I've been away from the forums for quite a while, but came back and saw this thread is still going.

We've had Buttons for almost a year now and we've learned some things about her....why she appeared to be housebroken...why she was cheap.

Buttons was a puppy mill mother. The vet has said that her puppy making parts have put out quite a few litters..and this was at 3yrs old (at the time). The rescue group that we got her from thought she came from a puppy mill, but wasn't sure.

We've recently found out that she has bowel movement problems...why? Because the puppymill breeder allowed her to have multiple litters to the point where her pelvis fractured. The emergency vet said that some at the puppymills will give injections to the mothers so the litters are larger. Since she was in a small cage, her pelvis then fused directly to her spine at an odd angle. The angle makes it harder for her to have normal bowel movements. She's now about 4, but has arthritis in the back legs like an 8-10 year old. She doesn't run like a normal Boston.

We can't fix her pelvis, but she'll go on cosequin for her joints and she'll be getting a lot of pumpkin to help her going to the bathroom.

Buying from a pet store just perpetuates insane crap like what my dog went through. Rescue or get one from a breeder.