Complaint Review: Cathy Adamson @ Four Paws Dog Grooming/Shownoff Yorkies And Poodles: Bardstown Ky

The reason I am writing is because I have been scammed by an unethical (maybe illegal) dog breeder that lives in Bardstown, KY. I do not know if there is anyone who polices breeders but I'm hoping this will stop this from happening to someone else.

I found a tea cup poodle breeder online whom I contacted to inquire about a male, tea cup poodle. Breeder said she had the perfect dog for me. He was a 4 year old, 4 pound stud, tea cup poodle that she was selling for $1000 and he comes with breeding rights.

Since she lived in Kentucky she wanted an additional $350 for shipping. We came to an agreement that I would not purchase the "breeding rights" becasue I wanted him for a companion for my female, not to breed, so we settled for a total price of $1000. I paid for him over the phone with my credit card.

Well when I received this dog I took him to the groomer as he was filthy and bushy. A couple of hours later I received a call from the groomer saying that the male I had just purchased had one t******e. I was surprised because the breeder never disclosed this to me and especially since he was advertised as coming with breeding rights.

So, I emailed her in regards to his missing t******e and in her response she acted as if it was not a big deal. She said it is a very common thing and because I didn't want to breed him she didn't think it would be a big deal for me to know. She told me to just get him fixed and he'll be a great pet. Well the problem I have with this is that I would have never paid $1000 for a dog with one t******e who would?

Anyway, I took the dog to the vet to get a second opinion and was told many other shocking facts. Firstly, a dog with one t******e is a genetic defect, which means when you breed him and he produces other male puppies they will also have one t******e. My problem with this is that his breeder has been breeding this dog who knows how many times, selling them for top dollar on the internet, knowing they are genetically defected. But is this illegal? It certainly is unethical?

Then the vet informed me that this dog has 5 missing teeth! 3 lower and 2 upper. He also checked his eyes and said that they were degenerating towards the back of the pupil (I have the vet papers to prove this). To add to this, this dog does not even know his own name and does not know how to use stairs or jump on and off furniture. The vet told me it is because he probably has arthritis and it is painful for him to jump or climb as his back knees pop in and out of their socket and the bones protrude on his hips and back bone. The vet came to the conclusion that there is no way the dog was 4 years old. He said the dog shows too many signs of a geriatric dog and he guessed him to be 7-8 years old.

One more very obvious thing this dog has no doubt been abused as he flinches when you try to give him affection and runs when you walk in his direction. When you go to pick him up (when you can catch him) he sinks down into the ground and is terrified of people, still. I've had him 3 months now and he has not come around, he is still completely terrified and does not socialize with my dog. He is very skinny and the vet said he is definitely underweight.

The last time I emailed this breeder I told her that the dog has too many health concerns/problems and I wanted to send the dog back. I agreed to pay for the shipping but I wanted a refund. Of course she refused this and denied everything the vet had told me. She acted as if I was making the whole thing up and she told me she didn't want to hear from me again.

I have since filled out a dispute with my credit card company and was told that I had to send the dog back and that they still would not be able to guarantee me a refund. So I decided to keep him and I am still trying to work with him as much as possible but I am concerned that more dogs in that mill are being abused, inbred and misrepresented over the internet.

I hope posting this creates some awareness when purchasing a pet over the internet as you never know the condition in which they are brought up in. There must be something illegal about someone selling a pet without disclosing all the correct health and physical information. Basically I purchased an abused, geriatric, snaggle-toothed dog with one t******e for $1000 and had no idea.

If there is anything else I can do to report this breeder I hope someone will help me. I can't help but to think that more of these stories are happening everyday to these poor animals and we are getting ripped off in the process.

DLynn
Dallas, Texas
U.S.A.