Letters We've Received!


Here are some wonderful letters we have received from people that have viewed our pages. Thanks for letting us know!




What can I do to help?


Hi Everyone,
Thank you for your email. Each state has different laws concerning puppy mill owners. We recommend you contact your local authorities or your animal shelter and find out what you can do on a local level.

The other key to stopping puppy mill people is to spread the word about puppymills and start educating the people who may be thinking about purchasing from a puppymill. Many people do not know what a puppymill is until they take the time to do some research. We recommend that people stay away from pet stores, puppymills, internet sites, and local ads in the paper. If people stop purchasing puppies from the puppymill, them the demand will no longer exist, and the puppy mill will go out of business.

Sincerely,
Puppymills.com



You are welcome to use my statements for posting.
Thank you for your consideration; I thought that you would be pleased to know:

1) Despite the seller who used a bogus name, address, pictures of early puppy progress, and out and out fraud in selling us the puppy

2) Despite two vet evaluations, bills, m

edication for intestinal tract infection and sores in her little mouth 3) Despite one ear that stands straight up and the other flops over

4) Despite her not being weaned and thus having to feed her puppy formula from a baby bottle and puppy protein and baby rice cereal from a syringe

5) Despite the fact that she is not able to be AKC registered as sold to us (she even gave us the application for AKC)

6) And having survived an awful breeder in Oklahoma, a truck ride to Kansas, meager food and water if any and a truck ride to CA all at 5-8 weeks and 1 1/2 lbs,
WE HAVE NO INTENTIONS OF GIVING HER BACK! GOD ONLY KNOWS WHAT WOULD BECOME OF HER. WE REALIZE NOW, WE DIDN'T PICK HER, SHE PICKED US! FUNNY HOW THAT WORKS.

As for the person who FRAUDULENTLY sold her to us as a private party, I DO INTEND on getting my money back, whatever it takes. If I'm forced to go to court I won't waste my time with small claims. I have already forged complaints against her and her parents pet store as well as her several partners in crime who seem to be affiliated with her to be breeders/private parties, with every compellable agency in CA. I notified AKC as well. I have also been told that I can post letters to the editor in any pet magazine and newspaper I so choose. Yeah, for freedom of speech!

P.S. There is an old American Native belief, that whomever is cruel to animals will be torn to shreds in the afterlife.....There is a God!!!



Alert: Pet Insurance I want to send out a HEADS UP about Pets Health Care Plans- we have had this pet insurance for three years. Recently they have changed the way they administrate the insurance. They are saying it is a 'Claims Made' policy. If a pet has an illness that starts in one policy period year- when the policy is automatically renewed- this illness is pre-existing and NO LONGER COVERED.

We found this out the hard way when last December we found that Patches has kidney stones. We did all the testing to try to find out what is causing the stones to form. We waited for one test to come back before doing another- to rule out various possible causes. If I had known her coverage for the stones would end on Feb. 15, you bet we would have gotten all the tests at one time. It takes 2 months to get reimbursed so we were very complete unaware that Patches was not covered. The advertising for this pet insurance company is very misleading- saying that ''now there is help for your pets very expensive illness and lists transplants, cancer, prostheis right on their front web page. They dont tell you that if they get cancer Feb 12-.... on the 15th it is no longer covered. IN the next policy period it is preexisting! Not covered. No 'people' insurance is this way as long as you keep renewing the policy year to year.... I have already contacted the Michigan Insurance Bureau- and they say there is nothing that can be done. They say -yes it is misleading, but "buyer beware".

In my wildest dreams, I never thought they could or would administrate this way. I just want to let you know what has happened to Patches. So far I have not dropped this insurance, because Patches kidney stones will not be covered by any insurance company, now that the stones are preexisting. If you have this insurance "HEADS UP" and watch the dates on the policy periods. If you suspect a long term illness- you may possibly want to think of the timing if the policy is about to renew.

DD



Click Here to read Baby Annie's Story



I just wanted to say a few words and commend you on your site. I am the proud mom of two Shetland Sheepdogs one of whom I purchased from a recommended AKC breeder and one from a pet store in Ohio. Yes, I bought a puppy from a pet store but for all the right reasons. I use to be employed and worked in the kennel at this store. I came into the job at age 17 thinking, wow I get to work with puppy's whom I have a great love for and everything would be great.

Well, it wasn't long before my opinion changed and my heart began to see the wrong that was going on behind closed doors. What the customer didn't see or know and everything the store had to hide. I myself did everything I possibly could to keep those puppy's safe and healthy but not everyone at the store shared the same feelings. Puppy's were and object to sell even to unfit customers. I witnessed horrible things happen, things you could never imagine. I had never seen so many puppy's die than in the 6 months that I worked there. I understand that death is a part of life, but when it can be prevented and it is not then there is something terribly wrong.

I would see tiny little supposed 8 week old puppy's be brought in by the Hunt Truck every Tuesday even if we had no room and were forced to cram 4 puppies to a tiny cage. Many had no teeth yet and were obvisouly dehydrated and smelled very badly. The gums of the Maltese, yorkies, silky's, chihuahuas, and other tiny breeds would be so white and pale they would go into hypoglycemic shock from having no teeth to chew there food if they even knew how. The majority of the puppies I say were at least 6 weeks when brought in.

There were many nights I would take them home to care for and with my own money buy them canned Eukanuba puppy food so they could eat. I don't know how many sleepless nights I spent spoon feeding a sick or tiny puppy water with corn syrup just to keep up there blood sugar. These puppy's depended on us and needed us and I felt as if I was the only one who cared. It breaks my heart think of all the neglect that goes on.

Finally I could no longer take it anymore and quite my job. I still feel guilty because I feel as if I falied my puppies that needed me so much. There is not one day that goes by that I do not think of them, of the puppies I saved, of the puppies that died in my arms, and even of the lucky puppies that got homes. You see I believe that puppy mills should be stoped but the reality is that people will always find a way to breed because of ignorance and selfishness. If nobody cares for the pet store puppies then what will become of them? I'll tell you, they will be killed. That is the reason I have my Bailey. Looks are everything to most people when looking for a puppy. Bailey wasn't the cutest puppy, he had big giant ears and a tiny scranny body and was VERY shy and scared.

He was 3 months old when I began working there and I immediatly started working with him to teach him. I taught him how to sit and stay and he began to come out of his shell. Well, he was at the store until he was 6 months old and they finally said they were either going to destroy him or give him to just anyone that walked in including a man who fought pit bulls with smaller helpless breeds. Looking into those big brown innocent eyes I could not let that happen to him so I took him home and made him a part of my family. He is a wonderful happy 1 year old now and still timid but the best personality you could ask for. Unfortunatly he was diagnosed with hip dyslpasia which I wasn't surprised after all he is a puppy mill puppy.

So I am now, at 18 years old, saving up to get my best friend a hip replacement surgery and he is worth every bit of it. Working at this store has changed my life forever and I now am willing to do anything to help in the stop of puppy mills. Every one talks of the cruilty of Puppy Mill's but no one can imagine the cruilty they face at the pet store. Not only puppies but kittens too. Maybe in some way, me sharing my stories of my 6 months of hell will help me to ease the pain I live with everyday and in some way maybe I can get justice for the puppies that lost there lives. All I can do is pray and hope!!

Thank You for your website on educating people on puppy mills. If there is anything I can do or any of the many graphic heart renching stories you would like me to share I would be happy too. After all, if I don't speak out, who will.

Sincerely
An 18 year old with a heart



I recently bought a chihuahua puppy from a Pet Store. I was so ignorant, that I believed what this store told me. They stated that this puppy was "show quality" and that their dogs do not come from puppy mills, only from reputable local breeders. They also stated that the dog was "AKC" and charged me over $600. Then I found out that he came from Oklahoma, and was not AKC after all but something called the "American Canine Association" registerable. In other words, a puppymill dog worth nothing except for his value to me because I have grown to love this little guy. His front legs are deformed, the vet said he can walk ok but would need extensive leg surgery to correct the defect. He has a terrible underbite. He has had diarrhea bouts over and over despite vet treatment and several different medications. Unfortunately for this pet store, they did not know that they were messing with a woman in law school, and an animal lover. I am going to sue them big time, and I will make the courts deal with their fraud. Thanks.



They (the pet shop) won't give me my money back. They said their policy is to replace the puppy. I told them that you cannot "replace" a dog especially not this one. I went to extreme measures to get him. He cost me almost one thousand dollars but I literally fell in love with him and I couldn't stand the thought of him staying there once I had met him. He's it for me. I do not want another dog. I just want him well. I was so upset seeing him seizure. He was vomitting and I was crying. There was nothing I could do and they told me to expect this to keep happening. It is tearing me apart. Thank you so much for the information. I could definitly get him to knoxville sooner or later if it would help him. The wierdest thing is he is perfect 95% of the time. Like for instance...we took him off of everything the doctor put him on after the seizure and before...two days ago, and he's been regular. Crazy, hyper Preston ever since. Biting and playing. He still has pretty bad kennal cough though anyhow, I really do appreciate having someone with knowledge who actually cares to talk to, so thank you very much.



I was so glad to see your web page that I just had to write and let you know.

A little over two years ago, my precious Yorkie, Tasha, was stolen out of our back yard. When the grieving had subsided, I decided that I would find another Yorkie. I wanted a specific size, color, and sex. I knew better than to buy from a pet store because of a trusted friend's advice, but I was not aware of the horrible things that are done in the effort to make money.

While I was searching for the perfect breeder/ puppy provider, I happened upon a woman who was operating a puppy mill. I was shocked and horrified at the way that those puppies were kept.

There were 2-4 dogs in each cage. And each cage was smaller than an egg box. There were cages stacked upon cages stacked upon cages. There must have been 200 dogs in that woman's house. And there were more outside in the July heat. Some had spots of hair missing. Some were yelping, and seemed very uncomfortable. Some of those poor puppies were just lying there, accepting their doom.

Of course the puppies that she had for sale were clean, and kept in a different part of the house. And if I hadn't asked to see the other dogs that she obviously had in her house, I probably would have left there with one of those puppies. Actually, the only reason that I did not leave with one of those puppies was that I had been saving my money for months to be able to afford the exact dog that i wanted, and she was not going to guarantee its health.

After searching for a couple more months, I found a terrific breeder who lived a couple of hours away from us. I had long conversations on the phone with her, talked with her at length about how to care for my new puppy, and was encouraged to call her vet. We made an agreement that I would be the new mommy of one of the pups in a new litter.

It has been the best few months of research I have ever spent. Tara is the best little yorkie in the world (of course i am biased). She is healthy, she is even tempered, and very smart.

By taking the time to find out about my breeders, I also found out about my dog. It is a terrific thing that you are doing by providing information about the puppy mills. I would have relished this information when i was looking for my puppy. Luckily, i did all the right things anyway.

So, I say, Bravo! to you! May you be blessed for your efforts.

Cindy



I own 9 dogs and am on the board of a local shelter. Your message is so important and I plan to link to your site thru my own page and also pass this along to some reputable breeders I know. Two of my dogs are puppy mill dogs...one a Boston Terrier, from the infamous Sundowner Kennels in Missouri, and another, a Lhasa Apso, from a local puppy mill. I have more than $5,000 into my Boston, who was intentionally inbred. She has patellar luxation, histiocytomas, the immune system and mental capacity of a sea slug (bless her little heart) and recently nearly died from discospondylitis, which her vet feels she had the entire time, meaning it came from her puppy mill. Luckily, after two back surgeries, she made it through, although we continually agonized over the question of whether we were doing the right thing or not. We love her dearly and she has recouped nicely, but heaven only knows what is around the corner for this ONLY 3 YEAR OLD dog. My Lhasa has patellar luxation in both knees, had eye surgery for double cherry eye at 6mos, has chronic pancreatitis and borderline diabetes. He also has this terrifically fierce and unstable personality. We deal with him and know his limits. He is only 5. Anyway, thank you so much for your work and for your site. If more people really researched and knew how to find only reputable breeder, the world would be a better place. We do adoption referrals and teach people how to ask the right questions. Your site will help immensley.

Thanks again...
Kelly Conley
Ruff Stuff



Our daughter gave us our first Yorkie for Christmas-unfortunatley she bought it from a pet store. Had we known what she was going to do we would have prevented it-being the older and slightly wiser of us. We love her dearly, but she has had adjustment problems we have not had with the second one we bought--from a very rep. breeder: Irene Bang, Denver and Janet Jackson, Duncan, OK-just 20 min from our home. Puzz (first one) suffered from "sudden rage syndrom"-which occurs if they are not properly socialized from birth. With five years of love and affection, however, she has almost overcome this. She does have some medical problems that are fairly serious and very expensive to control. It fills me with horror that a young person without the resources to take care of such a dog would be the one most apt to purchase from such a source as p.mills. Wonderful web page to warn folks of this-we have to somehow shut them down. Recently in oklahoma city one was discovered to have almost 200 breeding dogs-and we don't seem to have the problem that Kansas has (Puzzes home state, incidentally).

thanks again,
Nancy



I just want to thank you for the puppy mill site. You are doing good work. I know you can't please everyone, but I think the majority of serious fanciers only have a litter every 1-2 years, and the dogs are all kept in the house and the pups are born in the house. You really don't mention us. ( and I know it is different with toy dogs where more litters are bred because the litters are so small). But, again, I want to thank you for your excellent site.

Chris



I have been searching for a responsible breeder, one who breeds AKC Champion bred and Healthy AKC breeds. We want to stay with AKC. We have a sweet Champion Bred AKC Registered little girl, we call Sara. She is beautiful and we have been searching for a mate for her for over 6 months. She is almost a year now and we do not plan on letting her breed until her 2nd year. Right now She weighs 7.lbs 13 oz. at 1 year old.

We had a bad experience with a breeder that we bought from online. This Gal from Sutton puppies, told us she would send us a registered male silky, healthy and suitable for breeding. Well, what she sent us was a poor little fella with 4 web feet, a very noticeable under bite, and only has one testicle. We call him Slim. When we met him at the airport he was covered in pooh. When I asked Miss Sutton about this she told me that the puppy got sick on the way to the airport and she did not have any way to clean him!!! (I practically fell to my knees with sadness) So she sent him on a plane at 9 AM ---6 hour layover then Arrived to us at 5 PM all covered in his own pooh!!? (I later came to believe that he had never had a bath in his life) The poor baby's tummy was so extended we thought he was going to pop!! His breathing was labored and we were very worried about him. His ears were full of yeast and had never had the hair removed. He was supposedly 9 weeks. His tail was docked but it is totally bald, and way too short. The backs of his back legs are bald and raw. Probably from sitting in his own urine. He also has nightmares and we have to comfort him.

When we complained to Miss Sutton, she said we had two choices. We could send back the registration and she would refund 100.00 or we could pay to have him shipped back to her, we pay the vet bill and she would refund our original purchase price. Boy this gal has a con game going here. BUT...There was NO WAY we were sending him back to her and that terrible environment he came from. He is so happy and is healing with us. There is no way to determine what his future will be right now. We are going to have him fixed. Besides she had already lied to us several times. We decided to cut our loses and treat him like the Blessing he is. Although we did not plan on having him in our lives, he is now our son and we will keep him forever and ever.

This is what we learned: If you make the mistake like we did of taking a chance and trusting someone you don't know, are in too much of a hurry and do not get a written guarantee before you get the dog and you don't MAKE them give you THEIR Vets NAME and Number, Also each pup MUST be blood tested for liver shunt! Then please be ready for a puppy mill dog. These were our mistakes. Our excuse was that there was no one around where we lived that sold silkies that were not in the Tawny Mist Family. That was a good reason for buying out of town but our NEGLECT to do a background check on the breeder is the REAL reason we have Slim. We do not want to pay full breeding price for another unhealthy puppy. We wish to bring some healthy, happy little ones into the world so that other folks can enjoy this super smart, sweet breed. Our Sara will be under Proven Veterinary care, raised in our home, loved, snuggled and spoiled. You can bet your bottom dollar we will be very strict on who we allow to adopt our babies.

My husband and I have been married for 10 happy years and I have one daughter age 17, (she'll be going off to college in the spring) we live in an beautiful 11 room home on the Lafayette River in Norfolk, VA

We have found 2 new breeders within a few states from ours. We are now in the process of crossing ALL our T's and Dotting all our I's. And that means really Checking up on the Breeder before we buy.

We really appreciate your web site and HOPE that EVERYONE sees this site before they buy. Blessing to you and yours, We will be praying that Some influential Spokesperson takes an interest in shutting down puppy mills.

WE ARE WILLING TO HELP...

Joseph & Louisa

Steps to take if you must buy online:

ONLY ONE: Give only a small deposit. Set UP and Escrow Account for the Breeder and an agreement that When you get the puppy you will bring it immediately to vet (mine is open till 9 pm) have it checked Fax Report to Breeder then RELEASE Money. This way if the pup is genetically imperfect or "not as promised". Breeder Agrees to arrange and pays for return shipping of puppy. INSIST ON UNLIMITED Registration if you plan to show a dog! Sorry, no ifs ands or buts.

Oh Yeah, one other lesson I forgot to mention that we have learned: NEVER SEND MONEY TO A Hotmail or Yahoo or other free mail service through paypal. You will not be protected.

KNOWLEDGE IS PRICELESS



I just reread Pepper's Story and even though I'm sitting here in tears again, I want to thank you for the honor of having it placed on your site!! I hope that it makes a difference in just ONE persons decisions!! Thank you!!

Gale



Yesterday there was someone from pet rescue on the "American Health Network". I was so touched by the information she shared. My dog is such a joy to me. I got her from clients of mine and knew the parents. Mermaid, her mom was nurtured and babied all through her pregrency.

I find it so heard to believe that people could be so greedy and heartless. I know if I had my own way I'd find room for more dogs in my home. My husband isn't a pet lover, althought he loves "Shadow" our dog.

Please let me know if there is a way I can help, perhaps I can help with mailings of some office or computer labor.

God bless all of you
Sincerely, Lucille R. Doerr



I am helping "Hearts United" with adoptions, beds and donations, we are hoping to pursued "Oprah Winfrey" to do a show on Puppy Mills, I will let you know if we are successful. The legislation did not pass to make the breeders ( Puppy Mills) provide a separate sleeping area for the dogs, which is really sad. But hopefully if we get some publicity that will change. If the American Kennel Club would stop giving Mills pedigree certificates for their dogs it would put the Mills out of business.

Love Jean



Good morning everyone,
I would like to address the subject of Advertising. I am sure this will be a hot topic. hehehehe Today, I was looking through my Dog World Puppy Issue. This is the magazine that Dog World puts out every year and will circulate throughout the year. Lots of puppy buyers, flock to the book stores and supermarkets to pick this issue up and search for there next purchase. Well, when you flip to the Yorkie Section there are only two 1/4 page color ads for yorkies. There is even one ad that takes VISA and MASTERCARD!!!!!!!!!!!!! ( I just about fainted) Well, the problem I see is that there ARE NO RESPECTABLE BREEDERS LISTED???????? OH but RESPECTABLE BREEDERS do not advertise in Dog World only PUPPY MILLS DO, is the major comment I hear most. BUT TELL ME PEOPLE, how in the world can we educate these new puppy buyers without OUR EFFORTS in education. If more respectable breeders, were listed beside these people then maybe we could shut them down. How do you shut them down you ask?????? GET THEM IN THE POCKET BOOK!!!!! If we as breeders do not get off our BANK ROLLS and put our money where our mouth is, then NOTHING WILL CHANGE. I know that if some people placed ads they might be called PUPPY MILLS by there piers. SO WHAT!!!!!!!!, I was visiting with a breeder just this morning and I asked her the same question. She said " well I do not have anything to sell so I do not advertise that much" but I do have a small ad to educate the new people coming into the breed. THIS IS WONDERFUL, !!!!!!!!!! Even if you do not have anything to place or sell or what ever term you feel comfortable using, then at least your money could educate someone?? Am I crazy for thinking this way????? Please, I would like to hear some opinions on this subject??

Tim & Tom



I just want to say that I love your website! I wish there was some way we could stop or help the poor dogs that get abandoned by their owners. If I ever see stary dogs on the street I always pick them up and try to return them to their rightful owner. That is what good people have done with my dogs and I will always be grateful to them for it! Keep up the good site!
From,
Kristine



Hi,
I own the world's most perfect Yorkie - Buffy, the Wonder Dog. But she is 15 and failing fast. I carry her everywhere because she is blind and deaf but she is adored and pampered by her loving mother and father. My reason for writing is that since I am looking for another Yorkie baby, I have experienced how difficult it is to find a reputable breeder. I live in southeast Pennsylvania where the Amish have many puppy-mills. How do you know if it is an Amish puppy-mill ad in the paper? The ad will say something like this: "Poodles, Shepards, Yories, beagles, terriers, labs, and on and on. Like some kind of dog supermarket! All shots and wormed. Vet checked." For them it is a "crop." Just like corn and tobacco. They do not believe in "pets." Dogs must have a purpose or they don't keep them. The horror stories that I have heard - one farmer ran over his own dog with a piece of equipment and though the dog was badly injured, but not dead, the farmer left it where it fell and never looked back. An "English" person saw it happen and saved the dog.

I started visiting dog shows and asking questions. I have several possibilities lined up and I am taking my time checking each one out. I only want a pet to love not a speciman. But whenever I go to malls or past pet stores and see those darlings in cages, I can't stand it.

I did not know there was such an organization as a Yorkie Rescue. I wish I had known. An older lady saw my darling dog and fell in love. She wanted one. So somewhere she found one and brought it home. I heard stories that it was not working out. Months later I asked about the dog. It was dead. The lady could not housebreak it and so tied it up out in her unheated garage and it froze to death! I cried until I couldn't see. People can be so cruel.

I found a wandering Yorkie a few years ago. It was scared to death and so bewildered and lost;it was in shock. But I could tell that it was someone's lover dog. So my sister and I took it to my mother who lovingly warmed it up, gave it a warm bed and held and comforted it while I called the police and reported that we had found a dog. Then we went back to the scene where I found her. We began door to door - have you lost a little dog? After about an hour we saw a police car in front of a house and several people standing, wringing their hands, and crying. They were from out of state and had lost their Yorkie. Yippee! We said. We found her and we'll go get her right now. They were so relieved, they offered us a reward. Of course we couldn't take anything for returning a loved child to its parents. I know how they felt. I have been in their shoes and it is awful until you get the baby back.

Keep up the good work. I'd like to help.

Marilyn Faughner



We have a new kennel in our area that is selling many different breeds of puppies. It is called Puppy Paws. I went there and saw a Malty-Poo that was priced at $699.00 and a Brussels Griffon for $899.00 and a Yorkie-Poo for $699.00. These prices are ridiculous for mixed breed dogs. I loved the tiny Yorkie-Poo, it was so cute and little and was very active yet was content to let me hold it and it stayed on it's back for quite some time. But what will it grow up to look like? a yorkie or a poodle? Will it have curly poodle hair or straight silky hair like a yorkie? It was about 10 weeks old. None of the puppies were born at the site of the kennel. They all had collars that stated where they were born and the breeder's name. Of course you realize that this is just a PUPPY BROKER and he/she knows nothing of the background or early raising of each individual dog and you can bet that the breeder could care less or they wouldn't have just plopped them out to a stranger..... it's called PUPPY MAKING... no socialization and OUT AND GONE... like so many pigs on a small farm.

They are guaranteed for 6 months against any genetic defects causing death. Liver shunt disease is sometimes not diagnosed till 3-8 years of age.... (please go read www.livershunt.com) 6 months??? lifetime guarantee for genetic diseases that will cost you $3000 to fix is a necessary evil. have attached bill of sale that you should expect even this puppy meat broker to sign... but he most likely won't.

The cost of the puppy includes all first year shots, 50% off all grooming and boarding and 14 days for parvo and distemper. Do you have a way of checking this kennel to see if it is buying puppy mill dogs? No, but I can tell you for sure that they are no better than a puppy mill or back yard breeder and that they surely don't get their puppies from a respected breeder of healthy dogs.

They have a website on the internet. I would appreciate any advice or help you can give me so I can get a little companion. I am a retired 55 yr. old woman with some health issues and can't do a lot of exercising. I want a non shedding little lap dog that I can carry in a bag with me when I go away from home. I can probably do the grooming myself so that is not an issue but don't want a high maintenance pet. Thanks for your help.



Hello,
Could you please point me in the right direction:

In Decmeber-2002 I bought 'what I thought was 2 Shih Tzu from a breeder in Atlanta, Georgia. The puppies were shipped to me. ( I have owned Shih tzus as pets since the 70's).

I like to buy from breeders who have show dogs as then you get a healthy, dog that looks and acts like the breed.

I paid $600 each, a total of $1,200 for the 2 dogs and just under $400 to ship them.

When they arived they did not look like Shih tzus..they looked like terriers, they were absolutely filthy and smelled extremely bad even from a distance of 6 feet. (They had long legs(should have very short legs), long snouts(should have a flat face), long tails.

Note: When the breeder called me to confirm that the puppies were safely on the flight coming to me, she told me "if you don't think they look enough like the breed I will ship you one good one in a few months becuse I have made a decision to get a champion into my breeding to be sure the dogs look like Shih tzus." (Note: Her add for these puppies stated that her Shih tzus come from top champion lines. I paid for 2 purebred dogs and she was going to send me one good one.)

When they arrived they smelled very bad as soon as their crate was placed on the counter of the air cargo reception area. They were filthy and did not look like Shih tzus. They looked like muts...with a lot of terrier in them and maybe some poodle as well. I shipped them back 1.25 days later(as the airline required 24 hours notice and that was the first available flight back to ATlanta.)

**The breeder refuses to pay me back my $1,200 and says that she cannot sell these dogs at 9 .5 weeks of age and that she has to give them away to a home somewhere....(also most breeders will not sell their 'Shih tzu puppies until 12 weeks of age'. Note: She had sent their AKC papers with them. I reported this to the AKC who recommended I keep the puppies for 6 months and take pictures of them every week to show that they were not shih tzus so that they could shut her down, but they could not do anything about the $1,200 she owes me, which to me is alot of money.)

I had already shipped the puppies back to the Breeder(along with the AKC papers..I kept copies of everything).

Please help me out here. Is there somewhere I can lodge a formal complaint and see about getting my money back.(She has just run another add today, Friday Feb 21st-2003 on this nationwide puppies for sale email listing and someone else is going to end up like me...getting a dog that is not a purebred and a lot of issues from there.)

Thank you kindly!!



Dear PUPPYMILLS.COM,

I am a small Yorkshire Terrier Breeder in Kamloops British Columbia. Recently, I was contacted by a fellow from Vancouver, inquiring about my tiny male. He insisted it was for him and his girlfriend and they would provide him with a loving home, so I took his deposit. That evening while talking with my sister (a breeder in Williams Lake) I discovered he had ordered two chihuahua puppies from her. After further investigation with breeders in the surrounding areas, I discovered he had ordered or placed deposits on over a dozen small breed puppies. WHAT IS GOING ON? In fear for my puppy's future, I returned his deposit. This man was of Asian descent, and I believe these puppies are being collected for shipment to China. I have warned as many breeders, pet shops, and vets in the surrounding area as I can. Thank You



I am so angry. My husband and I had a shih poo for 17 years, on May 17, 2002 we laid her to rest. She was the best thing in our lives. We finally decided to find another "Baby". My brother called and he had found one for us in Dallas. He had called a pet groomer on Cross Timbers in Flower Mound, Texas. She told him that she had "friends" that had a dog that had puppies. They were going to sell all but one of them and that they would keep that one them selves. We got the puppy Tuesday, August 20, 2002 and after a week long battle (spending all nite at the animal hospital, taking her to the vet and then finally leaving her at the vet for the nite) she died first thing this morning. I called the so called groomer and she would not in any way release information about where the puppy came from. That pretty much told me that we had been taken for a ride. This has been a heartbreaking and very expensive lesson for us, my husband and I love dogs so much and are so sorry that "Lexus" has lost her tiny little life. She fought so hard and did not deserve what she had to go through.

If you ever hear of anyone looking at puppies in Flower Mound on Cross Timbers please warn them. After all this may be the person that we bought our puppy from.

Lost in Depression



I remember about six months ago I was listening to a new morning show on the radio and the woman just happen to be an animal lover. She was talking about a shelter she visits regularly which is here in Seattle. On this particular day she was really stressing hard "Don't buy puppies from a pet store!!" and she mentioned something about puppy mills. Which I knew were bad places but never really understood the extent of cruelty until last night when I just happen to stumble upon a website about them.

I myself am I total animal lover. Puppies and dogs are my favorite. On my vacations I'm always dragging my boyfriend to the aquarium, zoo, animal park, animal shelter, or humane society to visit animals. One day a few weeks ago, we were particularly bored and decided to go to a pet store a couple of blocks from my house and hold puppies. They were sweet of course but when I asked the woman where she got them, she said something like "We're contracted with someone," and said nothing after that. It kind of got me wondering. I've never been to a pet store that sold big dogs. They're all usually 30 pounds or under (full grown). It just makes me wonder "...small dogs...small crates...stacked one on top of the other..." Maybe big dogs take up too much space . . . ?

"In light of this new evidence" I am ashamed of myself for continuously going to that pet store. I am ashamed that a pet store like that supports that kind of cruelty to animals and they will more than likely never change that. As of last night I vowed to never go back to that or any pet store that sells puppies. Not even for a groom (for my dog). I do want to thank you and everyone else in the fight against bringing puppy mills down. Ok, don't we have an amendment against cruel and unjust punishment? I guess that only applied WHEN YOU'VE DONE SOMETHING WRONG. And . . . when you're human.
Thanks again,

Erin



While surfing a bit, I again came upon your site. And again I sit here amazed while thinking about the terrible faith so many dogs have in the USA, in Puppy Mills, Pet Stores etc. I just can't believe that the US authorities allow dogs to be sold as any item on the market. People doing this should be put in prison! Luckily we don't have this problem here in Norway. As far as I know, pet stores are just not allowed to sell cats, dogs or tropic animals for that matter - only small animals, i.e. mice or rats. Thank God for that. I can't even think about my little darling yorkie trapped in a prison like a puppy mill without the love and care she needs every day...

Thanks for your web site and keep up the good work!!!!

Aase from Norway



Thanks so much for posting the ALERT. I am always glad to here thing ahead of time before hand. Looking at the picture of that baby just made me almost cry to think that happened.

I have a Yorkie and read everything I could get my hands on before we got Buddy, almost a year of reading. We checked with SEVERAL breeders before we got our baby boy and what a handsome lad he turn out to be. SO VERY LOVING. Thanks again. GREAT! site..

Barry



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