mystique furbabies review: scammed 18

Mr. Marshall was paid in full months ago when I sold my home. The money refunded to him included an amount more than equal to the interest he would have earned on the money. Unfortunately, he hasn't seen fit to make that known on this website or several other websites where he has written his complaints. UPDATE on Mystique Brussels Griffon's business practices: In the last six months I have given away three puppies and three adults after I paid for spays and neuters. These Griffs went to homes that couldn't afford to pay for them knowing they would be loving, forever homes and that is my priority. My clients continue to call and email letting me know how much they love their Brussels Griffon. And to tell me that when the time comes to get another Griff they will contact me and wouldn't think of going to another breeder. My clients and friends know the real me. Not the person 'he' has protrayed me to be. I've learned several valuable lessons from this situation and hopefully can avoid anything like this happening in the future.

The Marshall's were refunded the full amount they had paid, with interest added on, several months ago but I see that he hasn't acknowledged that on this site or any other where he filed a complaint. He and his wife did apologize to me for the 'things' they had said on the phone and the 'things' written in emails and online. This has never happened before and I am being very careful now to prevent it from happening again. I came very close to retiring during this horrible situation but the encouragement I have received from my many happy, satisfied clients convinced me go on. Several told me, "You and your dogs have improved the lives of so many people that you can't let this one incident prevent you from continuing to do that in the future."
I will continue to breed Brussels Griffon and make every effort to place them with loving, caring people.

ps: I don't know Zachary S. that 'commented' here, but if you click on his name you'll see that he has written negative 'comments' many, many times on this site about a very wide range of topics. Just wanted to point that out to anyone reading this so you won't judge all 'Missouri dog breeders' by his comments.

Please note that the prior posting by Brodie's Mimi meant to reference Mr. Marshall--not Mr. Thomas (I inadvertently used the wrong name in this posting). Thank you.

As I understand it, Mr. Thomas has received his refund in full last week; however, to date, he has not acknowledged this. I wonder if Mr. Thomas knows just how much he has hurt Miss Bev, a kind hearted, animal-loving person. I would like to see Mr. Thomas man up and confirm he did receive the balance of his refund as Miss Bev promised she would. She kept her word as I knew she would. How about you, Mr. Thomas, will you do the right thing and acknowledge that Miss Bev did stand by her word and give you a refund in full? It would be the right thing to do.

Bev is honest and will give the money back when she has it. If Mr. Marshall is low-income as he claims, he should understand how difficult it is for one to save the money in this economy. Quit harrassing Miss Bev and give her a chance. I wonder just how honest Mr. Marshall is...would he acknowlege or has he acknowledged that Bev has paid him back whole or in part OR apologize here on this board to her when she does, proving that she was telling the truth? I personally know that she is trying. I understand she has already returned half of your money to date, Mr. Marshall, hasn't she? And, by the way, she did respond to the BBB; however, the MO Attorney General never contacted her. My faith and money is on Bev...she does and will do the right thing. Will you do the right thing Mr. Marshall when you get the balance of your money and acknowledge that she has paid you in full? Brodie's Mimi

Bev Thomas, always cries like the victim and a christian, but still has not paid me back and its been over a year. she promised that if she sold a puppy she would pay our money back. Well, that was more than several puppies ago. If she is such a great christian why is it taking so long. Just more lies in my book. She would not even return the call of the Missouri Better Business Bureau or the Missouri State Attorneys Office to defend herself because I sent 27 pages of documentation more than proving my case. All I ever wanted was my money back, nothing more nothing less. I do not get my kicks giving people grief. I just want my money back pure and simple. You should call the BBB or the state attorney in Missouri. At least I really am honest. Jeff Marshall

I met Bev a few short days after my Griff was hit by a car and died. She was professional, compashionate, and honest; plus, did not try to pressure me to get another Griff since I was heartbroken. Her personality and love for these animals encouraged me to open my heart once again. I ended-up buying two Griffs one rough coat (Riley)and one smooth (Rusty); they are wonderful dogs with a playful and loving disposition! Bev is an excellent breeder and I will always be thankful for meeting her.

Bev does more than just breed and sell dogs. She also does rescue on her breed and I have gotten 3 rescue dogs from her that are a big part of my family. These rescue dogs are from true 'puppy mills' and Bev took the responsibility to find them great homes. What she does is from the heart.

I know Bev as a good and honest friend. What I can say is she had poor judgment in almost allowing 'these' people to have one of her beloved dogs. Although they did not show their true colors until all was said and done, I have but one question. What is a 'low income' family of five doing spending money on a show dog? She will return their money as it is not in her nature to do anything else. It will take some time but rest assured it will be done.

I met Bev three years ago when a friend and I drove up to Fayette to see my Patrick Brodie, a red ruff, whom I had been talking to Bev about. The moment I saw him, it was true love. He has not been away from me since that day and goes everywhere with me (including vacation). Since meeting Bev, she and I talk on a weekly basis as I am contemplating whether to show griffs as a hobby. Bev has met me at dog shows to show me how the judging goes, pointing out good qualities in other dogs and sometimes qualities that are not so good. When my son turned 13 years old, he wanted his own special buddy--thus enters Maddie, a belge ruff, into our lives. Maddie is perfect for him and very devoted to each family member. Bev and I discussed many options and decided Maddie was the one. She's perfect--the most georgeous belge ever seen. Bev is generous, trusting and trustworthy. A great resource for information. I cannot fault her for anything as her Christian heart is devoted to her griffs. I wholeheartedly disagree with Mr. Marshall's opinion of her. Bev, you are the best. Lin

Don't know where all that jibberish came from, I didn't put it there!

In reply to 'lisa02585' ...There is another Griff breeder nearby that I attempted to help: 1. improve her bloodlines, 2. learn to groom, 3. learn the proper feeding/care of puppies/adults, 4. breed for quality not quantity, 5. learn how to show dogs. Unfortunately, I found out too late that she wasn't truly interested in becoming a reputable breeder instead of a puppymill. That breeder gave me this puppy when she couldn't repay me for 'things' I had purchased for her when she didn't have any money. I kept this dog in my home, where she lived as a beloved pet, for almost six weeks after receiving her hoping she would re-grow some of the coat she lost before coming to me. The coat was slow coming in and it was past time she went to her forever home so I lowered her price, advertised her, emailed current pictures to anyone who inquired and placed her in the best home out of those inquiries. This client received pictures prior to buying the dog and I don't recall that she has notified me of any health problems. As far as I'm aware the coat did grow back within a reasonable amount of time.

I have a brussells that I purchased from Bev. This was about 5 years ago. All in all I had no issues with the transaction, its more with the dog. I love my dog but she came to me with no hair on her arms or legs, the vet says this is from never leaving the cage. She was 5 months old so I purcashed her at a discount. I really feel like she spent her whole life in a cage with little human contact. She is a scared shy dog that never got over her fear from when I bought her in this condition. Who ever cropped her tail left her with 1/2 inch of tail. I would never purchase another dog on the internet, weather it be from Bev or anyone. I just can't believe that a commercial breeder has much contact with the dogs except to vet them or sell them

In response to Marshalls complaint against Bev Thomas and Mystique furbabies: I too have purchased a pup from Bev 9/10. I too spent my hard earned income tax money. I too am a total novice with aspirations to show. I too, asked a zillion questions. I too waited and waited for my pup to start shedding her puppy coat so that Bev could kindly hand strip, settings us on the right path to a show coat. I flew/drove to her home to pick up my girl instead of shipping. Bev generously shared her knowledge, time and support. I found Bev totally dedicated to this breed of little dogs, She has a wonderful kennel and wonderful dogs.Iwent home with two, ! Dealing with novice show owners must be a challenge, this complaint gave me greater insite in what she goes through in placing her pups in the proper homes, , she does not just sell dogs I hold her and her kennels in the highest regard, and cant say enough good about her, ran out of space Angel in Calif

My name is Laurie and I have personally done business with Bev. I have recommended Bev and her wonderful puppies before and would gladly do so again. She was very patient and helpful when I first called about a Griff puppy. I didn't want a show dog, I just wanted a pet. She told me she had one that was almost old enough to go but he was probably going to be big for a Griff. I was fine with the size and as soon as was possible she shipped my puppy (actually her family member drove him up on a business trip). She shipped him with a toy that smelled like his mom, he had shots, and best of all was almost housebroken already! She insisted that we take him to our vet for a check up right away and our vet was very impressed with the care she had taken with the puppy. It's been alittle over five years since we got Max and I would gladly get another dog from Bev. I wish I lived closer to her so I could help her out in her time of need. I'm glad she didn't sell a puppy to the Marshalls - what kind of people would put a puppy through the stress and dangers of long layovers rather than drive to a different airport?

I too have dealt with Bev and she was always the nicest, caring person to my family and her dogs. We adopted our first Griff from her and she answered any questions we had and I felt she was wonderful. The kids loved her and we hung out most of the day at her house when we went to pick him up. My little guy is an amazing dog and we have had absolutely NO problems with him :-) Thanks to Bev for being such a responsible, caring, breeder and puppy mom!

My name is Nichole. I personally have done business with Bev at Mystique Fur Babies. Shortly after deciding to purchase a male from her, I lost my job. Bev was understanding enough to let me make payments and sometimes, there was no money left after bills to pay her regularly. She never harassed me for a payment and took great care of him until I could get him flown to me. When I got down to a very small balance, she trusted me and sent me the dog, keeping his AKC papers until I paid her my final balance. After she received my final payment, she sent me my dog's papers shortly after. I have 6 gorgeous puppies out of him currently and couldn't be happier with my experience with Bev or the dog I got from her. I plan to do business with Bev again very soon. I have even offered to help her with some of her breeding and whelping while she gets better from her medical issues. I can not think of a bad thing to say about Bev. Thanks for reading.

My name is Bev Thomas. If you go to www.mystiquefurbabies.com you can learn about me and what I have chosen to do with my life. All of the testimonials there, and many more that have been taken off due to the limited space, are from actual clients in their own words.
The Marshall's inquired about a male Brussels Griffon puppy to show in January 2010. The puppy was born 11/24/09 and I told them I wouldn't let him leave until around the end of February, at the earliest, when I could evaluate him for show potential. Mrs. Marshall called me numerous times before deciding to send a deposit to hold him. Several weeks later they paid the balance due. Mrs. Marshall continued to call two or three times a week, talking for an hour or so each time, asking me the same questions over and over until I finally had to limit how many times I answered her calls and started replying to her occasionally via email. When he became old enough to ship I told her it was too cold to ship the puppy and we agreed to wait until a break in the weather before shipping. During this delay they decided they wanted to have his ears cropped. After about two weeks they still hadn't found a vet, in their area, to do the surgery so I offered to have it done at my vet's. This meant he couldn't be shipped for at least two weeks after the surgery, which was fine with me because it was still too cold to ship a puppy. I told them since he was staying for awhile longer I would (at no charge) strip his puppy coat so he would begin to get a show coat. This is an expensive, very time consuming process that a professional groomer will normally charge $50.00-75.00 per session and is done twice a week for approximately two months depending on the coat type. They paid the $150.00 charge for ear cropping but after ear surgery I did the post-op care of cleaning, re-wrapping, medicating, and nursing the puppy through the pain and trauma so he wouldn't be frightened of human touch afterward. The four round-trip visits to the vet for after care, a 45 miles round trip and three hours of my time going there, were all at my expense. When it came time to book the flight the Marshall's informed me they were only willing to drive to the closest town near them with an airport. After checking on flights I told them that would involve two changes of planes, layovers, extra time on the tarmac in the cold and too much
stress for a puppy his age. It was more risk than I wanted to take with his health and well being to get him there. That meant he would be at the airport two hours prior to take-off(regulations), fly to Detroit or Chicago, unload there and be taken somewhere for the almost two hour layover(required time to change an animal), board the next flight, fly to the next city, unload there and hopefully be taken inside for the layover time, be loaded on the next plane, fly to the destination airport and after TWELVE hours or more finally be handed over to them. I made the decision that I would not traumatize one of my precious babies that way. Nor would I expose him to the elements and not know if he was taken inside during the plane changes or if he was just left sitting out on the tarmac like the luggage and cargo are. There was also a chance that he wouldn't make one of the flights and have to be kenneled overnight and shipped the next day. I was informed by the Marshall's that she wouldn't drive in the city and he didn't have the time to make the trip. I asked about a friend or relative helping them and was flatly told NO, SHIP HIM! I was horribly upset that they would treat a puppy like that and prayed for guidance in handling this situation. I put them off for over a week while trying to decide how to handle this. Two days later I unwrapped the ears again and could see they still weren't standing properly so my vet and I decided to use a different technique for wrapping to try to strengthen the cartilage. I informed the Marshall's of this problem and they agreed since they didn't have a vet that would even care for cropped ears he needed to stay with me awhile longer. After two more weeks of wrapping, re-wrapping and nursing his ears I had to admit defeat and I knew I had to tell them the ears were not going to stand properly and I would not sell him as a show potential puppy. At any time during this process I could have shipped this puppy and said...GOOD LUCK!...but that's not how I place one of my beloved babies! Especially a show prospect. The Marshall's had never shown a dog, didn't know how to groom a Griff and needed all the help they could get. I had agreed to mentor them through this process, which is what I do when I place a puppy, whether it be for a companion or to show. I intended to do what I had told them I would do. As expected, they were very upset. I was keeping a show prospect female from this litter and because they were so upset and I felt terrible about it, I offered them the female. I sent pictures so they could make a decision.
If they got a picture of the male, that was a mistake on my part. At no time did they point that out to me. I also told them they would have to drive to the closest major airport as I absolutely would not ship a puppy under their terms. They flatly refused to agree to drive there. I realized I was getting the answer to my prayers over shipping a puppy to their town. I told them I would not agree to their demands and I would refund their money as soon as possible. This meant I needed to sell this puppy as a pet along with two more pet puppies in order to refund the total amount. Just like every other business the economy has caused lower prices and slow sales. Plus shipping is almost impossible in extreme cold and hot weather. I wasn't able to sell those two puppies as pets because of the ear problems and now can't sell them
due to their age. I had planned to send part of the money in July when the a/c went out and had to be replaced. Then I started having health problems that involved expensive tests and medication. The medications aren't working so I now need to have two surgeries. Because I don't have medical insurance I've had a lot of expenses the last five months that I didn't plan on. Yes, I did stop answering their phone calls when they became verbally abusive with foul language and name calling. Mr. Marshall works as a jailer where they live so he has used his connections there to have someone call to threaten and harrass me, also, even to the point of calling the police where I live and tried to get them to harrass me. They made a courtesy call to me so I would be aware of what he was doing. They have gone onto every website they can find and posted their side of the story making it sound like I did this intentionally. Now it's almost impossible for me to sell a puppy. The dog sales are my only source of income so there's no way to pay them now! My friends are helping support the dogs. I had to apply for food stamps in order to feed myself and my church is assisting with the utility payments. I have been breeding and showing dogs for a long time and I have never had anything like this happen before. I would never intentionally do something like this if it could be avoided. I have put my health and wellbeing first because I had to. Now my reputation as a breeder is being ruined and I have no recourse, at all, even if I can pay the full refund.
Tell me this...What would you have done in my case?