Legal question regarding breeders

How do you know this to be factual? If one of the puppies has Parvo there is a good chance the others will get it shortly. However there are other things which mimic some of the symptoms, so I am curious as to how you know this to be true, and why you would not think the breeder would believe that the whole litter would have been exposed if it were true.

I dont think a breeder (even a BYB or even a puppy mill) would keep a puppy with Parvo around other dogs. A responsible breeder would never do it, and other irresponsible breeders wouldnt do it either because if all the puppies get sick they will lose $$
 
How do you know there is a pup with parvo around other dogs?

I know the accuracy because my vet enlisted my help. The dog was brought in and the vet is treating her. I then visited the breeder as a potential client. I observed the conditions and recognized the odor.

How old is the litter? How many puppies have symptoms? How long has it/they had symptoms? What is your vet's explanation as to why only one puppy has been affected?

These folks don't actually breed, they import their dogs from Russia. They told me that the dogs were vaccinated in Russia and when I inquired who they use as a local vet, they said that theydidn't need one.  All the pups live in a room of their house.  I never considered them responsible breeders which is why I'm researching legal possibilities. Again, I am doing this at the behest of my vet who is treating the pup and who knows my track record in dog rescue.  I 've adopted three rescue dogs

There's an incubation period. She's very concerned about the rest of the pups. the woman brought in the dog without her husband's knowledge. She said, "my husband says let him die". I don't know the health condition of the other pups. They are all about 12 weeks. The couple sells over the internet.

The couple definately tried to dissuade me from comming to their house. they offered to bring the pup I could choose from their website to me, but I insisted that I like to see all the pups before I choose one. I could not ask them specifically about symptoms, etc. because the wife was very insistent that her husband NOT know that she sought treatment for the sick dog

Ah now this is a slightly different scenario as an infected puppy could have come from a different source than the others. However, now that they have all been in the same house, and as you say in the same room, they have all been exposed. Parvo is a very contageous puppy desease. If you were to call in animal control who ever took anything from this house would be taking a risk with the other animals they have, that would include shelters and rescues. Which is very sad. Probably the best thing to do is have your vet warn them that they should not sell or place anything until the risk and incubation period is over. Having Parvo does not mean they did anything wrong it simply means that they (or actually a puppy they have) was exposed to Parvo and came down with it. But that is serious, a good breeder wouldn't even visit, and a good vet tech wouldn't either. I would wash anything I wore with some bleach and make sure your shoes etc., don't track anything into your own home.

Believe me I did. the vet told the woman but just to complicate things more, the wife is afraid of her husband and is from Russia with two months left before she gets her green card.  What you said ie exactly what my vet and I are worried about. Parvo's contagiousness is the reason we're so worried.

The sick dog is in quarentine at the vets. They have a sophisticated animal hospital which is equipped for such emergencies. They do a great deal of rescue work at minimum or no cost. I am going to suggest that she, the vet, call animal control as she certainly has more credibility than I

Personally I think the best thing to do is to nicely warn her that if she sells an animal that becomes infected within the incubation period in all likelyhood she will have problems with the buyers and their vet. That waiting for at least 2 weeks would be much wiser, and that because she does not want immigration problems she would be better off if she waited to make sure the rest of the puppies do not come down with it. If possible have the vet call her and put it nicely, that way he/she will continue to be their vet and the dogs will be better off if they have a vet. This really isn't a matter of cuelty it is a matter of having been exposed to a disease and no one can totally illiminate that untill the disease is wiped out like polio.

The problem with calling animal control is multi fold. However, consider this; once a vet gets a reputation of calling animal control because a client brought in a puppy with a (usually unavoidable) contracted airborn disease, how many people who have a litter of puppies will ever use that vet?

There is something else to consider also, and that is simply that it is possible that the other puppies will not get Parvo as they may have been vacinated correctly. If only the one puppy, that is already in your vet's care, is infected than calling AC is not doing the other dogs a favor.

Wait a minute, this statement causes me some problems.  A person is aware of unsafe, unsanitary conditions that may be life threatening.  There is an agency to examine and investigates such things.  The person who has knowledge of this problem keeps their mouth shut because of the reaction of some peoples reactions to reporting such a condition.  Sorry, some times you have to do hard things for the right reasons.  Standing aside and doing nothing is one thing that continues to impact many social ills in a community.