Schneider: Petland to reimburse mom for dog disaster


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GRAND LEDGE - Recently separated from her husband, Cathy Carelli saw Christmas bearing down and decided that her two sons - 8 and 12 - would benefit from a diversion.

"I thought we needed to focus on something other than the fact that this would be the first Christmas without the family together," said Carelli, a nurse.

So on Nov. 28, Carelli, who lives in Grand Ledge, went to Petland, on West Saginaw Highway, and "fell in love," as she described it, with an 11-week-old sheltie/Pomeranian mix.

At $556, the dog was way beyond Carelli's budget. But she put $300 of the total price on her credit card and convinced herself that a few extra shifts at Sparrow Hospital would repair the financial damage.

"We named the dog Molly and, needless to say, the boys were thrilled," Carelli wrote in an e-mail to me.

She was convinced she made the right choice - for one day.

Severe symptoms

The doomed relationship went down quickly. Carelli brought the puppy home on a Friday. By Saturday, Molly had loose stools. On Sunday night, the puppy stopped eating. On Monday morning, she started vomiting.

Carelli took the dog to Miller Animal Clinic, where her symptoms grew worse. On Wednesday, Molly was diagnosed with canine parvovirus, commonly known as "parvo." It attacks the lining of a dog's intestinal tract. The virus, spread primarily through feces, is particularly hard on dogs less than 5 months old.

By Saturday - eight days after Carelli brought the puppy home - Molly was getting intravenous fluids, which didn't help. She became so sick that the vet recommended putting her down. Carelli saw no other choice.

"I tried to make things better for the boys, but I only made them worse," she said.

Full refund

Carelli thought Petland should refund her $556, plus pay the $332 vet bill. Pointing out that the incubation period for parvo is seven to 10 days, the puppy, Carelli said, obviously was infected before she bought her.

According to Carelli, the Petland folks originally told her that they would reimburse her for her vet bills, but not the dog. They would, however, allow her to take another puppy.

But Carelli said she and her sons still were reeling from their eight-day nightmare that just ended Saturday and that they weren't ready for another dog. Also, the veterinarian who worked on Molly told Carelli to wait at least six months before bringing another dog into the house because the virus could linger that long.

On Monday morning, a store manager who declined to be identified in the newspaper, told me that Petland was prepared to refund the price of the puppy, but that Carelli would have to pay the vet bills.

However, on Monday afternoon, store general manager Dereck West said Petland would reimburse Carelli for both the dog and the vet bills. West said that as far as he knew, that was the offer all along. He attributed both the manager's comments and Carelli's interpretation of Petland's offer to a misunderstanding.

What do you think? Call John Schneider at 377-1175, send a fax to 377-1298 or e-mail jschneid@lsj.com.

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