Complaint Review: Carol Dewey Sweet Cream Golden Golden Retriever - Internet Kansas

We purchased a very lovinig dog just a little over 5 months in age from Sweet Cream Golden.  He was left over from a litter of 9 and we thought getting an older puppy would fit great into our family dynamic...and he did.  We actually purchased our English Cream Golden (Peyton) at a discounted price due to the fact that he was older and there were other current litters of puppies that were available.

Two months after we had Peyton home, we noticed that his fur was gone in some areas in his body.  After having his skin scraped, it was determined that Peyton had demodex mites.  Our vet confirmed that all dogs can have the mites that is is a immune deficiency that prevents some dogs from fighting them off, in our case, Peyton had to go through Mitoban treatments for 2 months to get rid of the mites, basically dipping him in a pesticide to kill the mites.  These treatments cost us over 400.00. 

We also noticed that Peyton was a heavy breather and made a "snoring" noise almost all the time.  The vet said he might have a soft palette, which is a condition that short headed dogs get, not common to goldent retrievers.  Petyon also seemed to tire very easily and was not as active as a dog his age would normally be.

In addition to the noises Peyton made, his skin was flaking black.  Our vet was not sure what it was but was concerned and sent us to a VCA Animal Speciality Hosptial which Petyon was anesthesized to look at his throat and to do skin biopsies.  It was determined by a surgeon of 25 years that Peyton was having problems with his glotis, a muscle flap in his throat that was not operating properly and the "noise" Peyton was making was his inability to get enough air at certain times.  The dermatologist report said that Petyon had a skin condition called Ichytosis which is a condition that has no cure and recommended vitamin treatments to try and keep it under control.  As far as the glotis problems, the surgeon said the only thing that would provide proper air flow would be a tracheotomy.  He consulted with another vet that specialized in upper respiratory problems and that vet has only seen that condition one other time in his career and agreed that the tracheotomy would be the only way to get Peyton the proper air flow he needs.  He is limited on his exercise and since his glotis problem has not been seen my many specialists, it is unknown at this time how long Peyton will be able to live and there is no way to really know if or how much he might be suffering.  We spent 800.00 to find out that the dog we have loved since the day he arrived, might never have true quality of life.

My husband contacted Carol and yes, we have ready the contract which clearly states that they will give you another dog if there are serious conditions.  We were not looking for another dog, we were looking for some compensation to the costs we have incurred.  Carol's suggestion was to send him back, which was not an option, I am sorry, true animal lovers and people that breed these wonderful dogs would not offer that option.  I have contacted two other breeders of Golden Retrievers one of which is in our state of Illinois and those breeders said that they would not only have refunded the money we spent on the dog but would have let us keep him as well.  They would not have asked for us to pay to send the dog back.  That is cruel and ridiculous. 

We have a wonderful, loving dog and just want to give him as great of a life as we can.  I will say that Vivian Dewey was correct when she said that Peyton was the sweetest dog.  He has brought such much joy to our family and we have made a promise to give him a good life for however long he is with us.  I just want people to understand that when bringing a dog into a family with small kids, it can be a risk and to really read the fine print and find a breeder that is going to really stand behind the dogs they are breeding. 

On a final note, a client of mine got a golden retriever a few years back from a breeder in Georgia.  After 6 months the dog was diagnosed with hip displaysia in both hips.  They contacted the breeder and the breeder gave her a full refund which they used to get surgery on the dog.  This to me showed that that particular breeder cared about the client's best interest and their own reputation as a breeder.