Investigator Tex
Houston,#2Consumer Suggestion
Thu, April 23, 2009
Everett was arrested today for alleged forgery of health records on several dogs he and Anne sold. There is one vet in the Houston area that was a victim. There are many victims that have bought dogs from Everett Cobin or Anne Patton. If you are a victim, please contact Randy Wallace at FOX 26 News Houston. You may forward any information you have to s****..
Investigator Tex
Houston,#3Consumer Suggestion
Thu, April 23, 2009
Everett was arrested today for alleged forgery of health records on several dogs he and Anne sold. There is one vet in the Houston area that was a victim. There are many victims that have bought dogs from Everett Cobin or Anne Patton. If you are a victim, please contact Randy Wallace at FOX 26 News Houston. You may forward any information you have to s****..
Investigator Tex
Houston,#4Consumer Suggestion
Thu, April 23, 2009
Everett was arrested today for alleged forgery of health records on several dogs he and Anne sold. There is one vet in the Houston area that was a victim. There are many victims that have bought dogs from Everett Cobin or Anne Patton. If you are a victim, please contact Randy Wallace at FOX 26 News Houston. You may forward any information you have to s****..
Investigator Tex
Houston,#5Consumer Suggestion
Thu, April 23, 2009
Everett was arrested today for alleged forgery of health records on several dogs he and Anne sold. There is one vet in the Houston area that was a victim. There are many victims that have bought dogs from Everett Cobin or Anne Patton. If you are a victim, please contact Randy Wallace at FOX 26 News Houston. You may forward any information you have to s****..
Investigator Tex
Houston,#6Consumer Suggestion
Thu, April 23, 2009
Everett was arrested today for alleged forgery of health records on several dogs he and Anne sold. There is one vet in the Houston area that was a victim. There are many victims that have bought dogs from Everett Cobin or Anne Patton. If you are a victim, please contact Randy Wallace at FOX 26 News Houston. You may forward any information you have to s****..
Stopbigblockkennels
Spring,#7Consumer Comment
Thu, April 02, 2009
Hi Melissa, I know you said that you don't have any of the paperwork, but do you think your vet had a copy of the papers that came with your puppy? Often times, on a first visit with a new puppy, the vet will copy everything you have from the breeder. If you can check, it would be so helpful. See my original posting on report # 426612 for my email address. It would be so helpful to all of us if you can check what they have. Please email me there to let me know. Thanks!
Anya
Vienna,#8Consumer Comment
Thu, March 19, 2009
Melissa, you are sadly not alone. We were also sold a VERY sick puppy. Please see our story below: I ordered a pedigree Maltipoo puppy from this business, Big Block Kennel, and they provided a one year health guarantee. I picked the puppy up from them in Houston in mid-August, 2008. When we got the puppy home we took it to the vet to be checked out and discovered the puppy had "kennel cough," which is associated with poor breeding/kennel conditions. We treated the puppy for this condition, but the puppy just got worse and ultimately died within 3 weeks of having received her in Houston. We had an autopsy performed and the explanation for death was a metabolic birth defect that was set off by a compromised immune system (from the kennel cough .. the puppy actually died from a hypoglycemic event, when it wasted from not absorbing nutrients). His liver was a very ill color when autopsied. My son was heart broken, as was I. We paid $700 plus airfare transportation for this puppy. Then another $500 in vet bills and supplies. We contacted the breeder when we first discovered the kennel cough and they agreed to pay the vet bill for the kennel cough by sending a check to us. However, the check NEVER arrived. Then we contacted them again when the puppy died and told them we wanted our money back. (We considered getting a replacement puppy for a moment, but our vet advised against this since it was obvious that the kennel had poor conditions for good health. In addition, and about at the same time we were going thru our loss, we started to see unhappy customer complaints online about this breeder, so we knew we were not alone in receiving sick puppies.) We were able to reach an agreement with the breeder for a $1000 refund. We agreed to payments starting in December for $50 per month for 20 months. We received the first payment in December and no payments since. The breeder now does not return our phone calls or emails and their website has been closed. What is MOST important to us at this point is shutting this business down so others humans and animals stop suffering. If anyone knows a current address for these people please post it so that I can proceed with my complaint with the better business bureau of Houston.
Melissa
Irvine,#9Author of original report
Thu, March 12, 2009
Hello, this is Melissa and I wrote the original post. I am so saddened to see the additional reports since my posting. I ended up hospitalizing my dog for 5 days shortly after my post (2 weeks after he came home to me). They tested him again and he came up positive for parvo in addition to the parasite. Luckily, with a lot of money later, my dog survived and is happy and healthy....and big. Not the 3 pd dog I was told I was purchasing. I have tried to contact Ann as well with no luck. I have not been back here since my response to someone and we have tried to move on from that horrible ordeal. To the person who would like the records, I will be honest, we have thrown everything away that our dog came with. They were bogus and we are in CA so we didn't think there was anything we could do, just happy the puppy survived. I'm sorry I don't know if I can be of anymore help but I can provide my dogs records from my vet.
Stopbigblockkennels
Spring,#10Consumer Suggestion
Wed, February 25, 2009
Hello. I really need your help. We need a fax copy of the health certificate that was sent with your puppy. Several of the certificates that have gone out from this breeder were forged. Please, please email me as (((email redacted))). Thanks! CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.
Devilsadvocate4education*just My Opinions*
Las Vegas,#11Consumer Comment
Wed, February 25, 2009
Just wanted to see how the puppy was doing and if things are better. Little too soon to verify the teeth thing yet, but I am trying to keep track of the timeline so I can ask then :-). Also, I don't know if you saw it but in case you were interested, you might want to check out report 426612. There are two more reports now since yours I think.
Devilsadvocate4education*just My Opinions*
Las Vegas,#12Consumer Comment
Mon, February 02, 2009
Okay, so I am kinda tired, and a little fuzzy headed from reading, but here goes. First dog or not, you are making an effort to learn, and that is more than alot of people do :-). It is good the puppy has been just in the house and not handled by ANYONE, other than the family, in fact, if that's true, I actually believe your puppy arrived with it. However, giardia IS extremely common, and can be gotten from virtually anywhere (for humans too), and is generally easily treated, and not generally considered a serious problem (unless left untreated). I suggest looking up giardia on-line. Both the merck manuals (veterinary and human versions) are pretty good. More familiar can mean less scary :-). I hope this is the most serious problem you run into in your life together. I see your point about the paperwork mess ups. Not particularly proffessional. Filtered water can be a good thing (can help reduce the incidence of stones and crystals and stuff, among other things). YES, the bug thing is CREEPY. Um, did your vet just lift up the lips and look at the teeth that way, or did he OPEN and count? Like, REALLY look. You can look it all up online too, and he may be right, but they aren't always. Your puppy is probably more comfortable with you, and may allow you a better look. Um, is there a possibility that the vet you are using at the moment is pre-disposed to thinking ANYONE in the midwest is a mill? They are ALL OVER, and there are alot of show kennels that way as well. I'm not saying it's the case where you are concerned, just saying. Um, Um, Um, please tell me that a vet did not say your dog is not a tea-cup because they weigh 3 pounds fully grown (that was your opinion right)? The correct answer is your dog is not a tea-cup because there is no such thing. Ah well, vets are supposed to know basic health (unless they are a specialist in a particular area), like our human general practitioners, not every single other thing in the world that involves our pets. At this point, it just appears your dog is going to be HUGE(?). What's huge to you, cause great dane's and irish wolfhounds are huge to me. We will not know for sure until full growth is reached, and sometimes they can sure fool you. Don't beat yourself up too hard, would I have bought a puppy from them, NO, but you aren't the first, and you won't be the last. And you made an effort to prevent others from making the same mistake. The best preventative measure we can take is to educate ourselves. I am talking in the future too. We can not take our vet's word for everything, and medicine is as much the result of experience and opinion as it is science. Chances our, our vet's don't know as much as we would like to think they do, they are not all knowing gods, but human, and all that entails, while still deserving of our respect. And they all practice differently. I have a friend whom is a vet, whom is also married to a vet, they won't work in the same clinic because their 'styles' are so different, and don't agree on much beyond the basics. It is a GREAT thing for their client's though, because they each always have another's viewpoint and what conclusions and/or treatment the other would provide, LOL. We need to know as much as we possibly can about our pets and their issues to help our vet's provide the best care possible. Well, if you ever want to know what I think about any general questions (puppies and stuff) you might have, you can find the devilsadvocate4education in the area of yahoo. Please keep us posted. Good luck to you. *just my opinions*
Melissa
Irvine,#13Author of original report
Sun, February 01, 2009
I will be very honest, this is our first dog and we are not experts on all the precautions to take. First, the dog has not been around anyone except my husband and daughter. I am a full time student and the first possible appointment I could make for the vet was friday of the same week (5 days later). This may sound funny but we have only given the dog bottled water and he is using a puppy bad because we live on a fourth floor condo so he has not gone to the bathroom on grass yet. When I told the vet of what happened with the bugs he cringed and said puppy mills are extremely common all the way up the mid west. He said judging by his teeth that he was born around Dec 15th, and i was originally told Nov 8th was his birthday. My vet says he is going to be huge and definitely not a teacup, they should weigh 3 pounds full grown and that is the size of my puppy now. On the records she sent they were not from a vet but simply her own writing. There were two sets, one on the contract I signed and another on a "puppy tracking" that you do your self, to top it off the days did not match up and were all off by 3-5 days. The name of the parasite I could not understand on my voicemail when my vet called me back with the results but said it is contracted through infected water. I would like to think Dasani water is not infected with parasites. When he came on Monday from the airplane he smelled funny so I immediately gave him a bath, in regards to the kennel being dirty, honestly I couldn't tell from the outside but when I unhooked all the latches is when all the bugs started pouring out. It was absolutely disgusting because the kennel has been inside my house. My home is cleaned by a cleaning service every two weeks and I live on the 4th floor of a brand new condo, sorry to say I know for sure they did not come from here. I feel very nieve because I keep thinking it would have taken 2 minutes to research the breeder and it didn't even cross my mind. I consider myself a smart person but have truly learned my lesson and can only hope I can warn other people out there.
Melissa
Irvine,#14Author of original report
Sun, February 01, 2009
I will be very honest, this is our first dog and we are not experts on all the precautions to take. First, the dog has not been around anyone except my husband and daughter. I am a full time student and the first possible appointment I could make for the vet was friday of the same week (5 days later). This may sound funny but we have only given the dog bottled water and he is using a puppy bad because we live on a fourth floor condo so he has not gone to the bathroom on grass yet. When I told the vet of what happened with the bugs he cringed and said puppy mills are extremely common all the way up the mid west. He said judging by his teeth that he was born around Dec 15th, and i was originally told Nov 8th was his birthday. My vet says he is going to be huge and definitely not a teacup, they should weigh 3 pounds full grown and that is the size of my puppy now. On the records she sent they were not from a vet but simply her own writing. There were two sets, one on the contract I signed and another on a "puppy tracking" that you do your self, to top it off the days did not match up and were all off by 3-5 days. The name of the parasite I could not understand on my voicemail when my vet called me back with the results but said it is contracted through infected water. I would like to think Dasani water is not infected with parasites. When he came on Monday from the airplane he smelled funny so I immediately gave him a bath, in regards to the kennel being dirty, honestly I couldn't tell from the outside but when I unhooked all the latches is when all the bugs started pouring out. It was absolutely disgusting because the kennel has been inside my house. My home is cleaned by a cleaning service every two weeks and I live on the 4th floor of a brand new condo, sorry to say I know for sure they did not come from here. I feel very nieve because I keep thinking it would have taken 2 minutes to research the breeder and it didn't even cross my mind. I consider myself a smart person but have truly learned my lesson and can only hope I can warn other people out there.
Melissa
Irvine,#15Author of original report
Sun, February 01, 2009
I will be very honest, this is our first dog and we are not experts on all the precautions to take. First, the dog has not been around anyone except my husband and daughter. I am a full time student and the first possible appointment I could make for the vet was friday of the same week (5 days later). This may sound funny but we have only given the dog bottled water and he is using a puppy bad because we live on a fourth floor condo so he has not gone to the bathroom on grass yet. When I told the vet of what happened with the bugs he cringed and said puppy mills are extremely common all the way up the mid west. He said judging by his teeth that he was born around Dec 15th, and i was originally told Nov 8th was his birthday. My vet says he is going to be huge and definitely not a teacup, they should weigh 3 pounds full grown and that is the size of my puppy now. On the records she sent they were not from a vet but simply her own writing. There were two sets, one on the contract I signed and another on a "puppy tracking" that you do your self, to top it off the days did not match up and were all off by 3-5 days. The name of the parasite I could not understand on my voicemail when my vet called me back with the results but said it is contracted through infected water. I would like to think Dasani water is not infected with parasites. When he came on Monday from the airplane he smelled funny so I immediately gave him a bath, in regards to the kennel being dirty, honestly I couldn't tell from the outside but when I unhooked all the latches is when all the bugs started pouring out. It was absolutely disgusting because the kennel has been inside my house. My home is cleaned by a cleaning service every two weeks and I live on the 4th floor of a brand new condo, sorry to say I know for sure they did not come from here. I feel very nieve because I keep thinking it would have taken 2 minutes to research the breeder and it didn't even cross my mind. I consider myself a smart person but have truly learned my lesson and can only hope I can warn other people out there.
Devilsadvocate4education*just My Opinions*
Las Vegas,#16Consumer Comment
Sat, January 31, 2009
Can you please direct me to these complaints? I can find four on ROR, but that's about it, and I am a little confused about most of those as well. #378347 sounds pretty accurate, but what did the actual records from the vet say? Was anything difinitive diagnosed from testing, and/or was a necropsy done with a difinitive cod? #362255 - did the FIRST puppy pass away from parvo? 6 weeks after arrival indicates the puppy did not arrive with it if that was the case, and the second, could have caught it from the first if that was the case. No breeder would be so quick to place another puppy if that was the case. Again, it comes down to what the actual records from the vet say. #418327 - discussing parvo again. It's sad, but it can happen. Especially when the puppy is travelling, or there are alot of visitors to a kennel or breeder, it only takes one. Most breeder's would not be so quick to put another puppy in a home who recently had parvo. A delay is understandable, and would be in the best interest of the puppies. There is also a question of the involvement of hypoglycemia in the death of any small breed puppy. Unless it is a result of a liver shunt which has been definitively diagnosed, hypoglycemia is quite often a matter of care. What a person claims is or was the problem can often be a VERY different picture once all vet records during possession are reviewed. So, a breeder may say yes, I will do this or this, after you send me the complete records and I verify and consult with my vet, but there may be a different picture after the records are recieved, or maybe the records sent are incomplete. I DID go to this breeder's site, but can not find the guarantee posted, can you please give me the terms, conditions, and requirements? I also noted that while I saw the words tea-cup, and micro, ect. I searched to no avail for something that explains the myth of these terms, and the extra care involved, and this always makes my leary. Otherwise I have some questions. Besides the details of your contract,was this morning the first time your puppy has seen a vet? I think their site says they fecal test? Do they test for parasites? When was the last negative fecal test at the breeder's before the puppy was in your possession? Unfortunately, if the first symptoms showed up after this long, the puppy could have been exposed to giardia after leaving the breeder's. The only way to reasonably be SURE a puppy CAME with giardia really, would be a positive fecal test within the first 24 hours or so. Giardia can show up within a day of exposure, or take much longer. This is one of the most common parasites there is, with several modes of transmission, and even someone who has pet your new puppy could have tranferred the parasite to the puppy. There would be a question of how many people outside the immediate family has handled the new puppy, whether or not this puppy was ever in public in ANY way, whether or not the puppy could have run through even some water in the yard or something. Um, the roaches and the crate? Is this the crate the puppy arrived in? Is the kennel in use? Was it put in the garage or outside or something after the puppy arrived? Again, we are talking about a big jump in time frames. Puppies tend to have accidents during flights, was it cleaned and disinfected since arrival (I'm not saying you may have left an obviously filthy kennel around)? If it is in use, could your puppy have taken some food in there or something? Why did roaches in the crate after 6 days make you research the kennel on the internet? The size difference, how long in between the video and arrival? Puppies grow :-). How are you certain the puppy is only 6 weeks, as opposed to twelve? Did the puppy come with any sort of registration papers? It can be VERY difficult to make an accurate guess between these ages. You should be able to tell a little more accurately in a few months or so. If you type teeth as a guide to your dog's age into google search engine, there is a pretty good guide (should be first I think) at geocities petsburgh. There is also a pretty good guide at lowchenaustralia in the health/teeth2.htm section. So could you please clarify some of these things, and possibly give me any reasonable directions towards finding other complaints? *just my opinions*