Complaint Review: Beth Wheeler - Palmetto Bulldog

Do not know if you are still interested in doing something about this rip off but I happen to know this person and have more information about this if you would like to email me at (((ROR redacted))) I would love to help, have been wronged by this person as well!

CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

Beth Wheeler who has sold bulldog puppies claiming that they are FCI registred and healthly has lied. she has also lied about recieving said FCI registration paperwork
and is in breach of the sales contract/bill of sale.

and now she can not be found , as she does not answer her emails(which don't get bounced back). and if you call the phone number which is gave, you will not get an answer, you will get the typical " the number you are calling is not accepting calls at this time), so in all odds she has took the money from the puppies she got somewhere and booked.

If there are others here with the same complaint please contact me, maybe there is something we can do in numbers.

We purchased a male english bulldog puppy from Beth Wheeler (Palmetto Bulldog) on January 24, 2008 for $2600. This dog was guaranteed to be FCI registered with the Hugarian Kennel Club as a Recognized and Registered Pure-Bred dog and that the paperwork would arrive between 90 and 150 days and then would be sent to us by certified mail. This FCI registration could be transferred into a AKC registration. This would allow the dog to be shown and used for breding stock. To date we have not received anything. We have sent multiple e-mails, certified mail deliveries and attempted to call. Beth did not respond to any of these. Instead of having a registered pure-bred dog, I have nothing making this dog worthless except as a pet. Judging from what I have seen this seems to be what they do best is to rip off customers! I want a refund!

William contacted me on August 17th, 2007 wanting to purchase a pup I had named Thor. He placed a deposit on this puppy of $500 and told me he would come and get the puppy on August 20th, 2007. I had to call another lady who was interested in Thor and tell her that Thor was no longer available since I had a deposit on him. On August 20th, 2007, William and one of his friends came to my home to pick up his puppy. After a short time he decided he wanted a different puppy named "Sebastian". Being the good natured person that I am, I allowed him to take Sebastian in place of Thor even though I had lost the sale of Thor by telling the other interested party that he was no longer available.

I allow every purchaser of a puppy from me to read the sales contract BEFORE they sign it. William read my contract in its entirety. My contract does state that "We do not cover cherry eyes, Demodex, or thyroid disorder, all of which are common in English Bulldogs and are very easily treatable with proper veterinary care." My contract also states in bold letters "No refunds are given under any circumstance." Also stated in my contract "If the puppy is found to have a non-treatable life-threatening defect, a complete report from the buyer's veterinarian must be faxed to the seller within 48 hours after the determination. If the puppy dies within this one-year period, the buyer will pay for a necropsy to ascertain the reason for death. Palmetto Bulldog reserves the right to have these results evaluated by a veterinarian of our choosing. If our veterinarian determines the cause to be congenital, the seller will replace the puppy with one of the same value, to be determined by the seller." Most every English Bulldog breeder has these same facts stated in their contracts.

Under the puppy lemon law of South Carolina - Section 47-13-160 - it covers "contagious or infectious diseases for 14 days; congenital or hereditary defects are covers for up to 6 months."

This complaint written by William - in his own writing - states that "At four months Thor was diagnosed with Demodex (mange), I phoned to express my concern and requested a portion of my money returned" even though this phone call did NOT come from him, it came from his mother, Gena Britt. She requested that SHE be refunded the $2400 for this dog because "this is the worst case of Demodex her vet had ever seen". William was correct in stating that my contract does not cover Demodex. Gena Britt called me again in January 2008 and stated to me that if I did not refund the $2400.00 to her immediately she was make a blog about me and going to ruin my reputation for selling English Bulldogs. Note: this "Ripoff Report" was not posted until August, 2008 and no negative blog has been posted about me or my English Bulldogs - only positive feedback.

English Bulldogs and many, many other well known breeds get Demodex. Since many dogs have Demodex mites present in their skin, and never actually develop noticable skin lesions, the mother may not even be showing any signs of mites and yet transmit mites to the newborn pups. The pups may or may not develop a clinical case of mites. According to the information my vet gave to me it states "All dogs (and many humans) have a few of these mites on their skin. Demodectic mange most often occurs when a dog has an immature immune system, allowing the skin mites to grow rapidy.

As a result, this disease occurs primarily in dogs less than twelve to eighteen months of age. In most cases, as a dog matures, the immune system also matures. ADULT dogs that have the disease usually have defective immune systems." In Sebastian's case (now named Thor) I explained to William's mother this exact thing. There was no reason to be concerned. William's statement here is "Demodex is contracted when the mother doesn't pass along a gene that will fight mange." As you will see from the above statement from my vet - that is incorrect. His dog was still a puppy - his immune system was immature. If he had this as an adult that statement would have been correct.

Sebastian was born on June 18th, 2007. According to the vet records I received, this dog was seen on December 6th, 2007 for Demodex. William's statement said the dog was four months of age. According to my calculations the dog was almost six months. Next he stated "At 6 months we noticed Thor was favoring his back legs." According to his vet records he was seen on March 3, 2008. At that time he would have been eight and a half months old. His mother, Gena Britt, contacted me on March 31, 2008 and told me that Thor had been diagnosis with hip dysplsia. She faxed the medical history (2 pgs) that showed on 03-03-08 their had been a radiograph,anesthesia, tranquilizer, hazardous waste fee, and complete exam, and a courtesy discount. No diagnosis was on the medical records at all. This all was sent twenty-eight days after this "diagnosis". Yet, having my contract before them that states I "must be notified within 48 hours". She stated to me "this is the worst case of hip dysplasia my vet has ever seen" just as when she contacted me about the Demodex. A woman Jan wrote on the internet under bulldoghealth.wordpress.com, "some Bulldogs grow so fast their joints can't keep up with their bones and will manifest some hip problems. When they mature the hip ligaments strengthen and the problem goes away. This may resolve itself with time, or it may stay the same, or it may get worse - only time will tell." On December 6, 2007 the vet has this dog weighing 41 pounds. He was not even six months old yet! According to AKC standards a male English Bulldog should be 50 pounds at maturity. Excessive weight on a young dog can cause damage to the growing bones, muscles, and ligaments. Ask any vet or even a medical doctor - I am sure they will concur.

Most people looking to purchase an English Bulldog read about health issues these kinds of dogs can have prior to purchasing one. These dogs are made by man - not God. Just Google "Common Health Problems with English Bulldogs" and you will find many articles that tell you all the common health problems such as hip dysplasia, they are susceptible to Brachycephalic Syndrome, hypothyroidism, skin infections, dry eye, cherry eye, underdeveloped trachea, valve defects of the heart, Spina Bifida, cleft or elongated palate, elbow dysplasia, cataracts, and corneal ulcers. But the English Bulldog breed has great personalities, are friendly, and patient with children. This is why people overlook the possible health issues because they are such wonderful animals and purchase them anyway!

William also writes that "Her contract states we would receive another puppy, however I told her due to the problems we had encountered with her bulldog breed and the fact that Thor will be on medication for the rest of his life and possible surgeries, we did not want another puppy. I requested my money be returned." Again, William never made this phone call. His mother, Gena Britt, was the one who called and spoke to me. The contract for this dog is between William and myself. Not his mother Gena Britt. He in his own words states that he is voiding my contract that he has signed because he does not want another puppy from me.

Again, William states "Beth told me in April, 2008 that if I had Thor neutered she would refund my initial payment of $2400.0. I also complied with this request within 3 days, faxed all paperwork to her, verified paperwork sent, and then waited." I never spoke with William about any of this. His mother, Gena Britt, called me. She had spoken with her vet and her vet advised her to neuter Thor. I told her that if she did not plan to breed him then that is what she should do. She faxed me a paper from South Rhea Animal Hospital's "Care of your pet following hospitalization" form after our conversation. I never told Gena Britt that I would give her $2400.00! She did not purchase this puppy - why would I tell her I would give her $2400.00?

William states that "This is where we are now - Beth will not communicate with me, her phone, fax and E-mail will not receive correspondences and I have not received a puppy or refund." First of all, William has made no attempt to contact me himself since by phone one time in January 2008. He called me to ask where the registration papers were and I sent them to him certified mail. Other than that one time and his one and only e-mail, William has never attempted to call me, fax me, or e-mail me. I have the one and only e-mail he ever sent to me and it was on 8/17/07 at 12:19 am with this statement "My Harleybear, my best friend. In loving memory 8-11-2007." (Picture attached at that time) Now his mother, Gena Britt, has called and faxed me. She has never sent an e-mail.

On Sunday, August 24th, 2008 at 5:53 pm, his father, Tim Britt, e-mailed me for the first time as the Director of Business Development of Nationwide Express, Inc. If my e-mail was not receiving correspondences then how could I receive this? I in turn e-mailed Mr. Britt on August 26th, 2008 at 9:48 am in which the e-mail was returned to me " *** ATTENTION *** Your e-mail is being returned to you because there was a problem with its delivery. The address which was undeliverable is listed in the section labeled."---- The following addresses had permanent fatal errors ----". Obviously it is not me that cannot receive correspondences, it is Tim Britt.

He also stated in his e-mail "If we do not receive full refund of $2400.00 by noon, August 27th, 2008 we will file suit in Lexington County, SC per the contract. We will seek not only the purchase price of the dog, but also all legal fees, court costs, and expenses which been and will be accrued while attempting collection of this refund per your agreement and terms. You may mail the refund check to the following address to avoid further legal action: Gena R. Britt - (address withheld for this posting) Chattanooga, TN." Again, Gena Britt wants money.

I need to point out a very important thing. William sent me the picture I described above of himself and his first English Bulldog. I still have this picture. I asked him what happened to this dog. He purchased this dog from another breeder - not me. He explained that the dog had been diagnosed with an elongated soft palate. The dog was sceduled for surgery within a month. His mother, Gena Britt, put the dog outside on August 11, 2007 - the heat of the summer - while she was watching him for William. Because of the soft palate issue they already knew of, this dog died. He most likely could not get enough air into his lungs which made him pant and pant until his tongue became so swollen that it cut off his airway. He had to have died a terrible death. Anyone who owns an English Bulldog knows that they cannot tolerate heat. The pup he purchased from me was to be his replacement. His mother, Gena Britt, told me in December 2007 (when she was telling me about the Demodex) that she had contacted this breeder to get her money back and that the breeder offered her a replacement puppy which she denied. She said she did not want another puppy with the same problem. Does this or does this not seem to be coincidental? She wanted money back from the first breeder and now on two seperate occasions she has stated to me she wants $2400.00 even though she did not purchase this dog. William Newman is the signer on my contract and both credit card slips - his $500 deposit and his $1900 payment made here in my home are his cards and his signature. I even have the e-mail I sent to the other potential buyer of Thor and this is what I stated "The young man who has Thor on hold has not called as of yet. I did speak with his mother earlier and she had a very sad story. It didn't sound like they could afford him. I did however explain to her that you were waiting to find out what he had decided." It all makes sense! They could not afford an English Bulldog so they purchase one from two different breeders - get their money back from the first to purchase the second and now want to get money from me.

I have not hurt his family in any way. I am sorry the dog got Demodex but Gena assured me that he was doing much better the last time I talked with her. I feel sorry for "Thor" being overweight and having to suffer hip pain. Maybe if he were to lose some weight he might be more comfortable.

I sold them a wonderfully bred dog! His father is a champion and he has 18 champions in his 4 generation pedigree. Two of which are World Champions! I do not feel that I have done anything wrong. I have many satisfied customers nationwide that have only wonderful things to say about my puppies and about me! Some of the puppies I have sold are now grown and have puppies of their own that are beautiful!

In his own words, William has voided our contract. William states "I need help!!!!!" He obviously gets plently of it from his mother and his dad instead of making any correspondence for himself. I will see William in court if that is what he chooses to do and will certainly add this statement he has made on the internet for a counterclaim of Deformation of Character with his false statements and for harrassment.