Take a look at Piglet.  At about nine weeks old he weighed just 1.4 pounds.  When he arrived in French Bulldog rescue on October 13th, 2002, he was lethargic, severely dehydrated, and anemic. He had trouble standing or even holding his head up.  He was very, very lucky to be alive.  Now, rehydrated, dewormed, treated with antibiotics, and fed on high quality soft foods, he is finally beginning to act like a normal puppy.  

Piglet was imported into the United States from Russia, along with two apparently healthy "littermates" - who were sold before Piglet even came into rescue.  He is the unhappy little victim of a growing demand for inexpensive, readily available French Bulldogs, a demand that causes otherwise sane people to turn their heads away from the misery that demand has caused.

 

Just about everyone has heard about puppy mills and the horrendous conditions and lack of concern for breeding for type, health and temperament that those establishments promote. If you haven't, please take a moment to go visit the nopuppymills site.

Just about everyone has also heard about backyard breeders - those well meaning folk who raise a litter or two every year by breeding their pet dogs together, again with a remarkable lack of concern for breeding for type, health, and temperament - nor are they particularly careful to whom they sell their dogs, thus perpetuating the cycle.    

What most people haven't heard of are dog brokers - those people who buy entire litters of puppies as cheaply as possible and then resell them to an unsuspecting public one puppy at a time, often pretending they are selling them "for a friend", or that they got them from a "good breeder" (here's a clue, good breeders don't sell entire litters of puppies to dog brokers...), or they got them from a "good breeder" abroad - someone in a distressed country, down on his luck, who is selling his "championship stock" in the United States because everyone knows that the dogs will find wonderful homes in America.  

In truth, these are just foreign puppy millers from Russia and surrounding countries who have found a ready market among US dog brokers and pet stores...

The broker who imported Piglet realized very quickly that the puppy was in trouble, but she simply did not have the funds to provide adequate veterinary care.  To her credit, she boarded him at a local veterinary clinic until she could get him into the hands of an FBRN representative, even though he was no longer of any value to her.

 

He arrived without paperwork, without basic vaccinations, without even a name.   Not one scrap of his past history accompanied this tiny creature into rescue.   He was simply "product".   

We have taken care of Piglet's immediate veterinary needs, but it will be a long, long time before we even know if Piglet will be healthy enough to place...

If you are considering buying a French Bulldog puppy or know someone who is, please... find a reputable breeder.  Go to the French Bulldog Club of America website - you will find breeders listed there.   Go to a dog show to meet French Bulldogs in person (you'll find them very charming!) - you can find a calendar of dog shows all across the country, directions on how to get there, and breed schedules at INFODOG online. Talk to the breeders.  Or adopt a French Bulldog from a rescue organization.

Please don't buy a puppy from a broker.  For Piglet's sake...