by Robin Vogel

Created on: November 03, 2008   Last Updated: November 24, 2008

When we purchased Spock, our white toy poodle, from a breeder, the cost was $250, a great deal of money at the time. We were told he was purebred and had papers, but we didn't care about any of that; we wanted a pet we could pamper and love.

Spock was a fun, cuddly dog the entire two years we lived in our apartment. He had a bad habit of stealing food from our plates and running off to consume it, growling at us if we attempted to get it back. We considered that behavior more cute than annoying, and didn't do anything to break him of the habit. Spock used to sit at a window and wait for us to come home from work, and it always made me smile to see his winsome, eager little face light up at the sight of my car pulling up in front of our apartment.

When we moved out of our apartment into a house, however, Spock changed. It was as though our moving angered him for some reason, and caused a drastic change in his behavior. He began to snarl and bite us when we petted him, abruptly turning on us for no reason we could discern. It wasn't playful biting; he drew blood! Once, he grabbed an entire chicken cutlet from my husband's plate, and when my husband chased him to retrieve it, Spock ripped his hand open, requiring many stitches.

We consulted our vet, who suggested that Spock might have had some inbreeding problem that our move had brought out into the open. Did you check out the breeder you bought him from? Might have been a puppy mill situation or something similar. "He was such a nice dog when we lived in the apartment!" I protested.

"I don't think he's going to change," our vet said. "I know you don't want to have him put to sleep, but with you being pregnant, he's going to be a problem with the baby, so perhaps you might want to consider giving him to someone without babies."

I ended up giving Spock to my brother, which broke my husband's and my heart.

Our next dog came from a local shelter, which is another story and another article.

My advice? If you do buy a dog from a breeder, check him or her out thoroughly. Ask others who have purchased dogs if they have been healthy, with good, reliable temperaments.

Spock was hit by a car not long after joining my brother's family. I wept bitterly after finding that out. I realized Spock and my baby son wouldn't be a good combination, but to this day I mourn the little dog who used to wait at the window for me to come hom.

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