Mary Mary, Bulldozer, Bobby Shafto bythe Sea, wonderful names and who would suspect a string of beautiful puppieswith extreme genetic issues from at least a couple of these. We have hadtwo pups from "mom" (Mary Mary) and "dad" (Bulldozer). This combination has produced pups that have severe hip issues.inmy case we had two puppies, Crusher & BB (brothers), Crusher had to be putto sleep because of the inoperable nature of his birth defects, BB limpsalong with the same but somewhat milder issues - his life expectancy is maybe 3years.
As I file this report, I want to beextremely, extremely clear my challenge with Julie Thomas (Windancer owner) hasto do with solely with her inability and/or unwillingness to stand behind hercontractual obligations - that being to refund the money for debilitatingevents. Having to put down a year old puppy certainly qualified. When informed of this Ms. Thomas rightfully asked for documentation ofCrusher's hip problems. We complied providing Xrays and all documentationrequested by Ms. Thomas. The evidence was overwhelming and Ms. Thomas andher own vet even agreed that there were real & significant problems.
When this conclusion was reached thenext logical step was how to resolve. First Ms. Thomas offered us a replacementpup, needless to say we declined. After that she said to bring back thedogs and she would refund our money. We believed that was the bestapproach for all. On the morning of our departure to Windancer (Arlington, TXto Elkland, MO) I received a call from Julie stating she did not feelwell and to just have the dogs put down at our vet. Alternatively if wewanted to drive to Missouri to drop the dogs off, Ms. Thomas told us to gostraight to her vet and they will be put down there - she did not want to see thedogs. Obviously we were stunned and pursued another angle althoughCrusher was put down about 2 weeks later. Obviously with the dog return fiasco, most cordiality drained from our discussions and shortly thereafter Ms. Thomasdid agree to make payments to us as the refund, for Crusher, since she did nothave that type of cash on hand for a complete refund. We agreed that her nextlitter, which was to be born shortly, would be used to generate the funds forat least a partial payment - we agreed to that. Approximately 2 1/2 monthsafter this agreement, with no check or contact from Ms. Thomas, I contacted Ms. Thomas via email to ask for an update. We were pushed off a couple ofmore months as she stated she had not had a litter. Since then we have tried on numerousattempts to get Ms. Thomas to live up to her contractual obligations - shesimply refuses. The email exchanges have been heated, as anyone readingthis can imagine and indeed I recognize my part in the heated exchanges. Ultimately though when pressed hard about the refund she attacked me in anemail stating I obviously was not a "dog person", stated Ihad a terrible attitude and she felt sorry for my wife, alas though no mentionof meeting her contractual obligations. Again, having bad genetics is like abad roll of the dice. Ms. Thomas cannot play God and ensure all pups arebeautiful, healthy and guaranteed a full life - that is impossible and notexpected. Ms. Thomas can be expected though, at least in my case, to ownup to her responsibilities as a breeder and business person - that is theissue. When pressed, again in my case, Ms. Thomas takes the approach of"the best defense is a good offense" and simply kept my money. Despite not being a "Windancerapproved dog person", it was nonetheless heart wrenching to stand therewhile my vet put this beautiful puppy, Crusher, who could barely stand up, tosleep. It is maddening when the breeder of that puppy, in my case, refuses tostand behind her dog (and continues to use the same dogs in breeding) As I re-read this post, I do see how itcould be spun that all I want is my money, and frankly that is the case, but Ihave been driven there, by Julie & Windancer, as a place of last resort. Coldly put, my family's dog is dead, I have the early death of our otherNewf because of the breeding issue to look forward to, the breeder has ignoredher contract, I do not want yet another pup from this breeder and while I wouldmuch rather have our dog Crusher running around the house having fun thatsimply cannot happen, therefore I simply want Ms. Thomas to adhere to hercontractual commitments and refund our money as well as warn potential buyers. Sorry for the rant - but Ms. Thomas, again in my case, is just a sad story. Thanks for reading my story. Please, please beware when dealing with Julie Thomas and/or Windancer Newfoundlands -her business practices and speaking for my situation, her poor breedingpractices lend new meaning to caveat emptor - truly the buyer must beware!!
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