Alfenloch Collies
reviews and complaints

It's unfortunate to have to post such a horrible review, but this just simply cannot go on! I would happily give a zero-star rating, but it looks as though that's not an option! I would like to start off by saying that Diane Fitzpatrick is a liar, a thief, a scammer, and is simply careless in everything she does.

We reached out to Diane in May 2021 to buy a puppy as a gift to someone very dear to our family (for their 94th birthday). These puppies were to be "born in August" and "ready to go in October at 8 weeks" (as stated in my early conversations with Diane) after some more talking (on July 22nd) Diane stated that the dogs were being bred "right now" and litters were to be born "September", which is a month later than previously discussed. My family and I thought nothing more of the inconsistency and decided we wanted to meet her and the dogs in person. We booked our formal meeting (on July 22nd) to meet on July 26th.

After visiting and a lot of thought, we decided to reserve a puppy with a $500.00 deposit (we reserved a puppy on August 17th). At no point did Diane ever say that the deposit for the reservation of a puppy would be non-refundable, nor did it state this on her website.

Between August 18th and September 22nd we heard nothing more of the soon-to-be mother dogs or their puppies. I received no updates as to how the dogs were doing, vet visits, how many puppies were to be expected, or when we could expect to meet these puppies in person. Little did I know that there were no puppies! September 17th I messaged her regarding how the expected mothers were doing, I heard nothing. I re-sent the message the 18th and still heard nothing! On the 22nd of September I was then told that the three dogs that were expected to produce puppies were "not pregnant" and that one dog would be bred late fall with puppies expected "early spring of 2022" (ready to go "March 2022"), for which we'd be put on the waiting list. Obviously, my family and I wanted no part in this. I then asked to be removed from the list and that my family and I wanted our deposit back, to which she said deposits are "not refundable". Let me clearly state that at no point were we told the deposits are non-refundable, nor did it say this anywhere on her website. I know this wasn't stated on her site because I checked again that very day (September 22nd) and to my surprise "Collie Puppies due September 2021!" was Still being advertised! (See picture).

Not only are we completely disappointed in Diane's lack of professionalism, but we're disappointed in her character. When I expressed how upset I was in our experience with her and disheartened that we trusted her, she proceeded to send me a picture of a "Canadian Kennel Club" plaque presented to her in "2019"in recognition of 50 years of dedicated service"(picture attached). All I have to say is this, if the Canadian Kennel Club prides themselves in their ability to"speak out on major issues concerning dog ownership and the health & welfare of dogs across Canada" they need to do a bit of a deeper search. A simple google search will show a darker side of Alfenloch Collies. Take a look for yourself.

WARNING: This breeder does NOT tell you deposits are NOT refundable and POTENTIAL HUMAN HEALTH CONCERNS:
Full story: Our family wanted another collie after our last one passed away many years ago. I was told by Diane the breeder that she was expecting several litters in September 2021 from three females that were bred from 2 males and we would have to put a $500 deposit down. At no time did she say this deposit was non refundable NOR WAS THAT MENTIONED ON HER WEBSITE OR FACEBOOK PAGE.
At no time did she inform us that this waiting list I was put on was a indefinite waiting list (that could be potentially years). The way our communications went by text lead me to believe that if there were not enough puppies from these litters than I would receive my deposit back. She said we could contact her any time for updates and that she would send pictures of the moms and pups when they arrived, which she told me were expected mid September to end of September. On September 7 I asked her how the mommies were doing and received no response. September 16 asked again; her response, "girls are all doing well, but not so sure they are going to have big litters". This was kind of my first flag and thought that to be an unusually thing to say. I found her very slow to respond to my texts. My next text to her was October 6th well past the date the pups would have been born. At this point I had many concerns because she had informed me that she would send pics of the pups and she did not even let me know anything until I asked her for an update on October 6. Then on October 6 I get her response that there was only one pup born, and in the same text, she said she would be breeding a female in a month or so and would be ready to go early Spring. Once again giving me the impression that I would be getting a pup in the Spring. (I found out later that I am number 12 on the waiting list, so that would make it impossible to get a pup from this litter.) I now know this is not at all truthful because she gets away with holding your money by using WAITING LIST AMBIGUOUSLY. Having only one pup from three females was very concerning to myself and my husband who is a veterinarian. He texted her on October 8 indicating his concern that it is one thing to have one female to have a misfortune, but three was very unusual. He suggested that she get in touch with her veterinarian because he was concerned of the possibility of Brucellosis which could also be a HUMAN HEALTH CONCERN. Her response to my husband was that she did not suspect Brucellosis and that she had been breeding for 50 years. This was deeply concerning to us because as she did not suspect Brucellosis, it did not appear that she was going to have the animals tested for it. My husband and I lost faith and trust and because of our now several concerns we had asked her to return our deposit since we had put a deposit down on the September litters.
That is when she responded that the deposit was not refundable. I was in total shock, and that is when she informed me that my deposit was on a waiting list.
My final text communication with her was on October 10, 2021 where we once again addressed our concerns, that we had lost faith and trust in her and that we no longer wanted a pup from her. We again asked her to return our deposit because it was the right and ethical thing to do and we did tell her that we would have no other options than to make complaints to the CKC. and others. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE LET THIS BE A WARNING TO ALL BUYERS, DON"T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU. SHE HAS DONE THIS MORE THAN ONCE FROM PAST REVIEWS. As of today October 11, 2021 Alfenloch Collies website is still saying pups available in September and ready to go for November.

Reached out to Diane Fitzpatrick in April 2021 and wanted a puppy. She explained they'd be ready in September. When we reached out again in the summer, she explained it would now be November. She asked for a $500 deposit, which we paid. She never mentioned it was non-refundable nor provided us with a receipt saying as much. We reached out to her again on Sunday September 27 and she explained there were no puppies and we would not receive one in November as promised. When we asked for our deposit back she outright refused, explaining it's "common practice." We were not informed of this, there was no explicit policy and now only because we want it back she conveniently mentions it. We can't ensure she ever planned on getting us a puppy. We want our money back from this thief.

I was in contact with Diane from Alfenloch Collies (http://www.alfenlochcollies.com) from January 2016 to May. We had been emailing back and forth about upcoming litters, and my husband and I agreed that the timing of her first litter due in the spring was perfect for our family. I explained in detail the importance of the timing, being that we wanted the puppy to be home with us at the beginning of July.
We sent a $400 deposit, and waited.
In April, I was on Alfenloch's Facebook page and I noticed 2 negative reviews. When I read them, I became concerned, and I contacted Diane to ask about how the mother was doing, as her litter was due at the end of April. She is not quick to respond and it hadn't bothered me until I read her Facebook complaints, but she finally got back to me and explained that the mother had 'missed' the litter, and the next litter was due 3 weeks later. This was a problem for my family, as we had arranged and agreed that it was important to have the puppy in early July so that we could have the summer with her. I have an 8 year old who has been asking for this puppy for 3 years, and the thought of missing our opportunity was heartbreaking.
I was upset that Diane hadn't informed me sooner about the missed litter, as it clearly affected the timing of our puppy's arrival and she knew how important the timing was. I emailed her a few more times, waxing and waning about whether or not we could push the pick up date back by almost a month.
Finally my husband and I agreed that the timing was not fair to the new puppy, and we would have to postpone getting a dog. I emailed Diane and asked for my deposit back.
I did this, having carefully read her website, re-read our emails and there was no mention of it being non-refundable.
She emailed me promptly to say that deposits were non-refundable.
What I find most unprofessional about this is that omitting 'non-refundable' in our first exchanges, and then claiming to be just that is highly deliberate. As a breeder who claims to have been in the business for decades, you would think she would have learned the importance of clarifying to every customer that very specific detail. Not doing so is dishonest, misleading and perhaps a tactic.
I was shocked, and I explained that under this circumstance, the deal was broken simply the moment the litter 'missed'. It was nobody's fault, but because we had been so clear about the importance of timing, it seems unfair to withhold our money when there was no litter. I didn't back out after the puppy was born, and held my spot on the list until she lost business from other interested buyers. I made a decision about the wellbeing of a new puppy that was tied to our original deal, and that deal wasn't able to come to fruition.
Since I have expressed my discontent about her handling of this, I have not heard back from her. I suspect she makes quite a bit of money lauding herself as a professional breeder, and then keeping people's deposits when the right pieces are in place.
I urge everyone to avoid business with Diane from Alfenloch, and and I hope nobody else looses valuable money to her.