Complaint Review: Sarah Forman Sarah Ford Nancy Ford - Springfield Missouri

Sarah Forman Nancy Ford Jeanette Ford Jeanette Reed got me too! I purchased a maltese/yorkie mix from them in Oct 2005. The transaction went well and Sarah Forman was very pleasant. I received the puppy but within three days my pup was hospitalized. His blood sugar was low. The hospital released him later that night and being excited about having him back home, I did not leave him for overnight observation. The next day, he started exhibiting symptoms similar to what happened just before I took him to the hospital. I called Sarah Forman. She obliged and recommended some energy/sugar suppliments to give him. I did so - three days after I had gotten him back from the hospital, he went to sleep at night and when I checked on him, he appeared not to be breathing. As I reached down to check on him, I saw he was lying in a pool of blood which was coming from his anus. His eyes were closed and he was not breathing. I attempted CPR and with that he did open his eyes. We RUSHED him to the hospital where they were able to stabilize him. After four days in the hospital it was determined he had worms and coccidia. Coccidia happens when dogs eat the fecies of other dogs. This is most common in puppy mills. Coccidia also has a 2 week incubation period which is commonly catalyzed by traumatic events such as moving to a new home. I had paid 600 for the dog, 250 for shipping and over $1000 in medical bills. I reached out to Sarah and was no longer able to get a hold of her. I sent multiple email and left multiple voice messages. I asked Sarah to refund the $600 ONLY. That way there would be no out-of-pocket expense to her and I would cover the other costs. I would have been willing to negotiate but Sarah NEVER responded to me. As a result I took Sarah to court. She, of course, never showed up. I was awarded a judgement in my favor and am in the process of recovering my damages. In addition, I was told the parents of my pup were 5 and 6 pounds. My dog is now over 9lbs. In addition, my pup has genetic defects which are indicative of bad breeding. Buyer beware!!!

S.N., I get your point...it's just the way that you are trying to get it across that is pretty abrasive. We are adults here...no need to say that "maybe you should bring ME all the companion animals that have been dumped at your facility", etc. just because I had an opinion that didn't agree with yours. Am I the one dumping these animals? You work with rescue...I volunteer. That's okay...we have plenty in our shelters and that's not counting the ones that I've taken in that have wandered up. I do understand your anger and I interpret it as that. For you to say that I am a breeder or someone that doesn't care is far from the truth and that's a low blow. If it is education you want to give to people, do not insult them or their intelligence or rate how much they care or scold them for trying to purchase a puppy. Tests have shown that a person develops their entire personality that maps how they behave, what they like, etc. by the AGE of FIVE! It all starts at the home. Maybe your "educating" would be of more benefit if you volunteer to speak at schools about pets and responsiblity. I didn't mean for this report to turn into a blog but I try to bite my tongue but you highly perturb me by saying I DO NOT CARE! Especially when this report is supposed to be about someone else ripping people off! Let me just tell the readers about something that happened to me while I was shopping with my dog at a PetsMart. I placed my dog IN the CART and it was fine and we were minding our own business when two HUMANS came up to ohhh and ahhh over the dog... One said, "Oh...that poor doggie on that cold metal wire..." I guess it would have been better to have the dog tethered and drag it or be dragged BY it around thru the store...or should I have wrapped it up and coddled it throughout the store while trying to carry a purse and 40 lb. bag of dog food? My point...with many "animal lovers" forget to remember that HUMANS themselves are animals... NEVER have I EVER had anyone come up to me in the grocery store while I was pushing my toddlers around in the cart and say, "Oh....those poor little children...that cold metal wire..." Geez, let's get this into perspective. You know, if I had to stop and think about every injustice in the world done to children, innocent victims, animals, genocide in Darfur, bombings in Iraq, rude people at McDonald's,... I would just crawl under the blankets and never come out. No, I just try to make things a little bit better in my little part of the world...I cannot change entire mankind and can only hope that good will overcome evil. Okay, Martha...back to you. Good luck with your pursuit of justice and hope you DO get your money refunded from these two--Sarah Ford and Jeanette Ford (Reed).

That an 11 year old will go off to college in say, 8 or 9 years. Do you expect this dog's life expectancy to be LESS than that? Again, go to your local shelter and see how many elderly dogs are dumped - daily. I do go after the actual "abusers", but I believe in education. The fact that you don't seems to indicate that you are either a) a breeder or b) just don't care. You don't know anymore than I do whether or not the parents of this boy are aware of the purchase -- the OP didn't respond to that question. If they don't, the OP needs to let them in on the deal. Otherwise, the canine companion could be in for a miserable life.

Okay, S.N. from Kansas. I understand your aggrevation with the puppymill situation and all the dogs you have to rescue or try to rescue. Martha was helping her nephew find a certain puppy and he chose this particular one. This little boy is 10 or 11 years old, won't be "wandering" off to college and dumping the dog anytime soon (that's a joke by the way) and I'm sure Martha had his parents consent to help him purchase a puppy. So you say if we are NOT part of the solution then we are part of the problem? Excuuuuse meeeeeee?? Many people adopt or purchase pets; some of these people are very responsible and take excellent care of their pets. Their pets have better health care plans than many children do, including dental! and then you have the other side of the fence. Owners who THINK they want a puppy and then find out it's a little more work than sitting and playing the playstation with their thumbs. THEY ARE THE ONES YOU NEED TO BE PREACHING TO! I think you're talking to the choir here. Anyway, my apologies to Martha for taking some of the steam out of her posting. S.N., I am trying hard not to continue arguing when it seems pretty senseless. The fact is, a little boy was deprived of his money and puppy he saved up for just because TWO individuals (NOT THE WORLD in this particular case)were greedy and con-artists. I suppose you post under EVERY POST and bash anyone that tries to buy a dog and is ripped off in some way? ("Nanny nanny noo noo, I told you so!"?) Seems like you ought to do your slam dunking under the "animal abuse" section here. You could slam the abusers--the ones that really deserve it. Okay, can we get back to things at hand and try to get justice for those that are ripped-off?

I work in rescue. Do you know how many animals are dumped DAILY because no one did their research? Been to your local shelter lately? I did tell the OP I was sorry they were ripped off, BUT part of having a companion animal is BEING RESPONSIBLE. Do you want me to send you the next companion animals that come through rescue because "it was my kid's pet but they lost interest, went off to college, got married". If you aren't a part of the solution, you are a part of the problem. If my educating humans to use their heads before they BUY THAT ANIMAL, then you don't really get it at all. Missouri does have a bad name in puppy mills. Kansas is going to catch up with them. Until we humans start doing our research and stop buying from puppy mills, they will continue to flourish. Do I feel bad about someone losing their money to a puppy mill? Not nearly as bad as I feel for the sick or unwanted companion animal.

I forgot to mention that this was the first website they had which is now no longer online. Also, in the list of dogs Jeanette Ford (or Jeanette Reed as she claimed) raises, I forgot to mention SHIH TZUS and she has advertised beagles online before also. Anyone else who has been taken by these two need to come forward and post your story. I've given up on ever getting papers on my dog but I would like to see Martha get her money back and justice served here.

S.N., I've noticed your posts after many of these listings and apparently you are an animal rights person. That's fine and dandy but this is a RIP-OFF SITE where people come to report that they've been ripped off. The damage has been done, WHY continue to lash them with a wet noodle? Why lash out at them when they were attempting to purchase a pet? Why not stand outside the pound and lash the ignorant people that drop their pets off because they're too BUSY or moving to keep the pet and don't care if it's dead in 3 days or drive down country roads and try to come up on someone dumping pets that will starve? Or stop at homes that have skinny dogs tied to a tree with no housing? WHY IS THE VICTIM HERE THE ONE THAT IS WRONG??? Haven't you EVER made a mistake? And...I live in Missouri...and I can tell you there are just as many puppymills in other states also---I've lived in many. It's just that Missouri has REGULATIONS and the kennels have to be vet inspected and state inspected even if they are not USDA and don't sell to petshops. Oklahoma has NO REGULATION at all (read the forums on nextdaypets and find out about the kennel seizure in Oklahoma where the elderly puppymill owner was giving C-sections to her own dogs without anesthesia and using fishing line) and I'm not sure about Kansas. There are many kennels out there flying under the radar. Do not bash anyone attempting to purchase a puppy from MISSOURI. I feel that Missouri has been given a bad reputation--not all kennels or breeders are bad. It's just that these kennels in Missouri are lawfully bound to report that they exist, to allow inspections and reports and there is a papertrail for you animal rights persons to attack and verify that YES this kennel exists...and there are many. As there are many MANY in other states you DON'T know about. I was in animal rescue for years and on the board of directors for an animal rescue 501(C)3 so I'm not bashing you for being an animal rights advocate. I've fostered homeless animals and taken in strays and done fundraisers and volunteered for it and paid vet expenses out of my own pocket. The poor little unattractive ones that no one else wanted I kept. That being said, a rip-off is a rip-off and I call it as I see it. That's why this site exists. Martha was ripped off by a person or persons who didn't care about her or her nephew or their feelings...just had pure greed in mind.

I notice you said you were purchasing the dog for your 11 year old nephew. Why aren't his parents purchasing the dog for him? Do they know about the dog? What happens when the 11 year old graduates from high school and wanders off to college? Are the parents or you going to be responsible for the dog when the kid doesn't have time for it anymore? I'm sorry you were ripped off, but if you had done your research you would have noticed that Missouri is famous for being full of puppy mills. You and your nephew should be responsible for purchasing any companion animal and go see the facilities where the animal has been bred and is kept, get referrals from their customers, find out if any complaints have ever been filed against them.

Well, this is a very long story... Nancy J. Ford, aka Jeanette Ford or Jeanette REED (possible alias) as she told me her name was Jeanette Reed sold me a purebred dog a while back...we had talked a few times on the phone before as she had placed an ad in the local paper. I met her and was told I was getting a discount off of the "Internet" price for the dog. I paid her roughly $700 CASH for the puppy. I didn't write a check because I figured she wouldn't accept a check from someone she didn't know. The puppy was fine and I have no complaint about that...what I do have a problem with is the fact that I was told that she was registered (PAID $$$ FOR A REGISTERED DOG) and when I arrived to pick up the puppy I was told that she had sent off for the papers and they were on their way. She seemed nice and I'm a very gullible person so I thought it wasn't a big deal. After the fact, I realized that she wrote on a receipt just the amount and Cash, paid...no names. Nothing to prove she had even SOLD me a puppy. On a recipe card she had written what shots the dog had...again, nothing with HER name on it! She said she registered the dogs with United All Breed Registry. I talked with United All Breed Registry and asked about the papers on my dog...a woman there said no dogs had been registered to them in quite some time but named many names (possible aliases) these dogs had been registered under from the same address. She also said she would note my phone call and put it in their file as they had many complaints on them. I called Jeanette numerous times to ask about the papers and was told they were on their way or another time she said she had been sick, etc. I waited...nothing...I tried to call again and again and no answer (she has caller ID, I'm sure). After I got a new phone number, I called her and did manage to get her on the phone and she asked, "Oh, is this your new number?" I'm sure she put it on block so I couldn't contact her again. Then I began to wonder why she was really not giving people papers for "registered" dogs. I came to the conclusion after talking to many people that she was running an illegal kennel(SHE IS SUPPOSED TO BE LICENSED)and trying to hide under the radar and didn't want to give anyone PROOF that they had bought a dog from her. The state has at least four reports on her according to one person that works in the Animal Welfare Dept. and later it was discovered that she is named on www.pet-abuse(dot)com also for a citation the Dept. of Agriculture gave her for dealing animals without a license. On Puppyfind she had her daughter front her kennel in HER name. They claim to be a hobby/show kennel so they do not have to be inspected or pay for the license or a fee on each animal sold. They pulled the "SARAH FORMAN" ads after the state inspector contacted them and then relisted them under another name--I believe it was "Pick-a-Puppy"...then onto another website and now it's gone... Even hobby kennels or show kennels post a phone number or location if they have a website. They're evasive and want you to email THEM first, not call. I believe this new website they had was registered (whois search) under a company in Canada and their info was locked. I'm positive it was them. It had exactly the same breeds she raises and had a "shopping cart" with number of "items" (DOGS) and when the dog was sold it was "Out of STOCK!!" Again, no phone number...just asked you to email their gmail address and they'd get back to YOU. BUYERS BEWARE! If you ever buy one of their dogs, make sure you pay unregistered price because you will never see the papers...and by hearing about Martha's story, you might be lucky to get your puppy! I've talked to Martha myself about her loss and not getting the puppy or money back. The state inspector told Sarah to pay her back for the puppy Martha never received and SARAH never did. The state inspector also told Sarah to send the money CERTIFIED MAIL also but that didn't happen. Oh, and they don't have a regular landline phone in their names that I can tell...just the cell phones. Unfortunately, the state's hands are tied unless they can prove that she has more than 10 intact breeding dogs...and she told me in her own words she had at least 25 and she needed to build up her breeding stock. In my opinion she is farming them out at a friend's or relative's,also. I believe she is always one step ahead of the law but maybe one day her luck will run out. It's a sad shame because I honestly thought that Jeanette (Nancy j. Ford) was a nice, honest person. Nancy J. Ford, why didn't you just SAY the dog was unregistered and reduce the price accordingly! WHY LIE AND LIE AND LIE???!!! I could have decided then and there whether I wanted to pay that much for an unregistered "Purebred" dog. Oh, and Martha said one of their references was a minister.