I bought a male bichon from the owner of Texas Family Bichons. After turning in the paperwork to get the dog registered with AKC, I received a letter from them telling me the dog could only be conditionally registered, because of parentage issues down the line. I paid about $500 for the dog. I called the owner because she got the same letter from AKC and basically asked her what she was going to do about it. All I got from her that she was affected to, because she bought a ### that had a cloudy heritage (my dogs mother).
Now four years later, I noticed a cloudiness in one of the eyes of my male. Take him to vet and she tells me he has a cataract in that eye. He's only four. Did research and found that is common in these dogs.
My issue is that this lady is a breeder and should have done her homework before purchasing a ### with issues. Now, I have a young male who is going blind.
Just want buyers to beware of this breeder and ask about certification for there eyes. Also, put a stipulation in the paperwork that if there are issues with AKC, you will get part of your money back if you choose to keep the dog.
Who said it was a puppy mill?
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I believe for supporting a puppy mill you got what you deserve
I have tracked their website for three months. and they seem to have a bichon litter almost every other month. .I have seen two litters in the past three months for the Bichons. Have you had a chance to see the puppie's parents or did they let you in to see where the other puppies are growing up. when I got mine from the Debbie, the puppy would only hop not walk.. it was a three month old puppy and it was not running or walking .. just hoping. And something lilke that will happen when these puppies have been put in a small box or cage and never let out. my puppy has shaky legs. the doctors have not found anything wierd other than the fact that time will only tell if it is a growing bone or a defect in the bone. it was not just my puppy.. but the other puppies that she showed were also just sitting or hopping around. for sure this is a puppy mill and she would not let the customers to see the conditions inside. if you check the nearby dallas pet stores, they have been buying puppies from her and sell it as another breed like how they bought a havachon and sold it as havaneese in their pet stores.. customers to come to pet stores are not pros, they are normal people who dont know the difference between a havaneese and a havachon..
and on top of that.. I also found that the dogs are not really bichon frises . the puppy I have looks more like a bolognese than a bichon. if you look at the gallery on the sire.. all the adult dogs look more like a bolognese than a bichon. I just hope that she takes care of the hereditary diseases.
I bought a puppy from this lady about 4 years ago as well, and am not so sure I got a full-blood Bichon Frise either. We love him, but there are issues with his hind legs (he still does the hop thing) and were told by a vet that it is a deformity of some kind. I remember that she wouldn't show where the dogs were kept, nor would she show the parents. At the time I didn't realize these were red flags. I wouldn't buy from this breeder again, and I definitely wouldn't recommend her to anyone.
My son bought a full Bichon from this breeder in August. 2013, I was out of state and was not here to help him check out breeders, he is 25 so I am sure he didn't think he needed my help. He ended up with a male who we love dearly but I question if he is a fulll blooded Bichon. He is 10 months and his hair is not curly like a Bichon, maybe he is still too young. Then when I decide to read the reviews on the breeder, Debbie is her name, I am reading very questionable things. My son said they brought the dog outside and didn't ask him in. We love Gus and would never get rid of him but we could of done the politically correct thing and gone to the Humane Society and gotten a dog or even rescued from a Bichon rescue place, which I wish we would of done. We spent a lot of money, This breeder needs to be stopped.
We had TWO very heartbreaking experiences with Texas Family Bichons. Now, the former husband of Debbie is breeding both King Cavaliers and Havanese to Bichons, calling them " designer puppies" and selling them at high prices with NO type of even limited registration possible ( because they are NOT purebred dogs of any type).
We cannot find out where Debbie is, so WATCH OUT if you are looking for a Bichon puppy and a dazzling website offers multiple or frequent litters. She may be out of the business, but her former husband, Ted, is weakening 3 purebred dog breeds.
We bought " sibling" Bichons from Texas Family Bichons about 7 years ago. The male had a Bichon coat and a Bichon " look"- after you've raised a few, you know what the puppies should look like by 10-12 weeks. The girl NEVER looked like a Bichon, had shorter legs and very very straight fur which was like cotton.
It never had a bit of curl. I had seen their Havanese and told my husband that I believed the girl puppy we paid a LOT for as an AKC registered litter puppy with full registration rights, . ( New owner always fills out his or her own dog's registration- at the time of purchase only the dam, sire, and litter number are registered with the AKC).
When our two puppies were around 6-8 months old, we received not one, but two heartbreaking letters from the AKC stating that not only did DNA testing from another puppy from this same litter show that neither of the dogs listed as the parents were the parents, but that the DNA from the puppy showed he or she was NOT a Bichon Frise.
Our girl was definitely half Havanese, and we do not think the boy was her litter mate at all. We would have sued these scammers if we had the heart to do so, but we loved the dogs. They are no longer alive due to early onset terminal diseases which involve bone marrow health and which we and our vet, and the Oncology vet in Dallas believed was due to extremely unsound breeding- bad things in the genes and DNA, in simpler terms.
Next, I can tell you ANYTHING you want to know about Debbie's Bichon breed line with the skeletal deformities. She handed us a 6-7 week old puppy just starting to be weaned to see if we, as long-time Bichon owners and lovers of the breed, could save this puppy's life and help him WALK. He was taken by us to two separate vets, and the response was the same from each" Put him to sleep as he has no long bones in his legs". Agenesis of long bones is a genetic defect. He had the most severe case, the dogs which were sold had milder cases, obviously.
The beautiful, sweet loving little baby Bichon never could walk, and I gave him 24/7 care, hand fed him, stimulated him to eliminate, as this is a function the mother provides until the puppy is fully weaned, and also because he could NOT walk one single step. Could not crawl, as he didn't have anything but soft flipper legs out at his sides. We tried very hard to save him, and spent a lot more money and time with him than Debbie ever did.
He was put down after all other possible resources had been exhausted. Multiple vets were aghast and almost as horrified as we were that he was born in this condition.
I bet there were a LOT of puppies sold who had close to the same problem from Texas Family Bichons. Do not trust either Ted or Debbie ( I do not remember their last names but it should not be difficult to find IF you are considering a purebred Bichon. RUN from this kennel. They have serious ethical problems, they have extremely genetically unsound Bichon Frises, and they are attempting to " shore up" the sales by cross-breeding with Havanese and King Cavaliers in the HOPES that no one finds out their Bichon Frise bloodline history.
My sheer contempt for people who had the MONEY to buy healthy Bichons and breed ethically but did not do so after problems showed up knows no bounds. We were hurt very badly by the loss of our two dogs and also the sweet little puppy we were given to try to save. Note- IF he had been rehabbed in some way through surgery or a cart, or both, he obviously would never have been bred and he also would not have been AKC registered or any other organization- registered.
If you are looking for a Bichon Frise puppy, Blessings and great Luck to you. We've never bred a dog, nor will we, and having lost 3 marvelous elderly Bichons in the past 5 years, we know how they capture your hearts. Please use care, time, caution and REFERENCE CHECKS including a VET notarized letter and also proof of DNA testing of BOTH of the puppy's parents before you consider paying $1000 plus for a half-breed, or a Bichon with extreme hidden illness and skeletal defects. IF you choose to get a puppy without a high price, you can still get a lovely Bichon. It may not have " papers", but he or she is already in the world and will need a good, loving home.
Ask the people at Small Paws Rescue, the largest Bichon breed rescue non-profit in existence what breeders do for greed, and how a pedigree does not confer love, only the legitimacy of a purebred ( except from thieves and unscrupulous breeders).
I wish I would have seen this complaint page when I was looking around a few months ago for a puppy for my daughter. All of our animal have either adopted us or we have rescued them from the shelter. My 20 year old had been wanting a Havanese for several years. I decided because I knew this was a long term commitment for her and she would treat this dog like her child I would surprise her and let her have a breed that she chose. We weren't looking to breed so AKA was not important to us. I came acros Texas Family Bichons and decided on what is suppose to be half havanese half bichon, but now after reading all this I question everything. We love the puppy and he seems perfectly healthy but I'm worried about future issues now. When we were suppose to pick him up Ted offered to meet us so we didn't have to drive so far, now I'm thinking that was to keep us from seeing the puppies home. Our puppy did do this hopping thing when he tried to run at first. We thought it was because he was little and his legs were so small. I'm wondering now if his legs aren't abnormally short. He has just finished his last set of shots and weighs 3.9 pounds, which I think is small but we will be fine with that if thats the case. I I'm really upset that I purchased from someone that it sounds like is running a puppy mill.
I purchased a male bichon puppy from this breeder 7 years ago. We love him dearly, but have owned a bichon before and know this dog is not full bred as advertised. Further, he has had issues in his hind legs his whole life. I can't remember what the vet called it, but basically they pop out of socket if he runs too much. He winds up limping, or not walking at all until we are able to take him in. He is unable to go up stairs now. It's super sad, because he has a precious personality, but he is definitely the product of a puppy mill. Same experience as the others, Debbie brought him out on the porch and didn't invite me inside. I wish I would have known! If someone finds her, I've got some choice words for her and her husband.
Looks like out of Granbury, Tx now [protected]
Actually, I found the information myself!
Debbie Tomerlin
Texas Family Farms
9301 Nix Road
Tolar, TX 76476
[protected]
Is this the Texas family Bichon farm?
texasfamilyhavachons@gmail.com [protected]