Complaint Review: Avalon Kennels Avery Texas

My son paid way too much for a (sick) AKC pedigree pup from Avalon Kennels in Avery, TX. (Colorado ph. #).  There are lots of beautiful dogs out there needing homes, from mixed mutts for nearly no cost, to purebreds for a few hundred dollars, if you just take some time to look around. I wish we had.

After the breeders had already taken his/my money, the puppy started coughing and I asked if he was okay. They replied that he was fine and continued with their new-puppy-details shpeal.  Then, after he kept coughing, the kennel owner finally said that the puppy had “had an upper-respiratory” and that this was just a residual cough from that… “You know, like after you’ve had the flu.” She brushed it off as nothing.

Less than 48 hours later, our vet diagnosed kennel cough and prescribed antibiotics (We had been nowhere with the pup except our otherwise pet-free for years home BTW). So we’ve had to pay to treat a very-contagiously sick puppy right out of the gate. We have to keep him quarantined, no dog parks, no kennels, no training classes, until the KC goes away (if that’s what it is). If the pup does not improve in a few days, the vet says he will need more tests which will cost hundreds of dollars, possibly close to $700. I had been counting on using this week for house training the new pup, but it has been difficult and we cannot even put him in puppy classes because of the KC!

It is hard enough to train a new puppy, without it being sick. He is currently on 3 medications. When my son said the pup keeps him awake all night, I had thought he meant with barking, but now I know it was also with coughing. After finding out the puppy had kennel cough, I emailed the owner to ask if she would please consider taking the puppy back, in exchange for keeping some of what we had paid for him, ‘for their trouble’ (Nevermind ours).  But she didn’t even have the decency to respond to my email AT ALL - not even to just say “no” to my request.

Regardless of what these breeders may think of us, they can’t even be bothered to respond or discuss any issues with us - including one related to their health guarantee. They sold us a puppy whom they knew full-well was already sick, while requiring us to make a vet visit as part of their health guarantee. They knew he was sick and would cost us money because of it, and they clearly don’t care. Their guarantee is worthless.