My World: Alive and Well...But Not Without a Scare

About three years ago, my girlfriend and I decided to get a dog. We both wanted a wolf-style breed (e.g. Siberian Husky and Tamaskan), but we live in a condo that does not allow residents to own dogs weighing over 25 pounds.
So we began looking for breeds that resembled wolves, but were smaller in size, and that's when we found the Shiba Inu.
Most people are unfamiliar with the breed. I usually just say, "They are like little Akitas," which most people can picture.
We looked all over to find a reputable Shiba Inu breeder, then chose one that was based in North Carolina, with a nice webpage, tons of photos, glowing reviews and a friendly-looking staff.
They offered a service that flew dogs to out-of-state customers for an additional fee, which we were willing to pay in order to get our new puppy sooner than if we were to drive 14 hours down and back to pick him up. They promised to fly him safely, and that it would only be a three-hour flight, but they lied.
When I arrived at the airport to pick up our new puppy, which we had decided to call Draco, someone handed me a dog crate, and inside, there he was, curled up toward the back. He seemed a little scared, and I noticed his left eye appeared slightly crossed.
Once I carried him out to my car, I freed him from the crate to let him walk around and saw that the poor guy was covered in his own urine and cedar chips. He didn't have the strength to walk and could barely stand, and to make matters worse he also had diarrhea.
When I looked at him, he just looked so tired, like he was a ten-week-old that had experienced a lifetime. I had hoped that food and water would make him feel better, but even after being in his new home for a few hours, he wouldn't eat anything.
We became increasingly worried about him and called a vet to set up an appointment for the next morning.
After the exam, we learned that Draco was sent to us severely dehydrated, with a fever of 105 degrees, and carried three parasites: giardia, roundworm and coccidia.
The vet provided medicine for treating the parasites and dehydration, but just a few hours after bringing him home, he started to become lethargic again. He struggled to stand, stammered across the living room and vomited a huge pile of worms all over the floor. He was only 6.5 pounds, and I couldn't believe all of this came from his little body.
We decided to take him to the closest animal hospital immediately, and they told us he was in bad shape. They promised to do all they could for him, but it was going to be a struggle. We had to leave him at the hospital and were told to check back with them in the morning.
We couldn't believe this was happening and decided to contact the breeder, who swore our puppy was fine when he left. So I then decided to call the airline and see if they had any issues, which is where things started to come together.
The airline told me that Draco went through a 14-hour trip with three layovers. Each layover meant he had to change planes, which meant conveyor belts, luggage piles and slamming into walls were all part of his journey. We later found out from the vet that this was how his left eye became damaged.
Also, the airline requires a clean bill of health from the breeder, signed by a veterinarian in order to fly animals. We later found out the bill of health submitted for our puppy was forged by the breeder.
The next day, we called the animal hospital to get an update, and they told us Draco was a fighter and he had shown some improvement, but they wanted to monitor him for a couple more days before releasing him.
A couple of days later, we got Draco back from the animal hospital, and today he is a happy and healthy two-and-a-half-year-old dog. We did everything we could to get officials to look into the breeder, but they were professional con artists and knew how to skate around the law. And in the end, we were just happy that Draco was alive and well.
I hope my story helps others think twice before making any decisions when going through a breeder. Check to make sure the breeders you consider are truly AKC registered, and do as much research as you can on the web.