Tristan and Evonna

Tristan and Evonna....it sounds like the story of two star crossed lovers, but its not. Its a tale of sadness, neglect, and salvation.

On Friday, May 16, Rachelle had to deliver a puppy to the airport in Rapid City, SD to be shipped to its new owner. (If you havn't seen her toy poodles they are adorable. Check out the link to Darling Poodles in my favorite places. She just had two new litters.) I went along for the ride, ready to enjoy a day just us girls. Its about a three hour drive and we left at 6:00 that morning. After delivering the puppy to the airport for his flight, we had some time to kill. She was also shipping out one of her stud dogs, and picking up a new one. So we went to eat, and browsed through PetSmart, and then went to the mall. Rachelle had told me that weeks ago, she had been to the pet store in the mall and they had some Chinese Crested puppies for sale, and we wanted to see that they had been sold, for it had been a while since she had seen them.

The pet store was depressing. It smelled bad, was closed in and dark, and the kennels, if you could call them that, were less than optimal. It was not a happy place to be. And there in the midst of it all, sat four Chinese Crested puppies, now 5 months old and "on sale." There were three powder puffs and a hairy hairless. It was heart breaking. The little wafes had been there since they were 7 weeks old, which is too early to be away from momma anyway, but especially too early to have to face this kind of dismal existance. Two of the powderpuffs were in one kennel and the hairy hairless and a powderpuff female were in another kennel. Rachelle had held the hairy hairless before and so we got those two out and visited with them. They were friendly, wagging their tails, but nerves and skittish too, and we knew right away that we wern't possible leaving them there. They had been there too long already, and no one was going to buy them because no one knows what they are and they wern't trimmed up to look like themselves anyway. So....after debating what to do, and pondering how much trouble we would get in when we got home...we wheeled and dealed a little with the owner of the store, and got them for $300 a piece. Now this sounds ridiculous to many, but consider they were originally $995 and thats a standard price (or higher) for Cresteds. So we felt it was a worthy cost and a doable price, and whisked them to safety...and to the vet at PetSmart for a check up. We didn't want to take anything home to our healthy babies.

As we left the mall a brisk wind hit us, and the puppies scrambled. Can you imagine being 5 months old and never have felt the wind? It was sad.

Other than a slight fever in Evonna, probably due to stress, we got a clean bill of health on both puppies and hit the road for home.

Here are Tristan and Evonna their first night at home.

They both stayed with Rachelle because I can't have three dogs in the truck. Thats too many. So she adopted Evonna for me.....thanks Rachelle...and I plan to visit often.

Rachelle cleaned them up and brought them both to see us Saturday morning. We watched them out in the yard and discovered that at 5 months old, neither of them knew how to run. They bunny hopped. They also don't know what treats are, or what to do with toys because they never had any. Its really sad. But they are adjusting well, have figured out running and how to climb up stairs in less than a week, and are thuroughly enjoying their home.

Here they are looking like proper little Cresties.

And looking so much happier.

Disclaimer:

I in no way, shape, or form condone purchasing pets from petstores. I believe that to do so is to condone animal abuse and support puppy mills. The only reason we made an exception for these two is because they had been there so long and the store owner made the comment that it was a mistake getting this breed and he'd not do it again. I feel very stongly that if you are going to purchase a pet, it should be done after much research and consideration of what your needs and wants are and what pet will best fit that. Also, you need to find a responsible breeder from which to purchase the puppy.

Thanks!