Complaint Review: goldendoodle world

After doing some digging on the Internet about Goldendoodle World aka Lake Ridge Kennels, I found a lot of complaints posted about them. I am posting the complaints here to hopefully help anyone who is considering buying a puppy from these breeders.

Nicole wrote:

"This breeder is not an ethicial business. We live in IL, and last year, my fiance surprised me for my birthday with what we thought was going to be a "Scotti-Poo". After several conversations on the phone I soon realized I was dealing with someone difficult. After my surprise was revealed to me I tried desperately to see what my new little baby was going to look like. From the start this woman was rude, and refused to give us pictures. She simply stated that this dog was black and tan and was a male Scotty-Poo.

Last summer it was extremely hot, so I did not want my dog to fly in the cargo space to reach me, so I purchased a flight from IL to NC to pick my baby up in person.
Here's when the trouble started, they refused to take the $200 we paid to have them ship the dog to us in cargo and apply that to that ticket I had to purchase for the puppy to ride in the cabin. I wasn't asking for a refund, all i wanted for them to do, was to apply that amount towards his cabin fee. NOOO, couldn't do that! Ok, so what, this dog turned in
to a $800 purchase vs. the $350 we started out at.

Then I pick up my baby who at the time we were told was a 15 week old, black/tan, Scotty Poo which would max out at no bigger than 8-10lbs.

Ok, so i get the dog and was so excited to see such a tiny creature get pulled out of the van I picked him up at the terminal.

All day i'm on cloud 9 with my new puppy in my arms walking around the airport, so excited to show him off to my fiance when I arrive back home in IL later that day.

Get him home and we start to examine him more closely.

In the next week or so (after a vet visit, pictures to friends and family and after I had come down off my cloud of having a new puppy in my arms) We soon started to recognize that this dog looked EXACTLY like a baby Schnauzer! The one dog in the world that I did not want, due to the fact they are a difficult breed, hard to train, can be aggressive and barky, it was not a breed that I had prepared myself to own.

After several attempts to reach this breeder and ask what she had provided us, she was extremely rude, called us Crazy and hung up on us several times.

As time passed, our little Oscar started to look more and more like a schnauzer. His records that came with us from the breeder, still stated him as a scotty poo being born on March 15, 2005, and update with rabies etc. However the final note came when we took him in to get nuetered-we were informed that this dog was not 6 months old, but only a mere 4 months.
This was right in line with her posting of a schnoodle litter she had on May 1st at her awful kennel.

So, here is what we asked for and paid for:

Scotty Poo

Black/Tan

8-10 lbs

Born March 15,2005

Here is what were received:

Schnoodle

Gray/White

20lbs

Born May 1st

We love our dog and even though it wasn't what we asked for, I would NEVER send anything back to this poor excuse of a kennel and business.
We are raising our schnoodle and yes he is developing all the schnauzer traits of being territorial, barky etc. He is now in training school and we work very closely with him.
He is extremely smart, cute and lovable to us. HOWEVER, that does not make up for this breeder's unethical lies, and deceivement.

PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY DOGS FROM THIS KENNEL, I CAN'T BELEIVE THEY ARE STILL IN BUSINESS!"



Sam The Dog Lover wrote to MK:

"Dear MK,

I understand your being upset since Lake Ridge is such a reputable breeder of just about every mix under the sun. However unethical their business practices are and unbeleivably expensive their prices may be the Lake Ridge website is a pretty good scam I have to admit. The registration with the Universal Kennel Club and all since the AKC fined
and disallowed Lake Ridge from usingthe AKC registration for how many years?(something like 5) for failing to allow for proper inspections.
But you can through your little temper tantrums about the innocent people whose live have been impacted by Lake Ridge's unethical behavior.
I can only hope that someone takes notice and eventually exposes the operations for the that it is."

Sam also wrote this:

"Of course anyone who is considering this should read all the posts about Lake Ridge before going to their website!!!
There are not just one but many people who have all had similar bad dealings with Lake Ridge. An informed buyer would choose a reputable breeder not one like LRK."

Pam Harley wrote:

"I paid $750 for a pompoo puppy from Lake Ridge Kennels. Diane said she had a litter of 8 of these puppies even though I know she primarily breeds goldendoodles. Three days before the puppy was to ship to me Diane sent me an email saying my puppy had died. She offered me a male when I wanted a female or offered a puppy from a litter that would be
born in June. When I asked for a refund she said she would refund $375.00. She did not send me $375.00 and when I called a week later she said she had spent my money and would not refund anything to me until
one of the 3 remaining living puppies was sold. Two weeks have passed and I have no word, no money. BEWARE!!"

Dogluver replied to Pam:

"I am sorry you got screwed by LakeRidge. You aren't the only one if it makes you feel any better."

Doodlelover04 wrote:

"Please don't buy a dog from Dee. She sells sick puppies. Her kennel is obviously contaminated with Parvo. I have read of several puppies from LakeRidge, just since Thanksgiving, that have died from Parvo after only a couple of days with being with their new families. The owners have spent $1000+ for a puppy & then $1000's in vet bills. When Dee
is contacted regarding these issues & people want their money back, it has been spent but they are promised another puppy - another Parvo puppy - gee thanks. She states on here & on Goldendoodles.com that those complaining about her have NEVER owned one of her pups. Just scroll down & read the number of people who have had puppies from
her to die, goldendoodles & pompoos. She says that these people who spread these rumors can come visit her kennel. I DO own one of her dogs, we picked the puppy up but were NOT allowed on her property but had to pick her up at another location. I was contacted last week by another Doodle owner, a litter mate of my dog. The owner contacted me
to make me aware that her dog has been diagnosed with Hip Dysplasia, I'm going to wait until after Christmas to have our dog checked. Although I realize that any dog can get this, if the parents are checked prior to breeding to make sure their hips are good, this can reduce the puppies chances. Dee can put all over her website that this is NOT true, but
Dee will say anything not to have to spend any money on her dogs & put all the money directly in her pocket & do God only knows what with. If all of the complaints aren't enough to make you steer clear of her, just read her comments back - she is a rude, hateful & heartless person. I do not understand why she is breeding dogs."

Jenny wrote:

"There are TONS of complaints about Lake Ridge kennels. From everything I've read, the woman running that kennel is completely unethical and it's questionable how she treats her dogs. She refuses to let people come visit the dogs, and everyone who has received a puppy from her on the boards comments on how their puppy arrived filthy and in poor
condition. She also voids any warranty or health guarantee for the dogs if you post anything on a message board - a SURE sign that she doesn't want people talking about her kennel lest they pass on how terrible hers is! I would definitely stay away from her kennel - there are tons of reputable, honest breeders out there."

Sam The Dog Lover wrote another post:

"Oh rich the liar liar pants on fire defense. I find it remarkable that there seems to be a consistant thread through the complaints that people have about their expiriences with Lake Ridge Kennel people want dogs, Lake ridge sells dogs, dogs get sick and die costing the poor owners money, and Lake Ridge give bad customer service. I have not seen any
post where LRK returned any money just offered to replace one sick dog with another. It is a sad state of affairs when people like this are in the business of scamming the public."

Lisa Trapp wrote:

"Our family recently purchased and received a goldendoodle from Dee at Lake Ridge Goldendoodles. We were on for a litter in Sept but Dee called to tell us they all died. She would not return our money but would move us to a new litter. We received a dog Nov 18.

The dog started vomiting and having bloody diarrhia within 24 hours of getting her. On Sunday we put her in the vet hospital where she was diagnosed with Parvo clearly coming from Lake Ridge Kennel. Our dog died on Thanksgiving day after our wonderful vet even tried blood transfusions to save her. I had several conversations with Dee and Mike
while our dog was sick. Dee said she was sorry the dog was sick and if it died she would send another one. Obviously she has to because she is under contract to do so.

Since the dog's death, however, Dee refuses to return any phone calls from us. We have called over nine times to no response. We have now had to contact an attorney to pursue legal action.

Our family, especially our daughters ages 8 and 10 are very sad, confused and can't believe someone could do business this way. Please DO NOT purchase a dog from Lake Ridge Goldendoodles. We have been very burned by Dee and her husband and don't want to see any other family go through what we have. We just wanted a nice puppy for our girls' and
this whole thing has been an incredibly negative experience. She should be shut down."


Dee Gerrish wrote:

"You are also notified as of today to remove any postings with the content "Lake Ridge Kennel". YOu do NOT have our permission to use our business name or our name in its entirety. We are in the process of not only having this forum shut down but the forum of the Goldendoodles.com for malicious intent to injure our business.

The postings placed inside of this site as well as the site of the Goldendoodles forum is NOT truthful and holds fragmented stories that have the intent to cause malicious damage to our business.

If such postings are not removed and are allowed to continue, we wil begin proceedings to have this forum shut down as well. WE are well aware that you and BLue are friends and that you are in this together."



Sam The Dog Lover wrote a rebuttal to a complaint posted by Dee Gerrish:

"It amazes me how you are missing the fact that this is protected by the 1st amendment to the Constitution of the U.S. as a version of free speech since the forum gives a voice to everyone equally to praise or rail against your Kennel since it is your business practice to squash people from voicing their opinions I would imagine that the message you wrote above is in no way actionable and is purly spin to make you look like a victim in this instead of the puppy mill you truly are. I have
seen your web site and I can read between the lines the entire site is objectionable and someone should investigate your business practices.
However the shame of it all is that you are too self absorbed in your scam to see it for waht it is I pity anyone who would be gullible enough to purchase one of your poor animals and I laud this forum for its comitment to allow me tovoice my opinion and you to voice yours."

Parker wrote:

"I see there are numerous complaints about Lake Ridge Kennels. Here's another one and it is most recent:

The owners of this puppy mill (oops, I mean, kennel) recently surrendered ten of their dogs to the animal shelter due to over crowding and yet, they CONTINUE to BREED the remaining dogs!

How can this be? Isn't this illegal if not unethical? Why dump unwanted dogs at the shelter and bring new puppies into the world? This is horrible and needs to be stopped.

A very reliable source informed me that they were invited to visit the property because they were friends. WERE.

This source stated that when they first arrived, the stench of death was so overwhelming it made them sick. They were met at the gate by the wife and shown around the property. What my 'source' described is nothing short of a horror movie. The property is in a trailer park in a rural area of Rowan County, NC. The property is hidden by a privacy
fence and for good reason.

The so-called "kennels" are located inside a metal building and on that day was so stifling hot, the visitor could barely breathe and did not know how the dogs were able to stand it. The 'kennels' are NOT the clean, sanitary, modern pleasant kennels the owners describe on the Internet. Instead, the visitor found the kennels to be filthy, foul-smelling, hot, over crowded with too many dogs crammed together, flies everywhere, dog poop everywhere, dirty and matted dogs, empty,
dirty food bowls, filthy water bowls, most empty and some with green water and to top it off, the visitor saw cats being kept in cages!! When asked why the cats were in cages the owner said, "Because that's the way I like it". The owner disclosed to the visitor that there is no one helping her with the kennels or the business and she is the only one
trying to run it and clean it. She also stated that she is in poor health and her husband was recently laid off from his job and the kennel was their only source of income. The owner also stated that she barely has enough money to feed the dogs so she feeds the breeding pairs first.
The puppies aren't selling for as much as she is asking for so she is practically giving them away.

The owner told the visitor that the reason no one is allowed to see the kennels and her property is because of the poor conditions and the much needed repairs that have not been done. If the truth "gets out", she will be forced to shut down her business.

Well folks, the truth IS out now so BEWARE! If you are foolish enough to buy a puppy from this kennel, you are looking for a heart break. Not only has her property been infected twice with the Parvo virus, she knowingly sold sick puppies to unsuspecting customers. You all know who you are.
This kennel operator does NOT give refunds but offers you yet another sick puppy. Folks, the Parvo virus is a virus that is extremely difficult to be rid of.

If the ground is contaminated (which it is), the virus will never go away.

The kennel owners refuse to have the kennels inspected because they know the inspectors will test for Parvo and will find it.

Do your research BEFORE you buy a puppy from ANYONE. If the kennel owner refuses to let you tour the kennels, RUN. If the kennel owner wants to meet you in a parking lot to give you your new puppy, RUN.

There are many reputable breeders out there but this breeder is NOT."

Dee Gerrish of Goldendoodle World wrote:

"Do you know why these people get so mad and post what you call abusive messages inside of that forum??? Because people go in there and do nothing but talk trash about this and that breeder and there is always just one side to the story. We have actually taken the liberty of speaking to an attorney in New York to shut the Goldendoodles.com site
down because it is clearly in violation of many things..however, it wasn't the cost that has stopped us from getting our attorney to put a halt to the site...we could clearly afford the fee...its the fact that just as we could shut that site down, there would be another site pop up from the same person...so what is the point?

Just because a person had a falling out with a breeder and makes slanderous comments, doesn't mean their story is the entire truth! It's only half the truth, it any shred of truth exists. There are some pretty sleazy people out there who go to great lengths at trying to scam a breeder.

There is presently a cashiers' check fraud scheme going on....people write checks and then stop payment on them and try to defraud a breeder out of a puppy by getting the pup and then stopping payment knowing they'd never intended to fully pay for it...we've seen it all and have breeder friends who have seen it all too. The breeders who supposedly got banned from goldendoodles.com, I know of one of them on a personal level and she is a very nice person....just tired of the crap...like we are...of what is going on and said...there is no need for it and it all falls down to one single person...the owner of the forum.

Any responsible, moral forum owner would NOT allow that type of thing to go on and Blue Sterling only enhances it...embraces it and entices the malicious crap to go on and on and on. We did find out some interesting news...that Blue Sterling and the owner of this forum are l*****n friends...or perhaps...lovers? That came down through the grapevine from
someone who has been getting some dirt on the owner of the goldendoodles.com forum.

I'm not against lesbians...so, lets not get on that fiddle."

Liane wrote:

"Then why even mention it? You'd make a much better point if you didn't attack people in your posts. I don't make judgments based on other people's opinions, but from your posts, I'd never do business with you."

Mary Nichols responds to Dee Gerrish's comment:

"You can disagree all you want. That site has lots of erroneous information on it and the fact it goes unmoderated and its site owner allows the garbage that it does says it all."

Doglover wrote to Dee Gerrish:

"IF you were a professional breeder with a good reputation, you would NEVER resort to defending yourself all over the Internet. You also would NEVER resort to slandering others and there wouldn't be any complaints about you.

However, because you ARE a back yard breeder with no ethics, no morals, no business background, no education, no training and no credibility, you must resort to spending hours and hours on the Internet searching for negative posts about you. You find these posts and feebly attempt to squash them but you can't. You are powerless because you dug your hole
long ago. You ruined your reputation on your own. Suck it up and apologize to everyone you have ever harmed. It's the right thing to do and you will feel better by doing it."

Dee Gerrish of Goldendoodle World replies to Doglover:

"ABUSIVE LANGUAGE AND HATE INFO? You are exactly the reason why canine forums should be ruined by hackers abroad! the GOldendoodle.com forum is the biggest scam of all time with nothing but gossip mongers hanging
out in them! You get me confused with another kennel? Gee, could that be because you and others do nothing but BREEDER BASH for no good reason?
YOu are so stupid, lady! When a breeder owns 7 generations of dogs and their oldest is 12 and the second oldest is 11 and they have bred for a very long time with no problems....why should they TEST?????????

Did you get yourself tested before you bred your children?

How many people actually get genetic tests and other extensive testing to find out if they make GOOD PARENTS or will pass on "stupid genes" to their unsuspecting kids?

HOW MANY CHILDREN DIE EACH YEAR BECAUSE THERE ARE TOO MANY PEOPLE WHO DON'T EVEN DESERVE TO OWN A KID? there should be laws for people to get themselves TESTED...both mentally, genetically and physically to see if they will pass on genes that would create murderers...drug addicts....conmen and women....bank robbers and notorious idiots, like
yourself. YOu people "ban" those who speak the truth and lash out at your stupidity because YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH! If the truth was posted in your stupid forums especially in the doodle forum, there would be no reason for that website to even exist! Then where would the gossip mongers live????? hmmm!"

Lenora wrote:

"I my opinion avoid Lake Ridge Kennel if you are looking for a healthy goldendoodle. The reason they don't want people going to "Doodle Chat" boards is because they might find out what kind of breeder they really are. I have heard many complaints against Lake Ridge Kennels."

Dee Gerrish of Goldendoodle World replies to Lenora:

"The only reason you make this statement is because you are jealous of the quality, fine and very healthy doodles that we produce. ALL OF OUR DOODLES ARE VET CLEARED AND VET CHECKED BEFORE THEY LEAVE OUR PREMISES AND WE DO NOT SELL UNHEALTHY DOODLES! You wouldn't know that because you have never purchased one.. I find it quite amazing how you don't even know anything about owning one of our doodles and yet can sit behind your computer telling people to avoid us.

Funny....no one that has our doodles makes these comments!

EVERYONE LOVES THEIR DOODLE THAT CAME FROM OUR KENNEL...and if we didn't want people to know how great we were as a breeder, you wouldn't have such an easy way of finding us all over the internet! Many people would disagree with your comment because other breeders and other dog sites link to us because they know we are reputable and quality
breeders. Maybe you should put your money where your mouth is???? How much money would you like to LOSE by making comments you can't back up???
For your information, our goldendoodles are some of the BEST damned dogs available and we can back up the MONEY we spend on our puppies, dogs and kennel with receipts! How dare you write such information and post such garbage on the internet! You have alot of nerve, lady! Why don't you call me and set up an appointment and lets' discuss your words in
person. I bet you don't even have the nerve to do it. 704-278-3647! At least I have the guts to put my phone number on here in case you want to get up some of your own! PS: the complaints you are speaking of are from those who have NEVER purchased from us! The complaints have no validity and our doodles speak for themselves! Stop coming in here lying through your teeth! Keep your butt in that goldendoodle forum where everyone of you do nothing but bash breeders for no reason!"

Chanelle wrote:

"I am researching, looking for labradoodles and came accross this message board. I must respond as I am offended by the tone and language used by Lake Ridge Kennel. The personality of Lake Ridge Kennel comes across quite strongly as unhappy, hostile and very unprofessional. I am sure that I and many others would not do business with Lake Ridge Kennel now,not as a result of others' opinions, but after having read the responses from Lake Ridge Kennel."

Doodlelover04 wrote to Dee Gerrish of Goldendoodle World:

"Gee Dee (LakeRidge Kennels), I think the tone of your message speaks for itself, you are a real class act. I wish I had found this and other boards before purchasing, I would not have contributed to your puppy mill in disguise. You state on your website that a certain discussion board makes slanderish remarks about you. Well I'm sure I know which
board you are referring to. 95% of the remarks I've ever read about you have been from actual customers who have had the unfortunate experience of buying one of your sick puppies or just had to listen to your belittling, hateful tone. Just read all of the messages you have written on here - like I said, they speak for themselves the kind of
person that you are. I really don't see how you sleep at night knowing that you have taken $1000++++ from people and send them a dog that is infected with Parvo. Knowing that somewhere there is going to be a heartbroken child. you say that you don't know that your dogs have this disease. If 1 dog in you kennel has had it, you KNOW that there is a
very, very high chance that all of the pups have it. Parvo is highly contagious and very hard to get rid of & you continue to breed puppies in your mill (oops, I mean kennel) regardless. Your entire kennel needs to be cleaned with Clorox water & puppies need to be kept away for approx. 6 monthes. If you don't know this then you don't know much about dogs & puppies & if your vet hasn't told you this, well then, he must not be much of a vet either. If you really care about animals, stop breeding for 6 monthes, get your kennel clean & free from Parvo, start having your dogs hips tested. Show all of us that you DO care for the animals, not just the $1500 & turn your kennel around. Take responsibility!!!!"

Elizabeth wrote:

"Oh now this is rich! Out of curiosity I have just spend an hour wading through the undeniable misinformation on your site: http://www.lakeridgepetz.com/http://www.goldendoodleworld.com.
Goodness, one would have to go far and wide to read a novel with more fiction than you have posted there.

I really giggled when I read your nonsense on OFA certification. While you make it clear that any dog, OFA'd or not can throw dysplasic pups, you then are nutz enough to put "OFA" after some of the parent dogs (listed without which registry they belong to so that no one could check on these illustrious pedigree's). Unlike a reputable breeder who would
never breed until a dog is at least 2 years old, and OFA'd with a very clear rating IE/ Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor. And you are right, not all reputable breeders OFA their dogs, some list with the PENN Hip registry, which is more invasive but also gives a clear indication of inheritablility.
Then on to your wonderful information page on Canine Eye Health. Not a single word about CERF testing, something that no reputable breeder would overlook especially when breeding Schnauzers, a breed heavily affected.
On health you are basically saying over and over "it's a crap shoot", well... with your dogs it certainly is since you choose not to do ANY testing.

I can see why you don't accept emails and why you delete 90% after reading the subject line, it's not a stretch to imagine that most are offering you valid feedback on the nonsense you have posted.

It was a real hoot reading your protests that you are not a puppymill.
HA! It isn't even "sugar glazed" as one of the other respondents posted to this thread.

"I am not a puppy mill....never have been one and never will be one. I actually think the term "MILL" is ridiculous! When people hear of stories regarding abused animals or see stories with dogs in cramped cages and such, these are not MILLS.

These are STUPID, UN-EDUCATED, IRRESPONSIBLE people who don't even deserve to own a single pet....much less more than one! They are the ones who started thinking they could make a quick buck....got in over their head and are too stupid to realize they need to get out of whatever it is they are doing."

You are then ridiculous enough to talk about a double standard that "show breeders" own over 20 dogs and when they retire... "they are going home to make babies,,Whine, Whine, what kind of double standard it
that?"

Well, too funny!!! A reputable show kennel spends a great deal of money to constantly improve the health and temperments of their line to improve the caliber of the breed standard. They OFA, Penn Hip, CERF test and don't breed dogs until they are prepared to without reservation give the official registry standing of each dog so that all stats can
be certified by a potential owner before the pups are even produced!
Reputable kennels rarely breed more than one , perhaps two at the most different breeds as their commitment is to the improving the breed.
Showing a dog to an AKC championship can cost from a minimum of $5,000 to a high of $50,000 depending on the rareness of the breed (they have to travel much further and more frequently to show their dogs against others of it's breed before a CH. may be bestowed.) It is without doubt, a rare occurance indeed when a show kennel will ever recoup their
losses by breeding!! How can you even try and justify that even though you whelp six different breeds, don't do any health certification or checks and then sell your dogs without a credible screening questionairre (but ya' sure have your western union links prominantly displayed) that you are anything BUT the worst kind of COMMERCIAL BREEDER... an out and out vile PUPPY MILL that feels the need to protest decent breeders to try an gain some credibility.

You also state that your dogs are registered, not even with one of the top notch, bogus registry lists like the Continental Kennel Club.
Instead you are with the "Universal Kennel International". I guess you know that your mill wouldn't stand up for a second to an inspection by AKC or a recognized and coded registry.

"We personally WILL NOT SELL any of our puppies to ANYONE who does NOT know what breed they wish to own. Why? Because we don't want any of our dogs going to shelters or finding themselves homeless because you
discovered a month or two after your purchase that the breed was NOT for you or your family." Nice quote... If that is the case (thank heavens you make them know what breed they want LOL) why then don't you do what 99% of REPUTABLE breeders do, by microchipping each puppy before selling it so that if it ever does end up in rescue, you would be
contacted to "save" this poor little thing that you produced? Could it be that the expense would too much of a hardship?? I am guessing yes, and that too is laughable when one looks at the rates you are charging for unregistered (by a recognized registry), non-health cleared, non-purebred pups, that you seem to always have in stock.

And now the "Piece de Resistance"...
You have the unbridaled gaul to say that one must first purchase one of your ill-bred dogs to have an opinion on what you do and what your "kennel" is about...
Come on!!! Any person with half a brain would run in the opposite direction if they were willing to spend the time wading through your crap like I just did. You are truly a joke. Evidenced btw by your pictures also. Funny how all the dog pics are skewed while your own dear portraits are of much better quality. Shows exactly what you think
of yourself and exactly how little you think of your poor beasts. You, Madame are ridiculous."

Dee Gerrish responds to Elizabeth:

"What is rich is your stupidity and the garbage you have posted. Our ILL bred dogs???? Lady, you have no clue what the heck you are talking about. Get off of your high horse because you certainly don't know what you are talking about.

You are like the others who post ridiculous nonsense in these forums...jealous, envious, clue-less and need some mental therapy.
Scoot along now little doggie."

Joe Abate wrote:

"We live in NJ and purchased a puppy (Sadie)from Lake Ridge Kennels in Cleveland, North Carolina, in September, 2004. We picked her up on November 13th, she was the cutest thing and we fell in love with her.
Five days later she became ill with vomiting and diarhea. She was diagnosted with the Parvo virus. She spent the next three days isolated in the intensive care animal hospital in Newton, NJ. She died yesterday, not quite 9 weeks old.

My two ten year olds have been crying for two days. Our vet told us that she must have contracted the Parvo in the kennel where she was born. I am convinced Lake Ridge sold us a sick puppy. We were originally supposed to get a puppy in September but the Lake Ridge breeder called us at the last minute to say most of the litter died. She would not at first tell us why the puppies died but later she let it slip out that it was probably Parvo.

I was there and it is no fancy kennel. The website is very deceiving. It is a single-wide in a trailer park surrounded by a stockcade fence. It was not very clean. When I called to tell them the puppy was sick, they never replied to my messages. I finally got the breeder's husbsnd on the phone and he said they would not return my money but would replace the
dog. No way I am taking another sick dog from them and breaking my kids hearts again. (Besides $1550 vet bill we absorbed)

Please save yourself -- do not buy from this place. They know they have a health problem based on all the puppies that have died and have not acted responsibly and cleaned the kennel up. I wish I had seen this site before I ever got involved with Lake Ridge Kennels and Diane Gerrish.
Please read the other notes on this site and this woman's responces.
That should convince you to stay away. We plan to go after her in court in NC.
P.S. If anyone one knows of a good New Jersey goldendoddle breeder please drop me a line?"


Mike Gerrish of Goldendoodle World responded with:

"YOu don't know what you are talking about, so take a hike looney tune! Mr. Abate, you are NOT being truthful in this posting! Your malicious letters sent to others..of which we received a copy of and have everyone's mailing address, phone numbers and names, are full of BS!

You have only told a fragment of your story. YOu were offered a replacement puppy even though YOu never sent one shred of licensed vet information to back up your claims. The puppy you picked up was vet checked and healthy when it left us. IF the puppy became ill while in your possession, we have no control over anything that occurs to a puppy once it is in the owner's possession. As a good will gesture, we offered you a puppy.

Stop telling your lies inside of forums."

Michelle wrote:

"Wow ... Thank you to everyone for this forum. I'm currently seeking out a goldendoodle breeder and this information was priceless. Regardless of anything else, fact or not, Lake Ridge's approach to handling this situation was at the least, immature. I could not imagine purchasing a pet from a person who thought it was appropriate to respond in the ways
that they did.

Good luck to you, Lake Ridge ... when typing in 'goldendoodle' in a search engine, this forum pops up about 10 websites down the line. It's pretty easy to guess that MANY potential goldendoodle owners doing their research will see your responses. These other people who egged you on aren't going to be the reason for your decrease in dood sales."

Look Before You Leap wrote:

"I have never had a "goldendoodle" and I probably won't ever, although they are a sensable mix. But to Dee or whoever you are that runs the show at "Lake Ridge", I spent almost 2 hours going through your website. You slander Americans, saying they don't care for their dogs well, and make the generalization that all American military personnel dumps their dogs just anywhere before leaving Germany. Well, I'm an American, and I'd never do that! You also state that you'd rather be back in Germany. Well, I'd like to personally invite you back to Germany. You can exersize the right to leave as you exersized the right to move over here. Post a message on the board if you need financial aid to move your crap back there. Heck, our government probably has a program to help you move back. Or did you come here because you couldn't breed that many dogs over there? You bred rotties, too? Did a breed warden visit you, or was it all 'under the radar?'



I also noticed how many differant breeds of dogs you sell. And not just on your website. Good grief lady, nobody has to look at your dogs to say the obvious,--You are a honey glazed puppy mill! Sure, you have all the "I'm-a-good-breeder" lingo regurgitated all over your website, but it's quite clear that you just pump out those puppies like there's no tomorrow. Your anti-AKC attitude is not without SOME merit, but were you FINED from them to have such a bad taste in your mouth? Did you buy your dogs from a reputable breeder on limited registration, and decide to come up with this 'riseing cost of litter registration' crap so people wouldn't even ask about papers? Well, honey, I got news. Breeding dogs isn't a job, it's a hobby with costs. And chargeing $35 to LOOK at your dog's pedigree? What kind of crap is that? I NEVER would charge someone to merrily look at my dogs' pedigree.

In fact, I would SHOW them, and explain what kind of puppies I had and give the details about the dogs in the anscestory of the dogs. But I suppose there's a sucker born every minute, and some dunce out there paid to look at it.

You can't sugar coat the obvious. A spade is a spade.

LakeRidge motto: breed whatever, whenever!

Your "I'm so tough" flavor of your message doesn't intimidate me or others. It's hot gas to delude your reader.
AMEN!

a little sleuthing pulls up not only a fine but a two year suspension from the AKC -- if the attitude had always been that this registry was without merit, I'd think Lake Ridge would be not only honest but proud to be suspended. Naturally, as with many arguments, there is a grain of truth. Certainly AKC registration is not a guarantee of quality, any
more than a car registration is a guarantee of road worthiness. But their DNA requirements for frequently used dogs, and inspections of high volume breeders are steps in the right direction.



The idea that "UKCI" registration (look it up!) protects them from evil pet shops is a joke. On the one hand it is laughable to think that a pet shop would come steal your puppies without your knowledge -- and on the other, some (see Pet Pros) proudly advertise UKCI stock...
I am not a big fan of the AKC, but the registration is cheap and their pedigrees (and if a proud breeder did not provide you one for FREE I would stay away anyway!) cost much less than $30+"

Dee Gerrish response to Look Before You Leap:

"Your opinion??? I have a hot news flash for you! Stay in your dirty slanderish goldendoodles forum and stay out of here! You have never purchased one of our pups...never will and you don't know what you are talking about! Our pups are very healthy...wonderful dogs and if you want to bring your slandering self to my kennel, we welcome to meet you in person. Stop lying to people about our dogs! You don't know what you are talking about."

Unhappy Customer wrote:

"Ms. Gerrish, you said in this forum on November 17, 2008 : "I don't know why you think I live in a trailer park...but I don't. I don't know why you continue to tell people I live in some run down old trailer, when I do not. I don't know why you continue to target me, harass me, stalk me, write vicious lies that clearly are meant to smear me as a person and
to smear my business. If you personally have an ax to grind with me, why do you hide behind your computer with these fake user names? Why don't you come to my home and meet me in person? If you believe you have a ligit, legal issue to take up with me, then come here and take it up with me." Ms. Gerrish, you are a liar! You do live in a trailer park
and the park is named, "Lake Ridge." This is why you call your kennel "Lake Ridge Kennel." There are trailers beside you, behind you, and across from you. This is the most outrageous statement to date. Ms. Gerrish, your address you clearly put on the internet and is public record at your courthouse is 165 Four Lakes Drive, Cleveland, North Carolina. You have not moved. You still live there. Come on, who the heck are you trying to fool here? Why do you deny the truth that you
live in a mobile home? What are you embarrassed about? Lots of folks live in trailers. That 6 foot fence surrounding your property does not hide you from the truth. The reason why no one comes to meet you in person is because you won't let them. You meet cutomers at a local hotel within 20 minutes of your mobile home/trailer park. You threaten, you bully, and you slander anyone who tries to expose the truth about you."

Unhappy Customer wrote:

"My family was also scammed by Ms. Dee Gerrish of Lake Ridge Kennels, Cleveland, NC recently. My family purchased a dog from her as a gift and it was the worse thing to have done and been a nightmare ever since.
She asked me to do some work on her property and I saw her kennel. I can assure you that she is lying when she says she does not live in a trailer or a trailer park. SHE DOES!!!!! Her kennel is nothing more than a large metal rectangular shed behind her mobile home. It houses puppies, dogs, and at least one cat in a cage; a tiny cage at that. The
appearance of the inside of this shed is: floors have not been cleaned properly. The corners are caked with animal hair, food debris, dust, and God only knows what else. There are leaks in the roof and they're old and still not fixed. Why? Because she says her dog sales are so bad that she can't afford to fix up the kennel. I know for a fact that her kennel has been infected by the Parvo disease at least twice. She refuses to shut down her kennel in order to sanitize the grounds. She refuses to take proper measures to clean up her kennel. Her husband personally explained to me how she made him surrender 10 grown dogs to the local animal shelter and yet, she continues to breed dogs and try to sell them for profit. The day I was working for her one of her dogs that she keeps in a pen of other grown dogs got out and attacked a small
dog. The dog's stomach was ripped open. Instead of taking this poor dog to a vet for proper treatment, she forced me to hold this dog down while she sewed it up without anesthesia. I was horrified to say the least. Her reason for not administering anesthesia she said was because the dog was already in shock. By the way, as a footnote here, she is a
screamer! No one is allowed to confront her in any way, shape,or form.
Her son was on the property the same day I was there and he privately told me that his mom, Dee, needs to get rid of alot of dogs and clean up this place because it is out of control and so is his mom, Dee. Her husband told me privately that Dee has way too many dogs and that she is obsessed with them. The property has a foul odor to it from the moment
you arrive in Dee's driveway. I can only describe as this: piles of animal fecies. It took my breath away and not in a good way. Also, upon entry to Dee's property, it's littered with a travel trailer, a boat, a 3 sided open metal shed which is cluttered and over-flowing onto their walkway and unsafe. For some unknown reason, Dee has several if
not many guinea hens roaming around her property. Now this property is not large as you might imagine. It's less than an acre. But remember I told you, on this parcel is a mobile home, a travel trailer, a large speed boat, 2 sheds, a car, a truck, another shed on the right side of her mobile home, and the so-called kennel behind the trailer. No where is there a place for these confined dogs to exercise. I tell ya, it's a mess and it's a shame that nice folks like us and others are being
mislead, mistreated, scammed, deceived, bullied, bashed, harrassed, taken advantage of, SLANDERED, and THREATENED. Please, please, do not and I say LOUD AND CLEARLY, if you want to prevent Dee Gerrish from future sales, STAY AWAY FROM HER. She will only bring you nothing but trouble and you will have to hear about it for years and she'll drag you
and your reputation through the mud like she has done to me and my family. I only wish that I could post my identity and my phone number and my home address so you can contact me personally and verify what I say is the truth so help me God! I have already contacted the SPCA, the Health Dept., the Humane Society, PETA, Animal Control,and the local
authorities in her area. I was informed that they are aware of her fraudulent business practices and customer complaints and Dee Gerrish is on their radar screen."