Complaint Review: Jeanette Chaix

Jeanette Chaix of Regalia Tibetan Terriers sold me a different dog than the one I had already paid for (and visited three times), but she never sent me its papers. She committed fraud and is/was likely operating a puppy mill.

In late 2000, I was looking for a dog to rescue thirteen years ago and found an abandoned mid-sized dog in Lake County, CA to keep my older Yorkie company. Couldn’t discern his breed, if any, but he was such a personable young dog.

After seeing a photo of a Tibetan Terrier with Rags’ white, grey and beige coloring, I did a lot of research on the breed and found a Tibetan breeder in Forestville, Sonoma County—about 90 minutes from my home. I called made an appointment with Jeanette Chaix of Regalia to bring Rags over to get her opinion on whether he was a Tibetan terrier.

She confirmed that Rags was probably a Tibetan and checked her records to see if he was one of her pups (not likely). She was also showing a new litter of adorable puppies, most of which were sold. I inquired about purchasing one, and she said that another litter would be born soon.

When my Yorkie passed away, I went to Jeanette’s by appointment and chose a beautifully marked male pup from the newborn litter. She said that he was a show-quality dog and named the price. I gave her a cash deposit of half the money and got a receipt. She took pictures of me with the pup (“so that she would remember which dog it was.”) I also took pictures.

The dog would be ready to take home in about 10 weeks. Despite requests to see the puppies’ parents, I was never allowed into the kennels where the dogs were kept; she brought them out to the lawn or the family room a few at a time. I may have seen the mother once.

Jeanette allowed me to visit and play with him and his littermates twice more, although one time she was not home for our scheduled appointment. I paid her the balance owed well in advance so that she would be certain to save me that puppy.

On the day I was to pick up my dog, I arrived at the appointed time (confirmed twice, so that she would be home) to be told that my pup was on its way to LA. I insisted that Jeanette get it back, but she argued that it was too late.

She talked me into taking a female tri-color with sort of haphazard markings and beady eyes in a black face, with an odd gait in her back hips. She claimed that this dog was also a show dog but would get along better with Rags, my male.

She said the pup’s AKC paperwork and vet certificates would be mailed shortly, and we had both signed her standard contract.

It is tough to turn down any puppy, so Moxie rode home in my lap. Although I had no intention of showing or breeding her, I was further chagrined when no AKC or vet papers ever came—despite repeated entreaties to Jeanette. She never called me back or responded to any correspondence.

Finally I called the AKC to see if the litter had even been registered. The following year, I reported Jeanette Chaix and Regalia Tibetan Terriers to a consumer protection unit of California’s state government. They were able to elicit responses from Jeanette where I had failed, so several months later I finally received Moxie’s AKC registry—claiming a different lineage than the one I had been given at the time of her delivery and signed by another breeder (I don't remember the name and dont have the file handy).

I have no evidence, but I suspect that Jeanette either kept my dog or gave him to her co-conspirator to breed because mine met the breed standard so well. Because I’d chosen him as a relative newborn, she may not have taken time to hold him aside.

My brother’s neighbor had adopted a sick Tibby from our local Tibetan Terrier rescue (at that time in St. Helena, CA), and the head of the rescue said that most of their ill and surrendered dogs had come from Regalia.

After that, Regalia’s website was down for a while; she and her husband apparently moved to Jackson from Forestville to start cheating others.

All of these complaints do not come from just one person or one brief period of time when Jeanette may have been injured—they form a lengthy pattern. It is hard to imagine that so many sick or genetically defective puppies, sold as pedigreed show dogs, could come from anyone who breeds dogs responsibly.

To all of her friends and supporters who think Jeanette is an upstanding person of integrity, I am glad that she has not deceived you, too. If you do not believe any of these complainants, the evidence and photos are in my files.

I see that Jeanette is no longer listed as a TTCA recommended breeder. I am glad I found this website to add to the evidence against an unscrupulous dog breeder (and to vent my 13-year-old resentment ;-).

By the way, Moxie was spayed as a pup, as I promised Jeanette. She is a wonderful dog, and I am fortunate to have had her and Rags for so many years.