdom regarding a new BC pup when the time is right. Many thanks and cheers Michael & Michaela

Thank you everyone for your support and love it has been overwhelming. I hate to vent but I am sure you will understand our pain. It is killing me to hear my 8 year old daughter, once again, crying herself to sleep over the loss of her beloved pup. Even a trip to the park turns into an ordeal when you see a BC being taken for a walk. I hate living this nightmare, being a parent is hard at the best of times...at the moment it is hell. I am thinking about writing a piece for the local papers regarding this situation, I am serious about trying to prevent it happening again. Thanks again xoxo Michaela (Baileys mum)

We got an email from the breeder on Thursday asking for our Bank account details, which I sent off to them. Nothing has come through yet but that's more than likely the bank, but we'll keep an eye on it. I honestly think that the breeder feels bad for what has happened, and will be wiser for the experience (as we are), but a simple and relatively cheap DNA test could have avoided all of this issue, Bailey's suffering and everybody's heartache.

I did receive news yesterday that the BYB we got Bailey from is DNA testing another dog from the litter although I am not sure if it is the bitch they had already sold or the dog they still have. And yes Sheena, there are a lot of pups out there available for sale, and unfortunately the general public are totally unaware of such issues (like we were). It would be great if they could put some kind of disclaimer or header there for people to see before selecting a pup.

Still no word from the Breeder if they are going to provide a refund. We have sent them all the invoices from the Vet and now we wait. Thanks again for all the hugs and support.

We would be happy to have the thread pinned. As I mentioned earlier on, if we can help someone else avoid this type of situation, it would be a small blessing.

OMG - the outpouring from all of you has been overwhelming. Thank-you all for such kind wishes and thoughts, it really does help us in dealing with this. The whole experience has really been such a roller coaster ride. From the highest highs when we first got our brand new puppy in Bailey, then when he was (seemingly) better to the lowest lows of him getting so sick and then having to make those tough decisions as a family. Yesterday, we decided to try and take all our minds of Bailey's ordeal and jumped in the car and headed out. We took the kids to the movies and then off on a bit of adventure. It's amazing the amount of things that happen and things you see in normal life that can trigger emotions of a lost puppy, but they're everywhere. Personally, I hope that this thread can help to educate and assist anyone else before they have to live through such an experience. Although we only had Bailey a short time, it was so very heart wrenching to have to say good-bye to him. It's such a shame that for something so preventable as TNS, the breeder failed to do their homework on hereditary diseases. I wish I had done so much more research and knew what questions to ask the breeder at the time of purchase. This wouldn't have prevented Bailey's suffering of course but I still feel bad all the same. We haven't been put off the breed, far from it, and we look forward to one day accepting another BC into our family, with the help of Dogzonline and Dancinbcs. We have, however, been put off BYB's and we won't be going back to one again. Once again, a big THANKS to everyone who has helped us out, especially Dancinbcs, Judy from the BCC NSW, our local vets and Prof Peter Williamson at the University of Sydney. Thank-you also to all who contributed on this thread offering advice and a shoulder to lean/cry on. Without the this help we would have struggled on blindly and alone. Bailey, Owey and family

I'm not really sure how TNS works, but if little Bailey does have TNS, does that mean his sister and brother would definitely have TNS also. If it is TNS, from what I understand, the Dam and Sire shouldn't be bred together again. The reason I ask is that the breeder has offered Bailey's brother if he was to be PTS, but we would be hesitant to take him without an all clear from them.

I was so hoping he would stay well until you got the test result and it is frustrating that this is happening in the middle of the testing being moved. Hopefully you will get a result soon so you know where you are at. Sadly the re-occurence is again so typical of TNS. I emailed the University and hopefully the results will be available by the end of the week. The 1st stage of testing is complete and they are working through the 2nd stage now. In reality though, it isn't going to change much, we are just going to know that his days are numbered. At the moment he seems to be rather miserable, and it is sooo hard to see him like this. If he hasn't improved by tomorrow, we will have to look at having him PTS.

Hi everyone, Well we had Bailey back at the vet's yesterday morning, he seems to had a relapse with his paralysis. It started coming back on Monday. He was fine in the morning, playing with us, and then in the afternoon, he laid in his bed a whole heap but still able to walk. As the evening went on, the more strength he lost. By yesterday morning he wasn't able to stand. The vet has increased the dosage of his medication but there doesn't seem to be any improvement so far. They said to give it 48 hours. He temperature was back up and his little heart was racing. He has been eating and drinking a little, but we have to hand feed him, and use a syringe for drink. Unfortunately we thought we had gotten on top of his sickness, the 1st week after he was getting better, I was reminding the kids that "He's not out of the woods just yet". I guess after that I thought he WAS "Out of the woods", he seemed to be at full health. Now this!! Still haven't had any results from the University. We emailed Judy from the BCC and she said she would get in touch with them. But I understand these things take time, and they have only just started doing it after taking over from NSW Uni, so all the procedures would yet to be in place. Hopefully Bailey improves today.

Nothing yet but fingers are still crossed. We had an email from Judy at the BCC and she said that she would get in touch with them to see where it is up to, which was really nice of her. Bailey is still improving, and is getting bigger now, which is great to see. And yes we think he is a cutie too! :D

Sorry for the delay in getting some photos of Bailey on here, but I'll try now. Bailey continues to improve and even went on his first walk this morning since becoming sick a little more than a week ago. We just can't believe the roller-coaster ride we have been on since we picked him up 2 weeks ago today. Everybody is over the moon that he has recovered they way he has, and to consider just over 1 week ago, we were so close to having him pts. Having said that, we are still not getting ahead of ourselves until we get the DNA test results back from Prof Williamson at the Uni of Sydney. Anyway, I'll try and work out how to put these photos on here. Wish me luck!

As Bailey's "mum" I would like to take the time to thank everyone who has posted on this thread for your love and support. He has bounced back tremendously and his currently bounding around the back yard with the children. We have chickens and guinea pigs that share the yard with him so the kids are teaching him how to be social but not too social. We have had him tested for TNS and are awaiting the results. In the meantime he is taking his meds and resting lots. Our children lost their Grandfather 12 weeks ago and we thought that this pup would go a little towards healing their pain....little did we know the angst that was to follow. I am very proud of how they have handled this stressful time, with love, patience and understanding beyond their years. Seeing their pain, and dealing with Bailey's discomfort has been extremely difficult for us as parents but your support and suggestions have been heartwarming. Thankyou xo

Hi Angel I will try what you suggested for his spine, but just from the way he had acted previous to his hind legs giving way, I doubt there is an issue there. He was quite active, running about with the kids. He isn't jumpy with loud noises, and with 4 young kids, there are plenty of loud noises. The moving in short bursts have given way to a longer times on his feet and I think it was just a muscle fatigue thing. Thanks for the advice. :D

Wow - who would have thought it was all so confusing???? I had actually written all this last night but I somehow managed to erase it in my over tired state and thought it better to go to sleep and try again the next day. The good news is that Bailey is still on the road to recovery. We received the paperwork from the BCC NSW inc yesterday morning and Bailey had his blood sample taken yesterday afternoon, so all of that is underway. Now we just have to wait for the results. Bailey has been eating and drinking more, becoming more mobile and he generally appears to be happier now (more like a puppy should be). We will be forwarding on the information for the testing to the Breeder so they can have their dogs tested as well as the pup that is still there. They can also follow up the other pup that was in the litter. DeltaCharlie, I also feel/felt the same way about Breeders (even though I had never had any experiences with a Breeder). It was as if the owner had to have papers him/herself to be able to have a dog with papers, and I certainly ain't go no papers! :laugh: As we are a young family, we weren't in a position to pay $1,200 for a puppy. The $500 we spent on Bailey was a bit of a stretch as well. Obviously that cost has now increased significantly, so for the uninitiated we thought we were doing the right thing at the time. In hindsight, I would have certainly done a bit more homework on the breed and any potential issues, but what's done is done, and we move on. We have 4 happy, helpful kids, who most of the time, are pretty well behaved (but we all have out moments), and all we wanted was to have a happy, healthy BC puppy to join us in our family. Hopefully this can still occur, and fingers crossed, it will with Bailey. Thanks for all the encouragement, it means alot to all of us.

Thanks so much for the best wishes from everyone. I spoke to Prof. Peter Williamson from the University of Sydney yesterday about getting Bailey tested for TNS. He was very helpful. I need to get in touch with the BCCNSW this morning to arrange payment for the DNA testing. Bailey is still improving on the Clindamycin, becoming stronger in his hind legs although the still appear to be quite stiff though-out his joints. He still has poor balance and can't stay standing/walking for very long, it still is a massive improvement so far. (Edit: This morning he has in fact been able to walk from room to room, and I have just found him under one of the kids beds fast asleep!) He still isn't eating much, but I figure he hasn't got much of an appetite. He is drinking though, and it's been causing us all to smile to see him standing there taking a big wee on the puppy mat. Overall he seems to be happier, even playing a little now with his chew rope.

He seems to have improved again this morning, managing to walk (a very wobbly and unsteady walk) across the room. Although he still isn't eating much. I'm about to take him back to the vet for a check up and so they can take blood for testing of TNS.

He seems to be much better today, his temperature has dropped below 40, he seems much more alert and is wandering around the lounge room unaided in short bursts. And he is sitting rather than laying down more often. He's also eating and drinking a little more. Fingers are crossed (as well arms, legs, toes and eyes) that he is a road to recovery. He hasn't been groaning and whining as much either. My wife thinks she heard the vets mention TNS yesterday, but for some reason they were thinking Neosporosis instead. We will send blood samples to the Uni to check for TNS so we know one way or another. We really appreciate the advice from you all so far. Thanks!

Thanks for the advice. We will definitely talk to vet about this and get them to contact the University. We live in a smaller town about 3 hours from Sydney so a trip down there is a big trip for us. And with 4 kids, weekend sports and limited resources, very difficult to do. Unfortunately (and in hindsight, regrettably) we didn't do enough research on buying a pure bred puppy. This is the first time we have "purchased" a PB dog, with previous pups bought from the RSPCA or Council pounds. We aren't looking at showing or breeding but just wanted a pet to love and spoil and didn't even contemplate anything like this occurring. Whilst the Breeder is very sympathetic, and they did talk to their own vet about this, they have put it down to just bad luck as the puppy was fine there. Certainly, if we ever decide on doing this again, we will go through a reputable and registered breeder. Can I ask what constitutes a registered BC puppy? Should they all be registered or only if from a registered breeder?

We've been giving him water with chicken stock in it for added salts but have now just given him some hydralite also, thanks for the advice. He is drinking on his own but his lack of mobility is the difficult part. The skin on his neck doesn't seem to be staying in a ridge when pinched. We live in a small town with only the one vet hospital in it, but they do have a 24hr on call service.

Hi We bought a Border Collie pup from a backyard breeder last Sunday, he seemed very healthy and happy at the time. He was energetic, playful and happy for the first few days. Thursday he slept all day, we thought he was tired after a big week. Thursday night we noticed he had a slight limp in his hind left leg. Friday morning, he was not weight bearing on either hind legs and we took him to the vet first thing. He didn't appear to be in pain or discomfort. The vet was concerned with his inconsistent symptoms; high temperatures (40 +), generally lethargic, not much appetite, inability to correct the his rear limbs when put into bent position but otherwise reasonably happy. The vet gave him some A/B, an anti inflammitory and something to settle his fever, and so we came home. We contacted the breeder so they could keep an eye/notify owners on the other pups in the litter. He seemed to feel a little better and some of his appetite returned but was still not very mobile. Then by the end of Friday (yesterday) he seemed to be quiet lethargic again only being able to stand on his hind legs for more than a few seconds at the most. He had a follow up appointment with the vet this morning (Saturday). There wasn't any improvement, in fact he seemed to be a little worse with his temp still over 40. They decided to change medication to Clindamycin thinking that he may have a Neospora infection (Neosporosis??). Well today he just laid in his bed, groaning and whining all day, poor little champ, eating extremely little and not drinking much at all, unable to move more than a foot or so from him bed. Again we provided the breeder with an update. I guess we are hoping for some advice from any one on the forums who may have seen something like this in their own puppy. Or just some of your own experiences in similar circumstances. We hate the idea of him suffering at all. It must be said that we love this little guy and he has become a member of our family but we have 4 kids and a mortgage, specialist puppy neuro's are out of out league.