Lawrence's Shih Tzus Lawrence Shih Tzus Dog Breeder, Puppy Mill, Sells Sick & Unhealthy Puppys Peoria, Illinois

I recently purchased a Shih Tzu puppy from Deborah Lawrence and Lawrence Shih Tzus in the later part of 2012. I should have know by the state of the conditions that the puppies are kept in that this would turn out to be a bad choice.

The neighborhood where her home is located is very shady and run down. She keeps all of the animals in her own home. She herself has 8-10 Shih Tzus of her own that run freely and urinate on everything. I personally watched her personal dogs urinate on the couches, rugs, and floor several times in the short 20 minutes I was there.

The puppy cages are stacked one on top of the other where there are 3-4 puppies per cage. They are fed and watered inside these cages. The cages are all rusted and dilapidated from the amount of feces and dog urine that is sitting in them. Each puppy goes in the cage all day which causes long term potty training effects.

I then proceeded to ask about the puppy parent and didn't receive a very clear answer. She stated that there were dogs in the back room. I then asked how many and she proceeded to tell me "somewhere between 20 and 40". I am not very knowledgeable about dog breeding, but I do know that is way to many for a two person operation.

From the way the dogs were free to roam it is a wonder that she is even able to keep track of who breeds with who. Meaning interbreeding could be real common in her unorganized version of being a dog breeder.

I then proceeded to ask about the shots and medicine that this particular puppy I was interested in had been given. She stated that she administers all of her own shots and de-wormer. From the conversation I had it seemed as though she was over her head with this and didn't always stick to a strict schedule of it and purchased the cheapest medicine at Tractors Supply. I was a little uneasy about this, as the puppy had not yet been to the vet. Reluctantly I purchased my puppy and went home. The very next day I took my puppy to two veterinarians.

I was advised that my puppy had every worm imaginable when they tested the feces; roundworm, tapeworm, whip-worms, and hookworms. For the next two weeks my puppy had diarrhea and blood in her poop. My puppy even had the worst possible puppy related infestation, coccidia, which is life threatening and hard to remove. I had to administer two different types of medicine for three weeks to get the worms out of the system.

My puppy also had horrible ear mites that fortunately the vet was able to clean mostly out and apply a medicine to the ears. The worst news came when the vet stated that my puppy showed signs of interbreeding. I said that this could be believable with the way Debbi ran her unorganized puppy mill. The unhealthiness of my puppy attests to the unhealthy living conditions they are kept in under her "care".

To conclude, do not purchase a puppy from her unless you are prepared to spend quite a bit of money at the vet making the puppy healthy. The conditions these animals are kept in and the unorganized breeding that goes on is a recipe for disaster. Interbreeding is uncommon and should never be an issue when purchasing a puppy. With Debbi Lawrence there is no guarantee that your puppy will not be interbred. She is running a puppy mill.