The story of my three beautiful angels

There are reputable breeders out there who love their pups and have their best interests at heart. Unfortunately, there are bad ‘breeders’ everywhere but you need to know what questions to ask to learn the difference.

I hope our story helps you. My girls should never have suffered the way they did, but I hope by sharing the story of what happened to them it will help others. – (March 2025).

Starting in 2010, I adopted the first of my three beautiful Yorkie girls from the same breeder. Sadly, I lost all three of them before the age of 10 years old. The breeder was a registered breeder in New Zealand, and someone I believed I could trust to get a healthy puppy from.

It is very hard to share with others what happened as losing all three of my girls has devastated me. I am worried that I will be judged by others or blamed even though I did everything I could for my girls to protect them and keep them healthy and safe. I am telling my story to hopefully prevent what happened to me from happening to anyone else. I would like people to be aware that they need to be careful when looking for a Yorkie breeder to prevent what happened to me from happening to them.

I am also telling my/our story for my girls: ‘M’, ‘L’, and ‘A’. They did not deserve what happened to them, but unfortunately, they never stood a chance due to their breeding. They loved living and being loved. No dog should ever suffer the way they did at the end.

On the 28 February 2024 my last beautiful Yorkie passed away. She was only 7 years old. She became unwell very suddenly and just over a week later she was gone. The Vets had no idea what happened or why. ‘A’s’ Vet went back into my file and read up on the histories of my other two Yorkies who had also passed away young after becoming unwell very suddenly. After reading their files she asked me, “had all three girls come from the same breeder?”, to which I replied, “Yes.”

In 2009 I started looking into getting my first Yorkshire Terrier. I researched their personality traits, care requirements and possible hereditary health problems they can get. I then started looking into finding a breeder. I was aware of puppy mills, and people who breed Yorkies for money so I chose to find a registered breeder as I believed I would get a healthy puppy through them.

Early in 2010 I picked ‘M’ up from the airport. She was such a beautiful girl, full of energy, curiosity, going for walks and loved cuddles. She was a jumper and loved jumping up onto everything she could find and then dancing on top in glee. When ‘M’ was nearly two years old in 2012, I contacted the same breeder because ‘M’ was such an amazing wee girl, to see if I could find a sister for her.

‘L’ came home to join us in 2011. Both ‘L’ and ‘M’ quickly became the best of friends and did everything together. They followed each other around the house and were always curled up side by side to sleep.

In 2016 when ‘M’ was 6, I noticed she was losing weight and the way she was walking seemed wrong so I took a video of her. I voiced my concerns to the Vet, but they said that she was fine. As the year progressed she had bouts of being unwell. She was sent up to the Animal Hospital at Massey to be tested for a liver shunt but the result was negative. The Vets later thought she had Cushings Disease but ruled that out as well. Her health continued to deteriorate, she continued losing weight, her hair was falling out and her body was swelling up with fluids. She had serious health concerns and was taking medications for them. A week after she became seriously ill and had been rushed to the Vets yet again. She had also stopped eating. I had to make the hardest decision I’d ever made and she passed away on 28 September 2016. She was only 6 years old, a few months short of 7 years old.

I was devastated as was ‘L’, who had lost her sister and best friend.

I contacted the breeder to let her know that ‘M’ had passed away. She seemed very surprised to hear that. I blamed myself and thought this had happened because I had given her internal flea treatment prescribed by the Vet due to an allergic reaction to fleas.

‘L’ was pining for her best friend.

‘L’ was a real foodie and loved to help her human Grandma in the kitchen whenever she was cooking and would call everyone to the kitchen when it was dinner time. She was also a food thief and would haul carrots and broccoli to her bed to snack on whenever shopping bags were unpacked. She also loved to snuggle. She was very caring and always took care of ‘M’. When she felt ‘M’ needed help she would bark until someone came to ‘M’ or would go and get someone.

After losing ‘M’ I contacted the same breeder again about a companion for ‘L’. A part of me thought ‘M’s’ death was a fluke.

‘A’ joined the family towards the end of 2016. The breeder mentioned that ‘A’ could be on the small side so could have some health problems but she grew up to be within the normal range for a Yorkie. She was very active and adored her big sister.

‘L’ had always had terrible skin problems and this often led to skin infections. She often had scabs all over her back from flare ups. I had to keep her hair short to keep air on the sores on her back. She chewed her paws chronically as they were often irritated. She needed medicated baths. She frequently had ear infections.

In 2020 after having a dental she developed breathing difficulties. It was incredibly scary as it seemed as though she was struggling to breathe and appeared as though she was choking though there was nothing in her mouth. I rushed her to the Vet. I thought it was possibly tracheal collapse but the Vet said it was very difficult to diagnose straight up. He prescribed some medications to help her breathing and suggested I raise her bowl when she ate. She seemed to improve for about a week but suddenly she deteriorated again. Her tongue was turning blue and I rushed her back to the Vet. ‘L’ passed away on 16 December 2020, she was 8 years old.

‘A’ was now on her own. She became very timid out on her walks if she saw other dogs and would climb up on my foot to get between my legs if they tried to greet her. I took her walking with friends who had dogs but it didn’t help. She loved to sit on my back or chest and have cuddles. She went everywhere with me or my parents. She loved meeting new people and was a true socialite who managed to con people into giving her cheese scones at Cafes. In 2019, she needed to have surgery for a luxating patella. She seemed to be a healthy girl apart from having mild dermatitis and being terrified of Vets and being examined.

Early in 2024 I was worried about her breathing. I thought she might have a chest infection. I took her to the Vets and they prescribed antibiotics and said to bring her back in a week if she didn’t improve. The following Tuesday I took her back to the Vet for an x-ray as she hadn’t improved. The Vet rang me and told me she didn’t know what to say. She said ‘A’ had an enlarged heart which she shouldn’t have at her age. She had also discovered a tracheal collapse on the x-ray and her kidney levels weren’t normal. ‘A’ also had fluid on her lungs. The Vet outlined her plan and prescribed medications.

‘A’ started deteriorating in the evening so I contacted after-hours who reassured me it was normal after being sedated for the x-ray. I was reassured by after-hours even though I was still very scared. At 5am I rushed her into after-hours. They took her straight to an oxygen chamber. After tests they said she had gone into heart and kidney failure. They also said that after looking at her files there had been no sign of either of these the previous day. They didn’t know what had caused it or why. Each time they took her out of the oxygen chamber she deteriorated so they couldn’t do much. They said she couldn’t come home because she was too unstable. She passed away that day. She was 7 years old.

I blamed myself for what happened to my beautiful girls. I was the common link. I had stopped flea treatments and found natural remedies but that didn’t save them. I took them to the Vets whenever they were unwell, I gave them the best foods but nothing helped. My girls didn’t deserve to suffer the way they did.

I have learnt of so many red flags regarding breeders since losing ‘A’ that I wish I’d known sooner. I have lost a lot of trust as I went through a registered breeder to avoid what happened to my girls.

I wasn’t sure if I would get another Yorkie puppy but I missed the unconditional love and joy they bring. I looked at other breeds and checked out the animal rescues, but I couldn’t find anything. The truth is, I love Yorkies. They are such an amazing breed. They are so intelligent, brave, curious and feisty not to mention incredibly loving and affectionate.

To conclude my story, I would like you to know that I now have adopted two beautiful and precious Yorkie girls with the support and knowledge of members in the NZ Yorkie Groups I joined.

They are my everything. A part of me is still very scared but I am looking forward to the future with my girls. Already they are my whole world and bring me so much joy. I am loving watching them grow and seeing them learn so much. A new beginning I treasure.