A SAUCHIE woman whose puppy tragically died just five days after she bought it has warned other families to be vigilant when buying a dog online.

Paulina Majerowska first got her pup, which she named Daisy, on March 3, after seeing an advert on Gumtree. However, just five days later, the Majerowska family was left devastated after it was discovered that Daisy had contracted parvovirus and the pup’s health quickly deteriorated. Sadly, Daisy had to be put to sleep.

The mum believes her family fell victim to an illegal puppy dealer and wants to warn others of the signs to look out for, so they can avoid going through the pain they had to endure.

She said: “Looking back, I see so many warning signals. When I first replied to the advert I said I was looking for a long haired female Chihuahua and asked if any of the pups in the photo were female. The man said he was unsure and would have to ask his partner. Not long later he replied to say yes the long haired one is female. It was a bit strange he didn’t know right away.

“He then said he was going to drop off another pup that night and could bring her with him if we wanted her. It all happened very quickly but we were just so excited as we’d been looking for this particular breed for a while.

“When they arrived Daisy spent time running around with my older dog in the garden and they were getting on great. Everything seemed fine.

“After I paid the seller, he was going back to his car and I stopped him to ask if he had the paperwork for the pup, to which he replied he forgot it as he was in a hurry and would post it to me first thing the next day.

“That was the last I ever heard from him and when I tried to call the next day, the line was cut off.”

It was just two days later when Paulina visited Inglis Vets in Alloa that things started to take a turn for the worse. Paulina’s older dog, Timon, had just undergone a neutering operation when it was discovered that Daisy was actually a male dog.

“I cried when I found out.” Paulina said. “I was just so angry we had been lied to. Of course we loved Daisy and I would never have given the pup away, but it was still such a shock.”

At this point, Daisy was also suffering from diarrhoea and Paulina was given medication and advised to keep a close eye on her condition over the next few days.

Sadly, Daisy’s health deteriorated to the point where he was not eating and the diarrhoea continued. Paulina later returned to Inglis Vets where Daisy was tested for parvovirus, a deadly disease which predominantly affects young pups that haven’t had their puppy vaccinations and non-vaccinated dogs.

Sadly, the result came back positive.

Paulina said: “I would have spent all the money I had trying to help Daisy get better, but was advised the chances of him surviving were so little that the kindest thing to do was to put him to sleep. He’d already lost a fair bit of weight in the five days he was with us and I knew in my heart it was the right decision.

“It didn’t make it any less devastating and I felt awful having to explain to my wee girl that Daisy wasn’t well and wasn’t coming back. We’d all grown so attached to Daisy in the short time he was with us. The only thing I can take comfort in is that we gave him the best few days we possibly could have.”