Royalty Akitas reviews and complaints

Do your research! Please think twice before purchasing an Akita puppy from Royalty Akitas-- he is a glorified backyard breeder, with a "nice" facility, but no concern for the long term health of his dogs and their offspring.

I know there are many positive reviews on here, and statistically, when you breed as many dogs as Don does, odds are, there are going to be many dogs without problems. However, in my opinion, and as the owner of one who has suffered because of Don's breeding ethics (or lack thereof), one dead dog, is one dead dog too many!

Sadly, I know for a fact that the number of sick or dead dogs from Royalty far exceeds just one! I am not on here to bash Royalty for the sake of doing so-- my dog has been gone for two years now-- we've accepted it and moved on. I'm here because Don is ruining the breed, and people who buy from him are unknowingly contributing to this devastating cycle!

Take the time to read the posts from people with sick or dead dogs from Don, and google reviews on other sites. Focus on the main point-- these people have nothing to gain by posting negative comments, and read Don's responses-- his ability to deny or turn it around on the owner is disgusting. It's easy to ignore or write off the bad reviews when you aren't the one paying the thousands of $ in vet bills or crying as you watch your dog suffer. Sadly, it's not until you've experienced this that you can really understand or relate. I don't blame those of you who defend him-- you are lucky that the odds were in your dog's favor (for now!).

Our puppy was a direct descendant of two Royalty dogs. He was bred by Alaska Akitas (whom, from what I've been told, are now suing Royalty- Karma for both of them!). Our puppy was diagnosed with Addison's disease at 3 months old. He died at 9 months old. Since then, there have been 6 more puppies (at least) from the same two dogs, that have become sick and/or died before the age of 1. All of these dogs have also been diagnosed with Addison's. Addison's is genetic-- Don has a dog (or a line) out there that is passing this deadly gene on to other puppies. Since Don is not choosy about who he sells his dogs to, backyard breeders are unknowingly breeding these sick dogs and passing the gene (and many other faulty genes) onto new litters. Addison's was our main problem, but I know it is not the only problem connected to Don's dogs.

Don will deny any knowledge of Addison's (although lexusthegreat.com is proof that Don has knowledge of Addison's in his lines). It is an expensive and lifelong disease to treat. I know for those that were in the same boat as us, we all spent thousands of dollars trying to save our dogs lives. There is only one puppy that is still alive-- but he will be on medication for the rest of his life. Alaska Akitas has settled in small claims court, as well as privately-- and they are currently being sued by many more. They were well aware of the genetic time bombs they were breeding, and they are just as much to blame as Don-- and just as evil, in my opinion!

I am happy to share my story in greater detail with anyone who cares to hear it. But please understand that just because some of you might have had a great experience with Don, it doesn't negate the many out there who have had the opposite experience! Many of us have suffered financially and emotionally, and ultimately, it was our puppy or dog-- who was born solely for the financial benefit of these breeders-- that suffered the most!

I'm sure Don will find a way to turn this post around and make me or Alaska Akitas out to be the bad guys (well, Alaska Akitas are the bad guys, too-- but it is only because of Don that they came to be), but the reality is that many dogs have died because of him, and many more will continue to die or suffer because of Don's lack of integrity and concern for the Akita. It's all about the money, and don't let him tell you otherwise!

8/17/2017
The day we bought our Akita puppy from Don Van Dermyden (the owner of Royalty Akitas) was one of the happiest days of our lives. Neither my wife nor I had ever bought a dog before, much less a puppy. Up until then, we had always rescued various breeds including an Akita and a German Shepard. The puppy we bought from Royalty Akitas, we named Bear, had insurmountable health issues.

On July 11th, 2017 my wife posted this on the Akita World website:

Today is a sad day for my husband and me. Our puppy will be euthanized this afternoon. He has been suffering from Irritable Bowel Disease, Immune Mediated Polyarthritis, Pancytopenia and history of coughing blood among other health conditions in addition to the terrible side effects of some of the medications he has been taking. The saddest part of this story is that lately I have found out that other dogs bought from the same breeder at Royalty Akitas in Lincoln California have been euthanized for having health and behavioral issues. We are very angry; our puppy suffered for a long time and we suffered with him. In 2014, when I researched this breeder on the internet, I did not find any complaints; just a couple of stories of happy puppy owners. But with nearly 12, 000.00 dollars spent on vet expenses, and a lot of pain and suffering later, we are euthanizing our fur baby at 2 years and 4 months of age.

Note: My wife forgot to mention Bear's malocclusion of his teeth in her post.

After this post, many people reached out to us expressing their sympathy while some shared their Royalty Akita "horror stories." Don Van Dermyden caught wind of my wife's post and contacted me offering us a new puppy but we were not interested. Why in the world would we even consider running the risk of getting another very sick dog from Royalty Akitas? In my dealings with Don, he talks a good game. He insists that he does not breed sick dogs. In an email to Don I wrote "We have talked to other people that have gotten sick dogs from you and a significant number of them have experienced the same problems, i.e. dealing with a very sick dog." I included copies of Bear's vet bills (and specialty Vet Bills) along with our dog's numerous diagnoses and my cell number in case he wanted to call. Don called me later that day insinuating that I was a liar demanding to know the names and contact information of the people we spoke with concerning their sick dogs. In the call, he showed absolutely no empathy to us concerning our loss, nor did he mention anything regarding the huge costs and multiple diagnoses afflicting our dog. It was clear to me during the call that he didn't even bother to open the attachments I had sent him.

If you search on the internet, of course you will find some positive comments about Royalty Akitas. I imagine a percentage of his dogs are healthy, but what percentage is the question. Clearly, ours was extremely sick, but we loved our Bear and would have paid anything to keep him alive. But there came a day when Bear no longer had any quality of life and keeping him on this earth would have been the selfish thing to do. So, although only 2 years 4 months old, we had to put our Bear to sleep. Bear's head rested on my lap as my wife and I spoke to him saying that he was a very good boy. He trusted us completely as the vet administered the drug that would all too quickly stop his heart. My wife and I both sobbed as his gentle soul passed to a better place where he can run and jump and be a healthy Akita. Very recently, we once again opened our hearts and home but this time to a horribly mistreated 2 and 1/2 year old male Akita from a great organization called A Passion for Paws Akita Rescue. We named him Kuma which in Japanese means Bear. My advice to you is to steer clear of Royalty Akitas in Lincoln California and rescue a dog deserving of love.

I purchased a puppy via PayPal for $2000, in two installments, from Don VanDermyden of Royalty Akitas, to be born in August 2016. By paying ahead, I was guaranteed the pick of the litter, and a "discount". Through email (photos included) and telephone we mutually agreed on the male puppy Kingston, born 8/28/2016 (breeding parents Titan x Misty). Assuming that he would be ready at 10 weeks of age, the following months I attempted numerous times through email and telephone contact to determine a date to pick the puppy up. He continued to lead me to believe that after the health check (10/26/2016) the puppy would be ready to go in 14 days. I remained hopeful, but realized after weeks had passed, and no reply from him, that Mr. VanDermyden had no intention of delivering the puppy that he had sold me. I sent an email requesting a date to pick up the puppy or a refund, or I would be forced to explore legal options. To which he responded by email that he would call as soon as possible. I have never heard from him. Due to the time lapse between my initial payment and finally waiting for the health check, Pay Pal would not refund my money. I filed a claim in San Luis Obispo Superior Court, and a judgement was entered against Mr. VanDermyden, case #16SC-0339, 2/3/2017. He has never offered me any refund nor an explanation. There is no way to recoup my $2000, but more importantly, this caused me grief that I would not want anyone else to have to go through. He committed fraud. I would like to add, that I have owned and raised Akitas, since 1980. I am very experienced with the breed. This is the first time that I have ever encountered any problem with purchasing a dog. It is very disappointing that people with the ethics of Mr. VanDermyden continue to be in the business of selling dogs.

I had a review i wrote on Royalty Akitas owned by Don Van Dermyden removed from this website a few weeks ago after thinking i was wrong to use the term, "puppy mill" and i apologize for that... i was upset and regret using that term. Now, someone has posted my original complaint on two other websites: Merareview.com and Consumermotion.com. I have contacted both sites asking that the review be removed, i did not open an account to submit the complaint to either sites, instead, it looks like someone is possibly using my identity or someone else to post the review. Possible identity theft attempting to have a reason to take legal actions? Not sure. Again, i did not post the complaint on these sites regarding Royalty Akitas... I have Only posted a complaint on ComplaintBoard.com. Hopefully, the reviews will be removed tomorrow. I am already looking into how to deal with this misrepresentation of my original review.