Please Help Us Save Our Puppy Lakalo 🐾💔
Hi, my name is Bella. I’m 18 years old and just graduated high school. For graduation, I got myself a Dalmatian puppy as a gift something I’ve always wanted. We named him Lakalo, and he was meant to be a new best friend for our other Dalmatian, Holokai. We thought this would bring happiness to all of us. We had no idea how heartbreaking things would turn out.
We contacted the same breeder we got Holokai from. He told us he had two 7-week-old puppies available: a male named Buster and a female named Clara. This was around May 21st, and we decided to go with Buster. We made plans to pick him up on Sunday, May 25th, at 2:30 PM. That morning, we got up early and started the two-hour drive. I even messaged him around 11 to make sure everything was still good. He said yes, but then asked if I had seen his previous messages. I hadn’t I lost my phone the day before.
He resent the message, and that’s when we found out that Buster had been exposed to Parvo from a friend’s dog and was now sick. He told us he’d keep him in quarantine and let us know if he pulled through. Sadly, Buster passed away.
A week later, he offered us a puppy from a different litter, saying these ones were safe and staying at his friend’s house. He sent us photos and we chose a little boy who we would later name Lakalo. We were told he was "plenty ready" and fully weaned, so we trusted that and arranged to pick him up on Friday, June 6th.
When we arrived, it was honestly heartbreaking. The puppies were brought out in a plastic moving bin filled with ice cubes, and they were covered in pee and poop. It was clear they weren’t being cared for properly. But we had already fallen in love with Lakalo, and we wanted to give him a better life. The breeder insisted we follow him to his house to get some of the food Lakalo had been eating, and we did even though this was the same house where the Parvo outbreak had started. I was scared, but I didn’t want to leave without giving Lakalo a fair chance.
Once we got in the car, we looked through the paperwork and found out Lakalo was only 5 weeks old way too young to be taken from his mom. That was the first red flag. But we told ourselves we could handle it. My family used to breed dogs, and we’ve cared for young puppies before. We were just so happy to have him.
Then, on the drive home, I noticed that he was missing a toe on his back paw. It looked like it had been bitten off, but it had healed. We did some research and found out he’d be able to walk just fine, so we didn’t panic we just focused on loving him and keeping him safe.
We planned to give him his first shot on Monday, June 9th, since that would make him 6 weeks. After the vaccine, he had some runny poop, which can be normal. But by Wednesday, June 11th, it wasn’t just that anymore. He was throwing up and had diarrhea. That’s when I got really scared.
We rushed him to the vet. They came to our car, ran a test, and told us he had Parvo. My heart sank. They admitted him right away and started treatment. That night, we took him home with medication, fluids, and instructions on how to care for him through the night. The next morning, we took him back for more treatment.
We reached out to the breeder, thinking he would want to help. At first, he admitted it wasn’t our fault, and said he would help cover the vet bills that maybe the virus came from the mama dog, or the food, or something at his house. But once we told him the bill was $1,500, everything changed. He said he would only give us $600, the cost of the puppy. Then he stopped replying altogether.
He tried to blame our household, but that doesn’t make sense. We have three other healthy, vaccinated puppies, and we’ve taken every precaution to keep our home safe and clean. None of them have shown any signs of sickness. The vet told us the timeline for when Lakalo first showed symptoms lines up exactly with the day we got him.
The breeder even said we should’ve brought Lakalo back to him so he could “treat him himself” but that’s not safe, and it doesn’t even match what he told us he did with Buster. He told us Buster went to the vet. Nothing adds up.
My boyfriend and I had to take everything we saved for a future house and put it toward saving Lakalo’s life. We’re doing everything we can, but we’re still in debt, and I only work a minimum wage job. I never thought I’d be here, asking for help, but I honestly don’t know what else to do.
Lakalo is the sweetest little soul. He’s fighting so hard to get better, and we’re not giving up on him. If you can help us even just a little it would mean the world to us. We just want to give him the life he deserves.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. Thank you for your love, prayers, and support.
— Bella 🤍🐾
