Complaint Review: Svetlana Popova - Damskiy Kapriz Kennel

There is a lady that advertise on the internet to sell Russian Toy Terriers. This is a very rare breed in the US. Her name is Svetlana Popova, with Damskiy Kapriz kennel.

Well, after checking out some references, I decided to purchase some pups from her last year (I am also a breeder of this dog),and things went ok, although she was very slow to respond to emails after she received my money. It seemed like she was quite flaky, but still sent the dogs after a few months. These dogs are very hard to get, and you cannot find them 'just anywhere'. It is also hard to converse with Russian people, as the emails are machine translated,so short, to the point emails are best.

I conversed back and forth with her for several months, and decided to purchase more pups from her. I sent her a large amount of money for 4 puppies (I wanted to only deal with Russia one more time,as it is a constant headache to deal with the people there; and the cost for shipping 4 dogs is the same as it is for 1 dog, which would save a lot of money).

I sent 1/2 of this money in Nov. '04, and the other 1/2 in the first part of December, via Western Union. She acknowleged that she had received the money and everything was good. KLM airline called me to see if I could pick the dogs up in California (a 12 hour drive from my home) on Dec. 28. I called the airline to confirm that the dogs were on the flight before I left on the trip. The dogs were not on the flight.

I emailed Svetlana, and she told me a few different excuses, and that she had problems. I have not heard from her since Jan 6,when she wrote to me that she had problems, but would 'execute her obligation' to me. I have still not received the dogs. She will not respond to my emails, but still offers to sell dogs on her website, and is regularly offering new puppies for sale. She also responds regularly to potential buyers, as a few people have contacted me that have had communication with her about her dogs.

I also know a man in California that has sent her a large amount of money and has not received the dog he has purchased- he sent her his money before I sent mine. In total, the 2 of us have lost nearly $9000 !

I have no idea who else may have already been a victim of this lady, but I feel an obligation to try to prevent her from stealing from anyone else. She looks legitimate, as she shows her dogs- however, she is a ripoff !

I have been told there is nothing I can do to recover this money. If anyone knows otherwise, please let me know!

Sheryl
Salt Lake City area, Utah
U.S.A.