Caveat Emptor (Let the Buyer Beware)

[JulieM]

This is a true story. The names have been changed to protect the innocent.

I returned home several days ago after being asked to come and look at some boxer puppies. The breeder contacted me since her broker notified her that her boxers were not purebred. I arrived at her home to find 7 females and 4 males all just barely 12 months old. She originally had 10 females, but lost 2 trying to deliver, and one died of gangrene because of difficulties after delivering. None of her boxers are purebred - they definitely have rottie or dobie in them - probably the reason her broker sent the 7 litters back to her. I asked to see her registration papers. She was very happy to show these to me. When looking at the info a major red flag waved in my face. The breeder shown on the papers is the epitome of puppymiller.

In the last several months I have been contacted by 38 people who had purchased puppies from the same breeder that sold the woman her 14 boxers. The puppies he has sold/bred have either died by the age of 3 months or have such health problems that the puppies have been euthanized....or left at the humane shelters.

To give you some background on this man: I have had several phone conversations and many emails. Up until a few days ago he thought I was a serious puppy buyer. He sent me copies of health certifications (fakes - the numbers he used for his 2 year old stud dog were OFA coded as various-age females), went into great detail how he always enters the Boxer Specialties in our state (went back 10 years...no entries). The icing on the cake is when he went into great detail how he was best friends with many of the breeders in our state. I had asked him, if he didn't mind, would he tell me who they were? This man went on to list many breeders I knew and went on to tell me he was best buddies with breeder A, B, C....One of the breeders he mentioned was in my line. Now granted I had only signed my emails to him as just Shelly...at no time mentioned my connection to Mykennel. I immediately said "Mykennel....then you know Dick, Jane and their daughter". This person said of course... I talk to Dick at least once a week (my father has been dead for over 8 years) and I email Jane several times a week (I do all email correspondence for my mother). I was appalled. I stammered for a few minutes on the phone and said something about it's a shame what happened to their daughter. He jumped on that and said "Jennifer was such a nice girl." Not only has he been speaking to my dead father, but now I have a sister I never knew about. I gave some excuse about fixing dinner and hung up the phone.

The more I thought about our phone call the madder I got. I went to check my email an hour later, and lo and behold I received an email from this man. He wanted to know if I would be willing to put a deposit down so he would hold a puppy for me. He also attached a photo of the sire. This photo was straight off another breeder's website, and this beautiful boy has been dead for several years (no collections taken) - no way he could be the sire. He went on to state he had just spoken with Jane and she could give him a great recommendation (my mother was sitting on my couch). At that point I sent him the email from hell, blasting him and disclosing who I was.

Would you believe this man emailed me back and wrote "So I take it you don't want to put a deposit on a puppy?"

I deliberately left out the location information, as in the long run it is unimportant. There are people like this *everywhere.*

Checking references on a breeder is not a bad thing; most responsible breeders will be pleased that you are doing so much research into choosing a healthy, well-bred puppy. Knowing what the OFA certification numbers mean would have helped in this instance, and of course the OFA has a database look-up so you can be sure that the numbers match the dog in their records. (http://www.offa.org/ofasrch.html) This site explains what the numbers mean: http://www.moonstruckmeadows.com/OFAHips.htm - there are links to Cardiac and Thyroid as well.

 

[doyle9732]

WOW! I'm dumbfounded at the behaviour and gall of some people!!!

I went to the OFA search, but I guess it's just United States? Do you know if Canada has an equivalent site?

 

[JulieM]

Good point. Canada has the OVC (Ontario Veterinary College) certificate, which is not "coded" like the OFA one is:

http://www.tollerhealth.com/OVCCertificate.html

I didn't find any information on the OVC site about the hip certification program, but here's the link anyway.
http://www.ovcnet.uoguelph.ca/HomePage.html

 

[VTbxrFan]

Great post Julie -- a very important reminder for potential buyers to do their own homework and not just take somebody's word. What a horrid man this guy is.

 

[Debbie Magon]

Julie, does this happen because buyers can register their own dogs in America?

People could try to scam here saying this and that , but almost everyone here knows that 1 phone call to the kennel club is all that it takes to find out who owns what.
All breeders here are required to be registered, have purchased a kennel name and are current financial members of the New Zealand Kennel Club, but also be a fully paid member of a local support club that has Kennel Club status.
This means that locally you will in all probability be "known"

When a breeder has a litter they must register the actual litter , stating the sire and dam, whelping date and live births.
This paper work is required soon after the birth and must be accompanied by all documentation regarding the actual mating.
This is held as proof that sire and dam have in actuality produced said litter.
All parties involved must sign the correct paper work and it be wittnessed.
When the Kennel Club is satisfied that all is correct and true they will return , the paperwork stating the litter is now registered to the breeder.
When the breeder ( who is considered to be the owner of the dam) wishes to register each pup , giving each their kennel name and title, they can then transfer each pup to their new owner or retain ownership.
ALL registered pups must be registered in the kennel name of the breeder.
Thus all data is recorded and signed by the correct persons.
A quick check can reveal discrepancies and false signatures or dates and dogs etc.
Probably not a fool proof method but certainly better policed than many other countries.
What is your system and is it better or worse than ours?
NZ is currently encouraging micro chipping of all registered dogs.

 

[JulieM]

We do have litter registrations, which must be signed by the owners of both the sire and the dam, and also includes whelping date and live births (not including white puppies, in a Boxer litter, for Code of Ethics breeders). We don't require witnessing of signatures or documentation regarding the mating.

From there, the AKC sends to the breeder (the owner of the dam) the individual dog registration slips. The breeder can register the dogs herself or give the registration slips to the puppy buyers to register (or not) as they choose. The papers do state that the person who owns the dog at the time has the right to name it. Some breeders include in their contract the registered name, and some register the puppies to them before they are sold, and transfer the registration once the conditions of the contract (i.e., spay/neuter) are met.

The AKC does register kennel names, but you have do a lot of breeding in 5 years to be able to do it, and you have to have a name that is unique - no city, state, etc. names and nothing that can be found in the dictionary. Once you do register a kennel name (and many people don't), no one can use it without your written permission (there is a section on the registration form where the owner of the kennel name has to sign off).

However - I don't think this particular situation occurred because of the registration process. I doubt these pups would have been registered anyway (more like the papers would be "still at AKC" for months on end, if any of the buyers even asked for them).

I think this situation occurred because there are no restrictions on who can breed dogs in the US, and because the majority of puppy buyers don't research before they buy a dog and so don't know that there are people like this out there. Certainly most people wouldn't have known that the picture of the "sire" that the guy sent was another dog entirely, unless they were familiar with the show fancy, and many people have never heard of the OFA, much less know how to read certifications....And so, this guy can sell his puppies and even if they all die before 3 months of age, certainly he's offering no guarantees on them and there will be new people falling for his story, so he will continue to sell more puppies and to make money - and that's what it's all about, for him.

 

[sfromsf]

This is what scares me when looking for a pup. The more I read the more confused I get.. LOL...

Even if you do research you can't be sure the information you are gathering is accurate...

sigh:(

 

[JulieM]

No, not always :( But there are ways to verify the information. You can double-check the OFA numbers, and you can check the registered number on the AKC site (www.akc.org - go to the online store and search for a dog). You might be able to call the AKC to verify parentage/ownership, but I'm not sure they won't charge you for it. Show results are listed on the AKC site and at some of the superintendents' sites, and catalogs always have the name and address of the dog's owner(s).

Also, most breeders have websites, or at least e-mail, so if someone tells you they are "best friends" with someone, you can almost always find a way to contact them to check the reference (aside from the info the breeder gives you, which may be a friend of his pretending to be someone else In this case, the "Mykennel" name is well-known in the breed.). References from previous puppy buyers can be helpful too.

This is not to say that you can't trust anyone - there are plenty of good breeders out there, too! But just because someone knows what to say or has a good-looking website, doesn't mean they are ethical or reputable. Know what questions to ask, know what the answers mean, and most importantly, trust your gut - if something doesn't feel quite right about a situation, check it out further. As I said, responsible breeders will be happy you're doing your research - and irresponsible ones you don't want to deal with anyway!

 

[Debbie Magon]

Julie, I think one of the advantages of living in a very small country is we all know what each other is up to.
If we even hear a murmur of a BYB litter being bred we are onto it.
We phone up and visit and have very lengthy "chats" about what is going on.
I get frequent calls from people who have been "warned" about BYB and wish to discuss the advantages of purchasing from a registered breeder.
Some have been burnt previously and some have simply heard BYB is risky at best.
I have even had calls from BYB breeders asking me why they cant sell pups , even cheaply, when I have waiting lists
We as breeders are also getting the full support of our vets, as they continually remind pet owners to do their homework and be aware of what they are getting.
Just goes to show all that "stirring" we do about BYB here really pays off to the pet buyers!


New Zealand has no tollerance for puppy mills and anyone caught operating in this manner is shut down and dealt to very quickly.
Because all dog owners must register ALL dogs with their local council, many districts are now offering cheap rates for those who can produce the vet signed steralisation papers for their dogs.
Its incentives like these that is helping to curb the problems society in general is encountering with dogs and dog owners.