Wigan mum's warning over pet buying after puppy death heartbreak

Laura Ashurst bought cocker spaniel Penny for herself and her young son last year.

But the delight of living with the cute creature soon turned into a nightmare as it became clear the dog had a host of serious health problems.

She is now urging anyone else thinking of getting a four-legged friend through the internet to take extreme care to ensure they do not go through similar heartbreak.

She is also keen to find out if any other Wiganers have purchased young dogs on the internet and have then found themselves facing a similar ordeal of their pets having severe illnesses and requiring extensive and expensive veterinary treatment.

Laura, who is from Spring View, said: “My heart is broken and my little boy is absolutely devastated. She was part of our family.

“We had saved up for ages to get Penny and for this to happen is just awful.

“I’ve spent about £5,000 to get the very best treatment for this puppy because she was just so poorly.

“She got colitis and then I had to pay for eye drops for her. I was paying vets’ fees from the start.

“Then she just suddenly collapsed and died. The vets think it was either a brain aneurysm or a heart attack.

“I wouldn’t want this to happen to any other family.”

Laura says she was given no paperwork when she picked up Penny from an address in Manchester last year and then found out that, contrary to the seller’s claim, she had not been microchipped.

Laura fears that Penny might have had so many ailments and problems while still a puppy because of inbreeding to produce litters of pedigree dogs.

She says she would be keen to hear from any other Wiganers who have bought dogs on the internet and then found that they have a lot of serious health problems or have died unexpectedly.

Anyone who has had a similar experience to Laura can get in touch with us by emailing [email protected]

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