Complaint Review: Tropico Kennels - Palmdale California

My family purchased a mini red male goldendoodle from this kennel.  We paid $2000 plus shipping and wiring fees.  We immediately wired the money to their account first thing that morning.  When we received him we noticed that he was walking a little funny.  At first I thought it was just the long flight, but upon further investigation he is missing half of his paw on his right hind foot.  His leg looks like a stick with a large pad at the bottom and one very tiny toe on the side.  Completely missing 3 toes.  I was literally sick about it all night long wondering if he had been born that way or if some trauma occured while he was at Tropico Kennels. 

The next morning we took him to our vet who immediately did several x-rays.  She could not determine for certain if it was caused by trauma or a birth defect, but advised us that he would require much more care as he grew older and put on more weight because his walking would probably only get worse.  We have a 10 year old vizsla that has hip displaysia and we have been through surgeries and years of medication to give her the best life possible.  The vet said the likely scenario is the exact same for this 9 wk old puppy.

I then called the vet that was listed on his health records.  He was extremely helpful, but had very little knowledge of the puppy because he says that he only sees their dogs if they need a paper signed to fly them to the new owners.  He informed me that he does not do a full exam only listens to the heart and checks a box then signs the paper.  I wanted to know if Lisa Barreras had knowledge of the foot but he said he did not know.  

My husband called her and her first response was they had no idea and ship him back for a refund.  Are you kidding me?  I'm not sending him back there.  We are animal lovers that will do anything to give him the best life possible and obviously that is not with Tropico Kennels.  If the foot was caused by trauma then I definitely did not want to put him back in that same situation. If the deformed foot was caused by a birth defect and they really did not know about it then they OBVIOUSLY had not spent any time with the puppy at all.  After reading other reviews of their kennels I feel like the puppies spend most of their time in cages/kennels.   

I then called Lisa SEVERAL times and she would not answer the phone.  Finally that afternoon as I was leaving a message she picked up and asked me what I wanted her to do to resolve this.  I told her that I would not send him back but I wanted SOME of my money refunded.  I explained I just wanted to be treated fairly and wanted to know what a fair price would be for a puppy with a deformed foot from her kennel. She said she would talk with her husband and call me back in a couple of hours.  HA!  She did not call.  I sent her pictures of 3 x-rays, a video of the puppy limping (which is his normal gait), our vet bill from yesterday, and my vet's email of her findings.  (also took him to 2 other vets and they agreed with the first)

She emailed me at midnight to tell me that my vet was exaggerating things and that she and her husband have know dogs that can walk on 3 legs. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??????  Did the owner unknowingly buy the dog for over $2000???? She also explained that my puppy was already sold at a "discounted" price and they thought that was a fair price for the puppy.  Obviously I am not getting my money back, but PLEASE DO NOT BUY FROM THEM!  There is a reason they are not listed under reputable goldendoodle breeders in CA.