> I have three different couples who have approached me at other > shows where I've been showing in the last couple of months who are bringing > the info on breeders and pedigrees of dogs they have ordered from Ireland > for me to have a look at and hopefully give them some good news. Papers > were on the way (oh dear). Would anyone be willing to tell me (privately if > you wish) who the puppy mill people are that I should be aware of when > trying to help these folks out.
First, ALL the suppliers of the broker puppies are sort of like puppy mills. After all, these are the only type of people who would sell this way. I have been in close contact with 20 or more buyers of these dogs (have about 100 pages of emails and other backup) and not a one came from anything near a reputable breeder. Not one came with anything like a decent pedigree. Sure, there is always a champion or two WAY in the background, but the rest of the dogs in the pedigree have puppy mill type names like My Little Princess, King Kirby II, Sunshine, etc. I will be honest and tell you it is a lot worse than that. I have personally seen about 10 of these dogs. Not one time did the paperwork/birthdate match the puppy I saw. Each owner's vet was mystified when the puppy did not lose a single baby tooth until 6 months of age. And nearly all of these puppies weighed 4 or 5 lbs. at 12-14 weeks of age, but went on to be large Cavaliers in the 20-25 lb. range or more. It is quite obvious to me, that most of these puppies are being sold at MUCH younger ages than is being told to the buyer or is showing on the papers, so I doubt very much the paperwork is meaningful in any way--if it is ever received at all. If the birthdate isn't right, why would the parent's names be right?! So far all the broker puppies I know that are over the age of 2 years have been just like the pet shop/mill puppies in the U.S. Most of them have needed patellar luxation surgery (such as one that lives near me), quality is awful, allergies abound. Some have developed hip dysplasia--one needed surgery by 10 months of age (this one lives in Minneosta)! I recently heard about one that has already developed early onset MVD (in CA). I've seen xrays of a couple of them that show their bones are literally disintegrating/chipping away in places! My guess is it just might be less expensive overall to bypass these puppies and lose any money sent already and then go out and buy a quality puppy from a reputable breeder, than to go ahead with getting one of these puppies. Except of course, a reputable breeder is not going to let them breed . . . Laura Lang Roycroft Cavaliers near Cleveland, Ohio ========================================================= "Magic Commands": to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL to start it up gain click here: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. Search the Archives... http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ckcs-l.html All e-mail sent through CKCS-L is Copyright 2002 by its original author.
