Complaint Review: Apup4u - Leesville Texas

Dear Wilkens Chihuahuas, 

I understand that you have been all over this website defending Sandy Wills from aPup4u.com or MorningStar from all of the similar complaints against her (selling dying sick puppies), but that is because you are her friend. Maybe because you are a breeder yourself, Sandy does not send you the Sick puppies. Maybe you are a direct family member of hers (my theory)...or maybe the fact that your son is a vet, your son knows exactly what to do when they are sick and somehow you are shocked that all pet owners do not have that knowledge. The reason why I say this is because you get very viscous in your attack against me. I have done nothing to you....

 Here is a direct quote of your viciousness.... 

"If this lady's puppy was sick why didn't she call the breeder, or take the puppy to the vet right away. Maybe she didn't want to spend the money to take care of her puppy. My son is a Vet and her claim that this condition cost her $2000 is a flat out lie. I would love to see proof of that. I hope people are not that ignorant to believe that lie." - Wilkens Chihuahuas

How could you possibly say that with any evidence that I am lying about the cost? I had first taken my puppy to my regular vet the very next day and pretty much every day there afterwards for about 4 days. Then I took the puppy to a 24 hour emergency vet hospital for 3 days where they fed the puppy every 30 minutes even all through the night. I also live in a major city where I have never paid less than $300 for just a check-up and shots for my other teacup chis. 

Over time, I have purchased 4 Chihuahua puppies from really good breeders. All of them lived out their lives in great health and were very healthy puppies. I have absolutely NO issue with spending the money on my animals (that is why I spent close to $2000 on this one) and I am fully aware that they are a lifetime commitment...You breeders do not need to keep repeating this.

I HAD contacted Sandy right away and told her of the situation (both emailed and called, left messages etc.) and I did take the puppy to the vet right away. I did everything I could do to save this puppy. Sandy did not contact me back until my puppy had died. Sandy refused to see my medical bills back then because she was unwilling to honor her return policy anyway.

Sandy had lied when she said (about my vet)... "Even if they had to rehydrate this puppy $200 should have taken care of the bill but I was told this was not done, because she took the pup home to treat her. I was told this by her & her vet."

She never even spoke to my vet. She did not know who my vet was....and my vet DID rehydrate the puppy...what was she thinking, that I would take an obviously dehydrated puppy into a vet and they would decide NOT to rehydrate the puppy? WRONG! My vet also TOLD me to take the puppy home (they are not 24hrs) and gave us instructions on how to give the puppy around the clock care, which we did diligently.... And how can either you or Sandy have the first clue on how much my medical bills were for that puppy?  Can you or Sandy name the vet or the 24 hour emergency hospital that I took it to? What were all the treatments that gave my puppy? AND how much that would cost? I live in a CITY...not out in rural America where vet bills (especially by a family member) are a LOT cheaper.

My point is simple. YOU, as a breeder are expected to act professionally. You sell a puppy that dies within 14 days, you replace the puppy or at least give the deposit back. 

....and Sandy, Please stop siting your "return policy" for your reason for not replacing the sick dying puppies that you sell....It is worthless when you don't honor it anyway.

I have been finding tons of reports about this breeder doing this to so many other people. She sends home a very sick puppy that dies a few days later.

The 24hour vet hospital that was taking care of my teacup Chihuahua said that they had called Sandy's vet in Leesville and they told my vet that Sandy was well aware of how sick that puppy was. The Vet Hospital was so good to try to save her little life. They cared for her around the clock and made sure she was well hydrated. They had told me that the over-abundance of growth of this bacteria was incurable because such a little puppy's body just can not handle the medicine that it would need to fix it.

I called Sandy and wrote her many emails about the situation. She was very unapologetic. She did not seem to care that I was absolutely devastated over the dog passing. I begged her to replace the puppy or give me even half of my money back so I could get another puppy elsewhere....she refused very coldly. She had never given me a receipt or my AKC paperwork to fill out. She was suppose to email them to me or drop them in the mail, but never did....so I had no recourse. 

When I kept pressing her about it, she simply stopped communicating. All that she had to do was just replace the puppy or give me even $100 back and I would have felt like she at least tried to resolve this.

-Kim

I know that this was a long time ago....but I still think about that puppy a lot. Thank you all for writing in and giving your opinions. Sandy, when you said that I did not take the puppy in to the doctor or call you about it until it was to late, was not at all accurate (I did call early on). I took the puppy into the vet the very next day and that is when we discovered that it had a problem....wait, but let me back up....when we got the puppy, it was on a Saturday. We gave her plenty of water and tried to feed her, but she would not eat. when we woke up the next day, she was very lethargic and seemed very weak. we took her right away to the vet and that is when we found out how sick she was. The puppy was too small to give the full dose of the vaccine (only 5 weeks old) and the full does would have killed her. She was put on another dose of medicine that seemed to be working, but it was around the clock care because she still would not eat or drink and had very bad diarrhea (constant). we were feeding her through a syringe that the vet told us how much water and how much food any cyro syrup to give....this was every hour on the hour even through the night (my husband and I took exhaustive shifts). My husband took a few days off work to take care of her. A few days later, she seemed to perk up a bit. She was playful and seemed out of the weeds (this was about day 4 of her home with us). Then on day 5, when we woke up, she had seemed lethargic again (yes, she had plenty of water and food accessible) and we rushed her to the doctor. We had her on 24/7 intensive care at an animal hospital for 3 days...until she died. My husband was actually visiting her there at the hospital when she took her last breath. We were both heartbroken. I am not trying to blame the breeder for anything. I found another breeder and spent more money and purchased 2 more dogs. I do think that for all of you breeders out there, try to remember that if one of your puppies dies within 14 days and the owners have medical bills to prove that they tried everything, you could at least offer to replace the puppy. Just to be a good person... especially after one of your puppies just died in the arms of someone that really loved them.

I just have to comment that I am amazed. Coccidia and parvo are common whether a person wants to admit it or not. That is why puppies are vaccinated; to lesson their chances of contracting common diseases. As for coccidia, Albon is often given as a preventative...it doesn't mean that the breeder acknowledges or knew anything. Neither vaccinating nor preventative worming guarantees that an animal won't get these things. Shelters have the same problems. So this has nothing to do with this person's "breeding" practice. I feel bad for the breeder to be listedon this site at all!!! especially for something like this!!!

I have bought 2 dogs from APUP4U. They are Beautiful, loving and were already paper trained at 4 months. She took the time to send me pictures every week until I got my girls. When we lost one of them due to an accident I called her to tell her, and she told me when we got ready to get another one she would let us have it at no cost. We did get another lovely little girl from them & she is wounderful as well. We have recommended her to 2 family members and 1 friend, they are all very happy with their puppies as well. Every time I have ever had any questions she has called me back or e-mailed me right away. Any one that goes to her site will see she has done allot of research & posted all kinds of information on her site & her contract requires you read it. Breeders should be responsible and she is. But we as owners should be responsible & do a little research as well, or call someone that can help. If this lady's puppy was sick why didn't she call the breeder, or take the puppy to the vet right away. Maybe she didn't want to spend the money to take care of her puppy. My son is a Vet and her claim that this condition cost her $2000 is a flat out lie. I would love to see proof of that. I hope people are not that ignorant to believe that lie. I was even given a list of shots my puppies were given & shots that I needed to give along with the dates to give them. She also sent me a Care guide and a list of things to watch out for. All of that is also on her site. There are not to many sites with all this information. APUP4U has always been there for me and my little chi. Girls. Thank You.

If the breeder was giving the puppy albon, why did't she reccommend this to the new owner? Just because it is stated in a contract (we all know we don't always read the fine lines) doesn't mean you should help inform all new puppy owners as best you can. If the breeder had treated the puppy with albon then the new owner should have been told. In reponse to a previous comment, a dog is a lifetime commitment so I find it hard to believe there are more people out there trying to buy puppies with fake credit cards as opposed to breeders ripping off new owners and not being honest and fair. All honest professional breeders should give a 14 day health guarantee-all 3 vets I have visited have confirmed most incubation times are 14 days. In addition, you are wrong Sandy because fecal tests can be negative even if the infection exists. Therefore, it is not that easily detected if you simply just bring your pup to the vet. Breeders should know this.

Why is it that people are so quick to blame the "breeder" in these situations? Kim you sound pretty well "informed" AFTER your puppy's death. Why don't potential puppy buyers educate themselves BEFORE they purchase a puppy? Apup4u's web site has done all the proper puppy care research. It's all right there. All "Kim" or any other buyer has to do is read it. Or get on the internet and do your own research. Ask your vet. CALL THE BREEDER!!! Knowledge is power!! Puppies with Coccidia go off their food. They sleep more, and they have really nasty stools with an even nastier odor. As other people have stated it's easily treated with antibiotics. An "EDUCATED" buyer, that monitored their new puppy properly would not have lost this poor baby. So Kim, as I see it, you own the blame here, not the breeer. What USA

I just got an e-mail all these years later letting me know about this report. As a breeder for over 23 years I must say we are always trying to improve or breeding practices, our blood lines & our customer service. I urge any one who reads this report to go to our website & also read or refurel page. No breeder can say they have 100% satisfaction, if they do they are lying. Please keep in mind there are 2 sides to very story. If you will read or referal page you will see there is even a letter from a lady who's puppy we had to replace BUT she took her puppy to the vet as per. our contract. Kim did not. And any one who has bought a puppy from us can tell you we are here for them 24 hours a day. She never called us until this little girl was gone. Had she call us we could have advised her. It is our job as responsible breeders to be there for the life time of the puppies we place. There is no cure for Coccidia only the dogs immune system can kill them off. The meds given for coccidia only inhibit it's reproduction, there for giving the immune system time to catch up. Coccidia is an intestinal parasite & lives in the intestins NOT the stomach. (Kim was missinformed) This parasite is very common & any Vet could have told her if she had taken this puppy in right away. The cost of Albon or primor the drugs used to combat coccidia is under $20. Even if they had to rehydrate this puppy $200 should have taken care of the bill but I was told this was not done, because she took the pup home to treat her. I was told this by her & her vet. There for I find it hard to believe she states there was a $2000 bill. We give an 8 day reg. of Albon (before a puppy leaves our home) as a preventative as stated in our contract. Most breeders would not spend the extra money to do this. I ask also that any one reading this do a little reserch on Coccidia. Very quickly you will find that this parasite is present in the stool of dogs & is the soil. When a puppy is stressed the sporulated oocysts can sometimes break open & infect & destroy intestinal cells. Causing bloody watery diarrhea. The fluid loss can be dangerously dehydrating to a puppy. So if you see the sign's please take your puppy to the vet asap. We do every thing we can to provide a healthy puppy but the buyer must continues the rutine vet care, use common sence and up hold their end of the contract. People must know that having puppy is a life time commitment & should be cared for like a child. I Can't say one bad word about Kim, I do not know just what happened in her home or what she did or dident do to help this puppy. I am so sorry for her loss. And pray she has found another puppy & that it brings her many years of love & joy.

In response to Bob, he is misinformed or just confused. I wanted to get the proper information out there on both Coccidia and "cocci"...... Coccidia is not the same thing as "Cocci". "Cocci" is actually slang for Coccobacilli and that is a bacteria. This is what Bob might be trying to talk about. In the case that a puppy has a bacterial gut overload, then yes, a treatment with antibiotics would be important. Though bacteria does normally live in the gut and normal amounts are okay. Coccidia is not a bacteria, it IS a protozoan. The treatment for Coccidia (Coccidiosis) is Albon or Tribrissen. These medications will treat and prevent coccidia. This is a parasite most commonly found in puppies and yes, stress does bring it on. Puppies have a hard time with this protozoan because of their weak and new immune system. Treating with Albon will help by stopping the reproduction of this protozoan while the puppy grows a natural immunity to it. Kim, I am very sorry about your puppy.

Hopefully anyone who is reading this who has had, or ever DOES have a Coccidiosis diagnosis on their puppy, will have a good outcome with a recovery. ALBON is not a TREATMENT! It is a preventative only. Once a puppy has loose stools it should be treated as a bacterial infection. It is not the adult cocci living in the intestine that causes the problems...it is when the juveniles 'hatch' (explode from the intestinal walls-- this is why you often see blood in the stools) that the puppy becomes ill. There are benign amounts of Cocci living in every dog/puppy. The stresses of shipping and moving to a new home can weaken the immune system (which is already fragile in a young pup) to the point the Cocci gets out of control. Some Vets are not aware of how to properly treat Cocci. Please don't let them send you home with Albon to cure this. If they try, ask for an antibiotic such as Neomycin OR preferably Spectinomycin. If they don't listen...find another Vet. Puppies can get very sick VERY quickly from this. I wish that there were more educational measures taken to inform potential new puppy Moms and Dads of this.

Hopefully anyone who is reading this who has had, or ever DOES have a Coccidiosis diagnosis on their puppy, will have a good outcome with a recovery. ALBON is not a TREATMENT! It is a preventative only. Once a puppy has loose stools it should be treated as a bacterial infection. It is not the adult cocci living in the intestine that causes the problems...it is when the juveniles 'hatch' (explode from the intestinal walls-- this is why you often see blood in the stools) that the puppy becomes ill. There are benign amounts of Cocci living in every dog/puppy. The stresses of shipping and moving to a new home can weaken the immune system (which is already fragile in a young pup) to the point the Cocci gets out of control. Some Vets are not aware of how to properly treat Cocci. Please don't let them send you home with Albon to cure this. If they try, ask for an antibiotic such as Neomycin OR preferably Spectinomycin. If they don't listen...find another Vet. Puppies can get very sick VERY quickly from this. I wish that there were more educational measures taken to inform potential new puppy Moms and Dads of this.

Hopefully anyone who is reading this who has had, or ever DOES have a Coccidiosis diagnosis on their puppy, will have a good outcome with a recovery. ALBON is not a TREATMENT! It is a preventative only. Once a puppy has loose stools it should be treated as a bacterial infection. It is not the adult cocci living in the intestine that causes the problems...it is when the juveniles 'hatch' (explode from the intestinal walls-- this is why you often see blood in the stools) that the puppy becomes ill. There are benign amounts of Cocci living in every dog/puppy. The stresses of shipping and moving to a new home can weaken the immune system (which is already fragile in a young pup) to the point the Cocci gets out of control. Some Vets are not aware of how to properly treat Cocci. Please don't let them send you home with Albon to cure this. If they try, ask for an antibiotic such as Neomycin OR preferably Spectinomycin. If they don't listen...find another Vet. Puppies can get very sick VERY quickly from this. I wish that there were more educational measures taken to inform potential new puppy Moms and Dads of this.

I think the lady who wrote the previous rebuttal was the one who sold you the sick dog. I have been ripped off big time with Carnmoney Poodles in Idaho and Calgary. I think those of us have been ripped off by these con artists should get together and do something about it.

I do not know of Apup4U, so I have no idea what their practices entail. I would, however, like to speak on behalf of honest breeders. Just because the breeder was treating the puppy with Albon before the pup left her home does not mean the pup was sick. This is often done as a precautionary measure. The airlines will NOT allow breeders to ship anything with the puppies other than paper work, making it nearly impossible for this breeder to ship the Albon along with the pup, if the pup was shipped. Was the puppy examined by a vet within the 2-3 day time frame after being received? If so, the vet could have caught this very common parasite which can been successfully treated. If the puppy was very ill at the time of sale, as stated, the vet would have cought this. If the puppy died from this problem, how long was the puppy left untreated with the new owner before veterinary care was sought? I don't know all the details so I am NOT trying to condemn the new owner, but rather point out that there are several unswered questions to be considered. Insects can carry coccidia, so this parasite is practically everywhere. Most cases of coccidiosis are seen in the first 10 days after a puppy goes to a new home, not because of bad breeders, but because the stress of going to a new home weakens the puppy's immune system to the point that the parasite gets the upper hand. If immediate veterinary care is sought, the outcome is overwhelmingly a good one. Did you know the incubation period for the Parvo virus can be as short as 3 days? Check it out. Other illnesses can also be contracted and incubated in as little as 3 days time. This is the reason for the 3-day guarantee against contageous illnesses. If a breeder has a healthy litter, and one of the pups comes down with Parvo a week after it arrives at it's new home, yet all the other pups remain healthy, the virus was contracted AFTER the pup left the care of the breeder. Otherwise there would be more sick puppies from the litter. The odds are incredibly overwhelmingly against only one puppy from a litter contracting Parvo if the breeder's premises were infected. The reason some puppies die within 10 days after going to a new home is because puppies are very VUNLNERABLE at this time. The puppy purchasers have responsibilites. They are responsible for getting the puppy to the vet ASAP after it arrives. They are responsible for getting the puppy to the vet at the first sign of trouble, ESPECIALLY when the puppy has just gone through a stressful experience. They are responsible to quarantine the puppy in their home until the pup is at least 12 weeks old, keeping it from other animals, new places, and different people, or face the risk of the puppy becoming ill. Breeders must also protect themselves from the dihonest public: With all the credit card fraud going around, would you be comfortable taking a credit card toward something you had put many hours worth work and concern into? What about PayPal, you ask? Just look up PayPal on this very web site and you will see many, many reasons for NOT using PayPal. All someone needs to do is file a "chargeback" on their credit for any reason they choose, or claim that their card had been stolen, to get their money back in full, and the breeder has NO say-so on the subject without hiring an expensive lawyer. That's hardly fair. How 'bout letting everyone who calls claiming to be interested in buying a pup come to the breeder's home to look at all the breeder's dogs, not to mention the breeder's posessions, and possibly even their children? Did you know many dogs have disappeared as a result of this practice? Did you know this is one prime way a potential crook can "case" your home to plan a robbery - or worse? How many people would feel safe doing this, yet breeders are supposed welcome many strangers to their home with open arms. This hardly seems fair. The point I am trying to make is that there are two sides to every coin. The breeders are NOT always the villians. There are plenty of people in the general population who are NOT honest. The breeder must protect themselves, their families, and their dogs. Also, please remember the new puppy owners have their own responsibilities to meet when acquiring a new puppy. It could mean the difference between life and death for someone's precious little pet.