In mid November my wife and I came across an online posting for AKC registered bull terrier puppies advertised for sale by D&A Kennels in Brooklyn, NY. I presume that D&A is probably short for Dawn & Anton since the two kennel representatives that I dealt with during this adventure were named Dawn and Anton. Through email and phone we contacted D&A and arranged to visit their facility.
On November 25 we traveled from our home in New Jersey to D&A in Brooklyn. When we arrived we met Dawn who informed us that not only are their bull terriers of the highest quality but that all of D&A's dogs come with a full 5 year health guarantee. Furthermore, a 14 day no questions asked full money back written guarantee was also offered and accepted as part of the purchase transaction.
We selected a 9 week old brown and white female bull terrier puppy that appeared at the time to be healthy and vigorous and purchased the dog from D&A for $1,400 cash. Sadly, within 3 days of purchase the dog became desperately ill. We immediately contacted D&A but they did not respond until days later.
When I finally got through to Anton, to my surprise, he told me that I should remove the dog from the hospital and bring the animal back to Brooklyn so he could put it on IV medication himself. I asked if he was a doctor of veterinary medicine, or even if he had any professional training in this field. He said he wasn't a vet but that he "knew more about these things than most vets". He said something to the effect that most vets scam people out of too much money in caring for sick animals.
Given the circumstances, this seemed a really inappropriate thing to hear from a supposedly reputable breeder. I told Anton that I thought the best place for the puppy was in the hospital, not back in his kennel. I also began to have serious doubts about the professionalism of D&A Kennels.
Soon after this conversation the dog died from Parvo virus. Aside from the gut wrenching grief in dealing with a desperately ill puppy I had lost a great deal of money. Between the cost of the dog and the medical expenses I was out over $4,000. At first, Anton promised a prompt refund and a replacement dog. But as days turned into weeks I came to realize that D&A had no intention of fairly compensating me for my losses.
After several attorneys letters and many cajoling phone calls I finally received a partial refund from D&A which still leaves me over $3,000 in the hole not to mention the emotional grief that naturally accompanies a chain of events such as this.
Things finally came to a head right around Christmas day when I called Anton to inquire as to the status of the replacement dog he'd promised.instead of dealing with me in a decent manner, he became verbally abusive and insulting. Among other things, he claimed that I had nothing better to do than "bust his balls" on the Christmas holiday.
I found this to be a particularly ironic insult. Because my Christmas present to my wife was supposed to be the lethally diseased bull terrier puppy that he sold me. As things stand today, we are considering additional legal action against D&A. But in the meantime I am posting this message in the hope that no other innocent people get scammed by these creeps the way that I did.
Bottom line, I would urge anyone in the market for a bull terrier puppy to avoid D&A Kennels like the plague.instead, do what I should have done in the first place. Go to the BTCA (Bull Terrier Club Of America) website and research reputable breeders from that organization.
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