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Vom Dreifke Shepherds Gayle Dale sell Unhealthy Dogs - heartworms, hookworms, hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, bad temperaments, anxiety, lied about the dog McKenney Virginia
I bought a dog - a rescue - from Gayle Dale of Vom Dreifke Shepherds. I am disabled and looking for a service dog candidate. I was assured of a few things with this dog. She was supposed to know basic obedience (sit, down, stay, come), be a perfect stable temperament, and be completely free of hip dysplasia. When I first met the dog she seemed to be this. However, when I brought her home and to a vet, the story starts to go downhill.
The first thing I noticed was her incredibly oily and smelly fur. I figured she was just dirty, so I gave her a bath. WIthin a week she was back to smelling the same. I mentioned this to my vet, and the vet took a sample from her ear (one of the smellier places) and said that she had a yeast infection there, and that a skin infection was also fairly likely.
The vet told me she had hookworms and heartworms. So, I began treating her. I figured: okay, dogs get worms, that happens sometimes. Plus, we live in the southeast, which means even a few months of preventative skipped equals heartworms. Well, as soon as she was treated for the hookworms her temperament changed completely. Whereas before she was calm, now she was incredibly high energy and high anxiety. If I stepped out of the room she cried and barked incessantly. I couldn't leave her alone for fear she would hurt herself in her crate. For the first several days she wouldn't even leave her crate. She was completely disinterested in food bribes. Furthermore, now that her energy was back, she displayed new vigor and even some aggression issues when playing with other dogs. I know what it looks like when dogs play fight, and I know what a small scrap over a toy looks like. This was not that. She displayed extreme resource guarding issues - she guarded my attention and would lunge at my family dog if I tried to pet him, she would take all the toys and put them in her crate, and would growl at him and take it if she forgot one and saw him playing with it.
After a few days I ran out of the joint supplements Gayle had given me. I went to order some more, but in the meantime, I observed how the dog did without them. After just three days off these joint supplements, she began to limp in her left foreleg. Also, she began to bunny-hop as she ran. When she got up from laying down it took visible effort for her. We experienced a cold snap and these symptoms got noticeably worse. A good friend of mine who has experience with German Shepherds came over and looked at her and told me - without me telling him my opinion - that she looked like she had hip dysplasia. This, combined with the fact that this dog could hardly navigate hardwood floors and couldn't navigate more than five stairs whatsoever, convinced me that the dog at the very least had hip problems if not full on dysplasia.
Oh, and did I mention, this dog was supposed to be three years old?
Of course, before posting here I contacted Gayle. I had paid a lot of money for this dog, and expected a lot from it. She talked me in circles, told me that she never did refunds, and that she'd be willing to take the dog back without a refund - but I'd have to wait two weeks. I'm no idiot, I'm not going to just give her this dog back. I'm not going to send this dog back to the place it contracted hookworms and back to a person who couldn't even notice that drastic of a change in a dog, especially for zero refund. I know she'd just turn around and sell the dog to some other hapless buyer with empty promises.
This dog is completely and totally unfit to be a service dog. The fact that this woman would take advantage of someone with debilitating PTSD and refuse to offer any compensation whatsoever is honestly horrifying.
I was sold a dog on completely empty promises. Now, I have to deal with having a bad tempered dog with degenerative health issues. This is something I can't afford - I still need a service dog! I certainly can't afford to pay for two dogs, and I certainly can't have a bad tempered dog around a service dog. So now I'm out a significant amount of money and I have to struggle with finding this dog a new home.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Response
#3Author of original report
Wed, January 18, 2017
I'm going to respond to each of your statements in order.
If you look at it from my point of view, here's a risk-reward analysis.
I intended to purchase a dog, and was advertised/shown a dog
These things result in a fairly high rate of success in service dog training.
I ended up purchasing a dog
These things result in an extremely low success rate in service dog training, so low I wouldn't expect even a professional trainer with decades of experience to accomplish.
I didn't pay, overall, near $1100, for a dog who fits the second set of criteria.
Furthermore, my complaint is that you should have seen signs of hip dysplasia, you should have seen signs of her severe anxiety, and you should have seen that she didn't know basic commands. You assured me you had seen none of these things. That is my issue.
anonymous
McKenney ,Virginia,
USA
Willow
#3REBUTTAL Owner of company
Wed, January 18, 2017
First off her original owner died I had told you that and I told you her plan was for a service dog. then I told you I haven't had time to get her to a vet cause when she came here I was very sick in and out of the hospital so I told you she hadn't had a heartworm test and if she came out positive you would have to treat her. as far as joint supplements I didn't have her on those I have all my dogs on nu vet regular immune builder supplements so those have nothing to do with joints. you were here over 2 hrs playing with her and we did some very mild obedience and you were told she needs consistency and routine. I told you she guards food which has you said no problem she can be fed in a crate. she was always with another dog here in her kennel never a problem. You were also told about the hips that when you said that to me I said let me take her to my vet if she has hip dysplasia I will refund your money if she doesn't you will only her a portion back, that's was why I said wait 2 wks for the money so she could have xrays and we could send them off. you portray a whole different story here. the offer still stands for bring her back and I will take her to my vet to get the hips checked to see if she has dysplasia if she does I will do as we talked about. many people and Co workers here have had that dog out and gone to tractor supply and other places with her and we never had an issue with her. But instead of trying to bash my name and our call was recorded so be careful making false statements. if you have a problem feel free to call me and we can discuss it. again the original owner passed away sorry I didn't give you her name as I received the dog from her family not her so don't have her name not running you in circles. alot of what you wrote on here I was not even told sounds like every new complaint you write the dog has a new issue. we can go back and forth on line or you can call and we can talk option is open.