On purchased to 2 male collies from Carol Calhoun in March and a female in May. The female was already pregnant when I purchased her. My reason for buying these dogs was to show them and use them to breed future show dogs. She told me that all of the dogs were from healthy AKC registered stock. The two males were show quality and the female could have been if her ears had been trained as a puppy, however she could still produce fine quality puppies.
During the heat in August the 2 male dogs began losing their hair and developing "hot spots". The female developed the same problems after birthing a litter of puppies. All three of the dogs were taken to the vet where they were diagnosed with Demodex mange. Which is a hereditary disorder resulting in a non-contagious mange. Both puppies were also diagnosed with it at 4 months of age. All dogs were treated for 8 weeks with a prescription from the vet and the symptoms cleared up. My vet recommend that dogs with this disorder be spayed or nuetered to help alleviate the stress that causes the breakouts. However fixed dogs can not be shown or bred. This would make them pet quality not show quality. Therefore the dogs were not suitable for my needs.
One of the males again experienced symptoms after being kennelled near a female in heat, which caused him to become stressed and lowered his immunity to the condition. He was treated for 2 weeks.
I decided at this time the dogs I purchased were not of the quality that the seller represented. I contacted her about the disorder and that it ran in her breeding stock. I wanted to return the dogs and be refunded $500, half of what I had paid for the dogs. At first she denied any knowledge of her stock having the disorder and did not want the dogs back and would not give a refund. She said that it was caused by the dogs being kept outdoors in a kennel with a dog house to sleep in. Several contacts later she admitting to having had some breakouts but had treated it with fish oil to clear it up. My vet said fish oil would not help demodex.
The second time one of the males broke out I decided to return the dogs reguardless of reimbersement. She claimed to have been breeding collies for 20 years and that her stock was excellent. That is why I choose to do business with her.
On January 26th, I drove to KY to return all 5 dogs. She would not answer the phone or the door so I placed the dogs in her dog pen and left. I felt that since she had to have known that she has been breeding dogs with Demodex she should have to deal with clearing it up and placing them in homes as pets not show quality dogs.
Two days later I found the white smooth male who is currently showing signs of infection and the one of the rough puppies listed on a puppy dealer site called Puppyfind. The smooth was listed as "Save me" with a back story that she had rescued him from a puppy mill in AR. Leading people to believe she had come to me and taken the dog from me. She did not mention that the dog was from her stock or that the dog had Demodex-just a skin disorder.
The rough was listed for sale for $200. She wrote the following:
"Recently rescued from puppymill-this pup is drop
dead gorgeous-he is very thin and was obviously
never handled much but has learned in a
few minutes to go easily on a leash and is very
loving. Great stride-lovely neck-natural ears-just
needs a kind and loving home where he will be
fed and appreciated. To be vet checked tomorrow-dad
is champion sired-this dog is a prize and his
price will go up as his condition improves."
Again no mention that she bred this dog. This pup was born in my home and stayed indoors the whole time. He was handled everyday and leash trained. She states that the dog is champion sired-if he was a rescue how would she have this information? And again no mention of the Demodex-just a skin condition.
I have photos of how all of these dogs looked when they were returned to her. Please contact me if you need further info i.E. Pictures, pedigrees, etc.
Not only does she not disclose the true quality of the dogs she sells, but she also seems to have no problem selling them under false pretenses.
Buyer beware.
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