Melissa Kolbe is a bonefide SCAM ARTIST and has scammed numerous victims out of hundreds of thousands of $'s by selling "Top Quality" show dogs and offering bogus "business and breeder partnerships". She has been involved with Horses, Briards, German Shepherds and Miniature Dachshunds. There may also be others. When she has ruined her repoir (sometimes thought to be banned even from Shepherds) in one breed she moves onto another often times accrediting bad publicity found on the internet as "people who are jealous of her and what she has."
Usually there are complaints found on the internet via "Google" and cached pages ranging from customer's recieving the wrong dogs, receiving extremely sick or almost dead dogs requiring immediate veterinary attention at a very high additional expense: medical ailments have been noted from ear mites, round worm infestations, tape worms, mouth infections, mal nourishment, coccidia, parvovirus etc... Numerous State Health Certificates have been tampered with by this woman. Sometimes, switching out dogs with others. This woman is very crafty and could sell ice to Eskimos.
Customers have been talked into paying astronomical amounts of money for these "top quality, lifetime guaranteed show dogs and are never sent the registration paperwork - or if they are it is well over a year or more until they get them and the chance of the dogs being show is not an option as an aged dog. People who have been "50/50" breeder partners with her often report that they purchase partial ownership of the bitch and raise the dog as their own.
When it is ready to breed, the agreement is to send it to Ms. Kolbe to be bred. Either the dog is not bred and not returned to the other partner or Ms. Kolbe claims that she is just not happy with the way the dog is being kept, or the dog is bred and kept at Ms. Kolbe's place to whelp and raise the litter... At the time the litter whelps it has been reported by more than two victims that Melissa will call them and tell them that there were four born alive. Every other day, Ms. Kolbe continues to call and report a continued death resulting in either one or no puppies left from the litter. I have heard several times that Ms. Kolbe has failed to furnish paperwork in the instance of a "puppy back" term as this is a common string attached to her "no strings attached" policy. Or oftentimes selling a stud dog and retaining several breeding rights to the dog in the future - retaining a string attached.
In her contracts, Ms. Kolbe claims that any money received will not be refunded in any manner - it is "just not her policy". Several times, deposits are placed on picks from litters who are never born and monies are then required to be "transferred" to another litter - usually more expensive.
Many, many times this woman approaches people wanting to form a "business or breeder partnership". Receiving (in several instances) hundreds of thousands of dollars from victims' lifesavings - in one instance a woman had recently lost her husband and had given Melissa Kolbe her retirement as a way of "investing" it into the "partnership" that Melissa had told her that they had, by way of "world class breeding stock dogs". She lost everything and had to declare Chapter 9 Bankruptcy.
In another instance, another victim had formed another "partnership" with Ms. Kolbe and invested over $250k with her, oftentimes directly wire transferring money to Ms. Kolbe's bank account for the purchase of what she though was the 50/50 purchase of dogs for their business partnership - in reality, Ms. Kolbe was purchasing the dogs for a fraction of what her partner was transferring into her bank account, and it is thought that she has pocketed the rest. On more than three instances the "x" partner contacted the breeders directly to see exactly how much Ms. Kolbe purchase the dogs for in truth.
Her "partner" at the time was also not aware that a true "co-ownership" would also entail her signature on all American Kennel Club documents, which Ms. Kolbe failed to mention: and had kept all dogs purchased in Ms. Kolbe's name, but purchased by her partner's money - there is currently (4-06) a pending court case in NY seeking the transfer of the proper AKC paperwork as well as reimbursement of funds and damages which were misrepresented. Ms. Kolbe had chosen in 10-05 to dissolve that partnership by sending her "x" business partner a number of dogs FREIGHT COLLECT from NY to CA, but to this day a year later will not turn over the proper AKC Registration Paperwork yet all dogs still reside in CA - to this day Ms. Kolbe still represents several of the dogs as being "hers" on www.doxhund.com.
At the current time, Ms. Kolbe continues to move onto more victims by gathering newcomers into the sport of the purebred dog. She has recently found a woman to "split" a "50/50" breeding partnership for upwards of $30k on a Chocolate and Cream bitch who has never had a pedigree listed on Ms. Kolbe's Website. It was stated by Shirley Thompson, of Sniffntell's Kennels (one of Ms. Kolbe's main sources of dogs) in Canada that the supposed lineage of that dog is in much question as the parentage does not or could not ever produce CHOCOLATE and CREAM as the lines do not carry for chocolate. We are still undecided as to this day there still has never been a pedigree listed on Doxhund.com on "Doxhund's Creme Brule" to inquire into this fact.
Maybe a reason that it takes Ms. Kolbe so long to send the AKC papers is that the DNA does not match on any of her dogs and she is needing to register her litters under the "7" litters or more per year quota radar so as not to tip off the AKC to come to her "kennel" for an inspection - where they have the rights to blood, semen, hair and thus also DNA on all of her dogs! Why is the AKC not acting on this??? There have been numerous phone calls to the AKC by many concerned breeders with no action taken by this organization as of yet.
We are currently looking to the AKC and also the State Regulatory Commissions to put a stop to this woman's documented and unlawful practices. What has been stated here is not slanderous or lies. It can be backed up by documentation and FACT. There is a list of victims who are in need of uniting and taking a stand against the mass production "puppy mill" operations of this woman. We are in hopes of exposing this woman for what she is. A conman. A thief. Anyone who has been involved with this woman is URGED to file a consumer complaints detailing your accounts and business dealings.
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