Owner of Shera

I found my dog, who was bred by Staffturk Kennel, on June 12, 2020, in the forest, about to die with dead puppies in her womb. When we read her microchip, I contacted the man listed there — he openly admitted that he had bought her from Staffturk but got tired of dealing with her itching and chronic health problems. He said he tried to make up for the money he spent by breeding her and selling the puppies, but when that didn’t work, he simply abandoned her in the forest. After a series of major surgeries, the puppies were removed, and antibiotic treatment began. I became attached to her, so giving her to a shelter never even crossed my mind, nor could I give her to anyone else.

After long research, I managed to reach this breeding facility. Even though I proved that her illness was due to genetic transmission, they refused to take any responsibility, saying, “You’re not the buyer, we have nothing to do with you,” and even resorted to threats. Even if I wasn’t the original buyer, this kind of nonsense is unacceptable. Breeding dogs with known genetic diseases on purpose causes these animals to suffer from chronic problems for life and become dependent on medication. Even though it’s a beautiful breed, dogs are knowingly being bred to suffer.

Despite all the care and love I gave Shera, despite all the financial and emotional effort I put in, I could only keep her alive for four years. She couldn’t endure any longer and passed away at the age of six. Toward the end, her wounds and itching got so bad that I couldn’t sleep — I had to stay up and watch over her every night. Even though I myself have stage 4 lung cancer, I shut myself in at home to care for her, but this genetically transmitted disease is so unpredictable and severe that it’s impossible to foresee or completely cure — you can only suppress it, and even that only to a limited extent.

Despite all my efforts, I couldn’t repair her weakened immune system, and I lost her to an illness that any healthy dog could have easily overcome. These people fail to see or admit the terrible emotional and financial damage they cause. Until I found this forum, my mental state was shattered — I blamed myself. But after seeing others’ experiences and getting the proper tests done, it turned out to be a genetic issue. Yet these people continue doing this. Please, do not support them or help them make money by participating in such cruelty.

It has been four months since my dog passed away, and I still haven’t finished paying my vet bills. Toward the end, her monthly medication and food costs were around 25.00–30.000 Turkish liras. Honestly, if she had lived, none of that would have mattered to me, but even all that effort wasn’t enough. Maybe if she had at least been sold to someone compassionate, she might have lived up to 10 years with difficulty — but since they didn’t care, my girl died at 6 years old.