Magic parvo shot

I had a discussion with a breeder yesterday. This client of mine had a puppy she'd just obtained from this breeder. The breeder had told my client that although the puppy had previously been diagnosed with parvovirus 10 days before leaving the breeder's premises, she had been successfully treated by way of a long-acting antibiotic shot called Convenia, after which injection the puppy's diarrhea and vomiting had immediately stopped. The puppy had not required any fluid therapy, special food, or other medications.

Now, I'm no virologist - but I'm pretty sure that a repository cephalosporin isn't some kind of magic cure for canine parvovirus infection. So, I said to my client, as I looked at an apparently perfectly healthy 10-week-old Rockwelder Rottweiler puppy, "I don't think that this puppy had parvovirus. Maybe you misunderstood the breeder?" and the client said "definitely not. She said they did a special test to prove it was parvovirus, and that parvovirus can kill dogs, especially Rockwelders, so we got lucky with this one."

This, I had to hear for myself. So, I called up the breeder.

<ring, ring>
Breeder: yo, hold up a second, hold up. [pause]. OK yo, wassup?
Me: Hi, is this World's Best Rottweilers of Outer Dumbassia?
Breeder: yo, that's us, you wanna puppy, man?
Me: No thank you. My name is Dr. VBB, and I'm calling about the male puppy you sold to Mr. Gull Ibble on February 4th.
Breeder: which puppy is that?
Me: Well, the paperwork you gave him says "male puppy #4 parvo" on it. Does that mean anything to you?
Breeder: oh, yeah, man, that the puppy that had the parvo, man.
Me: so, about that - did this puppy see a veterinarian at any point?
Breeder: oh, yeah - I got one who comes by and writes the certificates. You got his certificate there, right?
Me: well, I have a "puppy passport" that lists all the vaccines and dewormings you gave.
Breeder: yeah, that's it! see the stamp there? That's the vet stamp.
Me: You mean the stamp in the corner that says "PASSED INSPECTION" ??
Breeder: yeah! that the one!
Me: So, nothing with the doctor's name or contact information?
Breeder: no, he don't work like that, you know. It's kind of on the down low.
Me: the down low?
Breeder: yeah. Cause his boss prolly don't want him working side jobs.
Me: Oh. I see. So, who gave this puppy the Convenia?
Breeder: Oh, I got that at the house. I gave that myself. I buy it off ebay, yo.
Me: I see. OK, well, I think I have all the information I need. I really want to recommend to you that you hire a veterinarian in the future to oversee your operation, because I think you are either working with someone who isn't a vet at all, or something else is going on here, because you seem to have a lot of misinformation.
Breeder: naw, it's all good, man. I got this down. Been doing this two years now. Only lost five puppies, man!
Me: OK, well, thanks anyway. Bye.
<click>

When I encounter this type of situation, I find myself wondering - why is there no way to stop this type of situation from happening? Why isn't there some phone number I can call to report these people? But let's face it - his operation is too small for USDA oversight. There probably isn't any actual actionable cruelty here. Is there some type of fraud going on? Sure, but I don't have the name of the alleged veterinarian. I don't even know if there is one. Maybe the breeder is pretending a vet came in. I have no idea why this guy would want to say one of his puppies had parvo if it didn't. The whole situation is just basically completely beyond my understanding. I just wish I could shut this type of place down.

The good part of it is the puppy I saw was adorable and apparently healthy, though somewhat wormy. He'll probably end up being a perfectly fine pet for his affable, if moderately ignorant, owner. Hopefully after coming through our office a few times for all the puppy visits, the owner won't be ignorant any more, either.

I went home after work and opened a nice bottle of red wine. I had a couple of pieces of Trader Joe's 100 calorie chocolate bars, and tried to fuggedaboutit. Obviously I failed in that!