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My brother and his wife purchased a puppy from this kennel for $1100.00. The contract stated that if this puppy had any health issues or there were other difficulties that made keeping this puppy not a feasible option, that they were to contact the breeder first to return her to them and not to sell her themselves. My brother followed this advise when the puppy became sick within a few days of ownership. They took the puppy back to the breeder and, since they had only had the puppy for a week, were expecting a full refund. The breeder went on and on about how much trouble they were having financially and all their ups and downs with this problem and that problem and said that money was tight and they were not sure what they could do. Since my brother and his wife are such kind hearted people, they felt sorry for the lady and said they would leave her with the pup and contact her later to see about getting their money back. A short time later, my brother found the pup they had purchased back up for sale and the breeder had not contacted them about a refund. Soon after, the pup sold but still nothing from the breeder. My brother phoned and left messages as well as emails and none were returned. Finally they got an email saying they did resell the pup but to some hospital for a therapy dog and that their financial difficulties were still such that they could not give back anymore than maybe $200.00. This is just not acceptable but there is no way they have for any recourse as the only receipt they got from the breeder was for the $200.00 deposit. When they paid the balance of $900.00 they were so excited about their new puppy that getting a receipt didn't cross their mind and, the breeder did not offer. This is not the way to run a reputable breeding kennel. I can send photos when I get them from my brother if that is important. They are so upset with this that I decided to take matters into my own hands as I have lots of background in purchasing dogs through great breeders and have been in the world of dogs for over 40 years. They came to me for help and I am happy to help.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer's satisfaction.
In my many years of dealing with this breeder, I have known her and her family to be forthright, honest people. I would certainly be interested in hearing her side of the story portrayed as I do not believe this to be an accurate representation of her practices. I have many incredible dogs from her.
As the owner of Ravine Acres, I find much of this submission to be false.
To start off, the couple that purchased the puppy in question were very enthusiastic and very impatiently eager to adopt. At times, people tell us what they feel we want to hear regarding their lifestyle/activity level. Had we been given a bit of a more appropriate activity level/lifestyle description, we would have most likely have recommended a different breed as these little one's can be quite active.
The complaint indicates that the couple had decided to return the puppy after the puppy became sick (they had her for 5 days when they initially told me that it was not working out). The email that we had received on January 23rd, 2015 is as follows:
Good morning Racine, how are things with you? Not doing so good here, we are wanting to return Sophie as I cannot keep up with the puppy training, it breaks my heart because I thought I could but I cannot. Could you please call me (her phone #), thank you. I am very depressed right now…
We discussed the family bringing her back, talked for a very long time over the telephone. We tried to make the lady feel better about her decision as she was crying and very noticeably upset with the choice that she had made. She did not want us to re-home her, asked that we keep the puppy here (at the farm) and that we keep in touch with updates as she grew up. We did not promise, however let her know that we would do what we could, we wanted to make it a smooth as possible transition.
Now, as a breeder, is it our fault that the new owner was unprepared and unable to keep up with the puppy training? They initially contacted me on December 11, 2014 regarding adoption, we assumed that they had a fair amount of time to fully prepare for the adoption, they did not take the puppy on a 'whim' or spur of the moment purchase. In between the dates December 11, 2014 and time of pick up January 18, 2015, 18 emails and a handful of phone calls (we keep all emails, however do not keep a transaction log of our phone calls unfortunately) were exchanged, training tips and ideas, puppy preparation ideas were offered, questions welcomed.
When they brought the puppy back, we spent well over an hour trying to console her and their choice to bring the pup back. The man had indicated directly that he did not care if they got anything back regarding a refund, they just wanted to make sure the pup was looked after. He also confessed that she had never actually owned a puppy before, their previous dog was already a trained adult dog. Had we known this prior to adoption, we would have had reservations in placing a puppy with a senior couple.
As per her request, we did keep the puppy here, kept up correspondence with them, photo updates as per her request. It became apparent after 2-2.5 weeks after the return of the puppy that it was not going to work. Puppy was only with them for 1 short week, however was spoiled beyond belief in that week. We did not have the time or energy to keep a puppy that was high maintenance, she was not fitting into our 'pack' dynamics with the other dogs. When we came to this conclusion, the initial family was informed PRIOR to the puppy being re-advertised on our website, he didn't happen to 'find' her re-advertised, as we had informed them of our need to find better placement prior to our advertising her via email on February 13, 2015. Since she had insisted that we keep the pup here, a very detailed, kind letter was written to her explaining why we needed to re-home her, and how it was in her best interest that she was in fact re-homed.
GREAT communication via email was exchanged, in fact an email sent to us on January 28th reads as follows:
Racene, I just want to say, that since we have met, it feels like you and I have made a real connection and I would like to stay in touch with you, that is, if you want to. You have a busy and an amazing life over there! I really enjoy talking with you. I know you have a full plate all the time with every thing that goes on. It’s good to get our thoughts and emotions out somewhere, and would love to hear more from you, happy and not so happy things, it’s good for the soul baby! Email me anytime, ok? Thanks again for letting me know how the progress is coming along and take good care, Toodles, (ladies name)..
At some point between February 13th and February 24th, the man did call (only 1 telephone call/message was left, not 'messages' as this complaint indicates), an email reply was sent on February 24th indicating an apology for the tarty reply. EVERY SINGLE email that was sent to us was replied to. I have email record to support this (34 emails were exchanged between us at this point).
The puppy was re-sold to the right family. Since the puppy was quite a bit older when re-homed, her price was reduced drastically to find the RIGHT family, not just any family. People are very apprehensive in purchasing a puppy when it has been returned. At this point, the puppy was no longer a puppy, but rather a teenager dog that was becoming gangly and goofy looking, as well as quite naughty and needly like many 'teenager' puppies are. When a pup is returned, people will question the puppies' personality. They question the fact as to why the puppy has been returned. It is quite difficult to find the right placement for pups that are returned. We did find the right placement for this pup, however the new owner (due to a budget and fixed income) was only able to afford $550, and yes, she did become a therapy/service dog that is now residing part time in a hospital.
It was NEVER indicated at any point that money was tight and we did not know what we could do in this situation. NEVER. Nor was it was indicated that financial difficulties were such that we could not afford to refund any more than $200.
We do no issue a receipt for the $200 deposit as indicated in the complaint letter, however most everyone that purchases a pup receives a signed receipt. I indicate that 'most everyone' receives a receipt as I do admit to there being a handful of times that our printer was out of ink, we were unable to print one off. In this particular case, we do have the signed copy of the receipt, he was handed a duplicate (with our signatures) upon pick up. The duplicate receipt is included in the 'puppy package', it is pointed out to the adoptive family upon pick up. The signed receipt that we have in our files indicates their total of $1100.
Our contract specifically indicates that the puppy is not to be re-sold to a breeding facility or taken to a shelter. We would take the puppy back and find it a suitable placement. Often times, people that are needing to return a puppy don't want to be bothered with the work of finding the right home that is more suited to the puppies' needs (we have had maybe 6 or so returns in the 8 years of breeding). Upon doing quite extensive research into the 'return' policy of other breeders, we were not able to find a single breeder that offers a full refund. Most refunds were given in accordance to the puppies' age, the amount between 15% and 40% of initial purchase price of the puppy (as the puppy gets older, refund is less as an older puppy is not as easily re-homed as a younger one will be). Additionally, never once did the family ever indicate upon returning the puppy that they 'expected' a full refund, however (as already indicated above) did indicate verbally while here that they did not 'care' if there was money back or not.
If the family had the puppy for only 1 week and health issues been the primary concern for the return of the puppy, we would have taken that factor into consideration and offered a full refund IF the health issues were due to genetics. The lady never once indicated that they were returning the puppy due to health issues, however, as indicated above, due to the fact that the lady was not able to keep up with the puppy.
To sum things up, we find ourselves quite angry and frustrated with this complaint as it is quite falsely put together and very one sided. If anyone is interested in viewing our lengthy amount of correspondence emails, we absolutely welcome your enquiries and would be more than happy to forward them.
Racene Eidick,
Ravine Acres Miniature Australian Shepherds