News

Puppy sick after traveling 20 hours looking for forever home

BOSTON — A nine-week-old puppy is sick after a 20-hour trip from Missouri, but soon he'll be healed and looking for his forever home!

Nelson was purchased online and shipped from Missouri to Massachusetts by truck. He was very lethargic and vomitting when he arrived, so the person who  bought him surrendered him to the MSPCA. Luckily, the organization took care of the little guy and he was treated at Angell Animal Medical Center Monday.

It turns out that his intestines were entangled and surgeons had to remove a large portion only to reposition and put them back in again.

“Thankfully Nelson arrived in our care just in time as he would have died without emergency surgery, which would have been doubly tragic given everything he’d already endured," Alyssa Krieger, manager of the MSPCA’s animal care and adoption center, said.

Nelson will be in foster care for two weeks before he'll be ready for his forever home.

The MSCPA wants puppy buyers to take this as a warning, as “this was a classic puppy mill situation," according to Krieger.

“We encourage everyone to please adopt vs. buying a new pet—but at the very least buyers should be able to inspect a breeder’s property to see first-hand how the animals are raised and treated before buying,” she said.

The Alison Irving Fund covered the costs for Nelson's care, which was about $4,000.

Want to take him home? Email adoption@mspca.org for more information.