A local woman who monitors the Facebook Page of a local ‘pet’ business, Harbor Pet Center, 7338 Market St., says her posts about a ‘double merle’ sheltie puppy were deleted just five minutes after being posted, and she was ‘blocked’ from making any more posts.
      “I commented on the picture warning potential buyers/educating the public on what a double merle dog actually is,” Gia DeAscentis said.
      Her comment noted the sheltie had a genetic defect, often referred to as ‘double merle’ or ‘lethal merle.’
      “This *sheltie has a genetic defect often referred to as ‘double merle’ or ‘lethal merle.’
      The post continued, “When two merle dogs are bred, there is a 25 per cent possibility that each of the puppies will inherit a merle gene from each parent, resulting in puppies with two merle genes. Their appearance can be appealing to people, but the lack in pigmentation is an indication that there is no melanin where the areas of white fur is on the body.
      “Melanin is what allows a puppy’s eyes and ears to develop normally as a fetus… so, as you can guess these puppies often have non-functional eyes, suffer from blindness/other eye ailments. Deafness is also prevalent in these dogs due to the lack of melanin in the inner ear. This isn’t to say that deafness or blindness couldn’t be managed in a dog, but you shouldn’t be paying a couple thousand dollars for a dog with a handicap. These puppies aren’t going to learn as quickly as typically developing puppies and will require specialized training, which is a reason you’ll see a ton of double merle dogs in shelters.
      “The fact that this puppy even exists is reason enough to reconsider buying him, considering a responsible breeder would never knowingly and willingly breed two merle dogs. It is a known fact that many double puppies come from disreputable sources, such as uninformed backyard breeders or puppy mils (none of which are concerned with the health of the dogs they breed or produce, OR the emotional impact on the unsuspecting families purchasing them). Obviously health problems can (and do) show up in the lines of even the most conscientious breeders’ puppies; the difference being they wouldn’t be stupid enough to sell them to a pet store to be sold at outrageous price to unknowing customers.
      “For more information, visit www.doublemerles.info,” DeAscentis posted.
      “I made a post on my own Facebook explaining what happened and asked people to share. [In one] night, almost 200 people have shared the post...and people were outraged,” Deascentis said.
      Among the responses to her posts;
      “Hmmm as a vet student, I say this will not be a healthy dog without proper care. The things people breed for astound me...”
      -Elizabeth E.
      “Why are you guys deleting informative comments on these dogs? You care so much that you’re willing to sell them without giving potential buyers the full informative extent of their health.”
      -Judy W.
      “Since then.... The comments have ALL been deleted, people have been blocked...
      ...and WORSE OF ALL, that dog is STILL for sale,” DeAscentis said.