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Here I allow others to post their true stories/experiences.
Hi Linda,
I purchased a dog last year from a woman in Florida. I received a hip guarantee and now our dog was diagnosed with hip dysplasia and
I can't get a hold of the breeder. Her phone is disconnected and she isn't replying to my emails.
I got your email from the pedigree data base web site.That is where I found my dog and I thought
that maybe the breeder would advertise again there so I have been checking it every so often. The breeder's name is Cathy
Boettcher of http://www.tiptopwebsite.com/boetderhaus
and her email address is: boetderhaus1@aim.com= Cathy 904 692-4292
I was just looking for information and am interested in finding out if she is still in Florida and if I can some how track her down. It would be nice to get
a current phone number or email. I thought that maybe you knew her as you are in Florida also.
Thanks Sara
Linda,
Thank you so much for getting back to me about this. It is good to finally know out what
is really going on. We live in western Canada and so there isn't much chance that I will get down there, I have to think some more about calling a lawyer. We paid
for a breeding quality male, $1300, and he is now 11/2 years old. I should have been a lot more careful but I have bought
several dogs over the internet and they have all worked out wonderfully.
When I got in touch with Cathy I really liked her dogs, especially Kato. I also knew of the Mittelwest people
and believed them to be a very reputable kennel and because my dog has so much Mittelwest blood in him I figured things were
on the up and up. The pictures she sent me of the pup were so cute and I made the mistake of falling in love with
those puppy pictures.
When he arrived I was shocked, he was covered in scabs, underweight, and the tip of
one of his ears was missing. He also had internal parasites as I found out later. I was worried about his hips from day 1
and when he was 9 months old I took him in to have him x-rayed and the vet said there was no point in sending them to OFA
as he was already very dysplastic and there was even some arthritis developing. So I had him neutered and we put him on glucosamine
and another injectible drug and we're hoping for the best. He is a very nice dog though, his temperament is wonderful, and
I wouldn't trade him for the world. He is also drop dead gorgeous if you don't watch him walk.
When the puppy arrived I did get in touch with Cathy and voice my concerns, she said that
she didn't know the puppy's ear was damaged and offered to send money back. That, as you've probably guessed, that never happened. She also said that she would take the puppy back and replace him but I couldn't send him
back knowing the state that he arrived in. I then emailed her every little while to let her know how worried I was about his
hips, he was very wobbly in the hind end. She just kept saying that German Shepherds grow out of that but if there was a problem
she would replace him. It was when I finally did get the diagnosis of hip dysplasia that I started having problems getting
a hold of her. She did reply a couple of times and offered to send me another dog but
then I haven't heard from her again. I've tried emailing and phoning.
I am not sure what I will do about all this but I am very thankful to finally understand that know
what she is doing to buyers . I am sad you and others have suffered from this woman also. Cathy seems like she really cares
when you talk to her and she definitely had me fooled.
Thank you so much for telling me all this, I will let you know if I do anything about it.
Sara & Peter Jessing
I had dealings with Cathy Of Boetderhaus Kennel, , my story
began about a year ago and ended tragically with the death of our puppy. I found her ad in the Miami Newspaper on line, contacted her and
got a response saying she would sell me her pick ( a female) and would co-own her with me. She was originally selling
the pups from that litter for $1500.00, but I paid $800 and we were both on the akc papers. I picked her up on May 23rd,
and I should have known something was not right, because she would not let me take the female I originally wanted. She
said I wouldn't be able to breed the one I wanted and the one she wanted to co-own would be a better suit for Schutzhund,
show and breeding. The pup never acted right from the beginning, she was lethargic,
When XENA became worse, I immediately called both her and my vet, described the symptoms. In fact Cathy asked
me as to whether I thought she had Parvo - diagnosis, she had Parvo &
died. I called Cathy, and she said there was nothing she could do ( yet, her husband was out getting bleach to clean all their
Kennels!), and this was the co-owner. Not only would she not offer a replacement, she stated how much money she had now lost and that she might come after me. I
never did get a health certificate for my pup when I got her ( after searching through the papers, I found none).
She has made no attempt to refund my money or replace the puppy! If she were a reputable breeder she would have done
one or the other, knowing how I felt about my dog. I would truly BEWARE!!!! of her, I don't trust her or her family
and I will not ever believe a word that she says!!
Tracy
Daigle
Anyone have experiences with Katzenblutz shepherds? Saw a dog from there with moderate dysplastid hips.
Sue Ann
I can't comment on the hips but it'll
be a frosty Friday in Hell before I ever recommend that breeder. Katzenblut, the lady is apparently a real sweet talker.
She sold this guy a GSD and when he started to show his unstable temperament and aggression she blamed the behavior on everything
BUT the dog and her breeding. The guy knew he had a ticking time bomb on his hands and came to our club to get help.
We tried to work with the dog to get him under control and used to strangers.
I've
got 13 stitches and a nasty scar on my right arm from that Katzenblut fear biter!
Wow,count
me in: I have a mod hip dysplastic pup from her. Pup's sire (Laras) was listed on the web page as OFA, but
when I went to verify that on the OFA site he is not listed. I am a novice and I am learning a lot the hard way. No hip guarantee
on this pup either. I like the pup as a pet so will make the most of a bad situation. I have already spayed the pup. So,
please give me some pointers for how to find a reputable breeder next time. Of course, I will check OFA status myself and
never again take the sellers word for it!
$10,000!!! for his dog? I guess
she took someone else worse than she took me! My emails to her are bouncing back and I can't reach her by phone. I would
like her to at least reply to me acknowledge that she sold me a pup with HD and offer suggestions on how to manage the pup's
health. I am keeping the pup very lean and swimming her a lot. I also have started her on Adequan and Synovi G3.
I would appreciate other suggestions.
Buyer Beware!!
LaBell Oaks Shepherds/Linda LaGrave
has a $2511.25 Judgement against her 4-breach of contract. (stealing a dog)
another sad story;from Mr.Guffey= "I purchased 2 breedable/show females From Linda LaGrave.
Both were later diagnosed with ''SEVERE
hip displacia.'''
One female had something wrong with
her ear, I was waiting for it to stand, but instead it started to rot & required surgery, now my
dog only has ONE ear!! The vet said there was originally something wrong
with it.
The
other female was always ''week & very sickly''. She lived for 2 yrs, and then just died!!
Ms. LaGrave offered me NO replacement or refunds, Her dogs sell AS-IS!==
A breeder who doesnt back up her dogs!! and
sells poor health and BAD hips! =LaBell Oaks German Shepherds : Linda Shepherd LaGrave address: 2279 So Spring Garden
Av. city: DeLand Fl 32720 phone: 386-736-2131 ...
Hello Linda, we also purchased a male from
Linda LaGrave of Labell
he died just when he turned 5 yrs old!, we
have been devistated over that loss!
Konnie in Tavares
**Konnie purchased a
beautiful sweet Berg Quella female puppy the day before Christmas :) 07..& looking forward to a long happy
& healthy life!!
BEWARE----- HIGH SPRINGS K-9 sells mange puppies
Greg and Lori Labell purchased a puppy in 08 - received NO akc papers
and dog diagnosed with Mange
seller stated parents had it and recovered fine
another
buyer:
Wanted: If there's anyone out there that purchased a German Shepherd puppy from High Springs K9 whelped on 1-27-09 Please
call or e - mail, I have some urgent questions for you. Thank you
8 month later and still have not gotten our AKC papers
dont have anyproof of who the parents are
our dog had Demo mange-Elbow displacia- so badly degenerated that they are elbows of a 14 yr old dog
and he has sclarosis
Dayna & Ted at 352-214-4456
Linda,
I found your site very informative.
We lost our wonderful Trooper four years ago. He was a puppy mill dog and had a lot of health problems over
the years.
We are looking for a male family dog that is from a strong healthy line.
Do you have any male puppies that will be available the first or second week of December?
Thank you!
My husband and I are dog lovers. My husband loves German Shepherds. We
had a sable German Shepherd which
we got out of the
newspaper. We named him Saber. He had papers and they seemed like a
legit breeder. He was diagnosed
with severe hip diplasia at 11 months. We
were devastated. We couldn't afford the thousands for surgery with ''no
guarantee'',
so we put him down. That experience broke our hearts but we
want to try again. My husband and I (and our 12-year old daughter)
live
on 10 fenced in acres in northwest DeLand. Any dog we get would be an
outside dog. The dogs we have
are brought in during the cold weather
like we are having now. I appreciate any reply you can give.
Thanks Mary
I really enjoyed your web-site.
I have a true story I would like for you to post. You may know him. Vom K. German Sherpherds.
I bought a male puppy from him about two years ago and actually within a few months as the dog started growing I started getting
worried and asked Jose allot of questions. He did not like that. Many times he would get hostile. I even
sent him an email with copies of things that he said and later contradicted and he accused me of calling him a liar.
I paid $1200.00 and an additional $400.00! my wife so upset with me about spending so much money. I told her it
was a steal. Steal for him?
This dog usually stands with his rear legs totally crossed! He also stands with his feet pointed outward and I
mean outward! I included a few pics just so you can see. I also have some more pics on My Space. You may have
to sign up and then do a search and look at my pics.
If you post this, maybe this will help stop the sale of inferior GS at a premium price.
GB
Mike
seller reply:
Hello, I am writting to you about a complaint that is posted on your site ( vom k german shepherds).
The gentleman in question,MIKE GB, is lying as he ordered the cheapest and smallest dog in the litter ( $1,200 and paid
$400 for shipping, my prices go from 1,000 to 2,500 ) and then want him to be a perfect show dog. I explained to him why the difference in price ( front
& rear angulation,topline,underline,bite, head,etc ). He bought his puppy at 8 weeks of age.
His dog is "cowhocked" which any breeder knows is common,even on highly titled dogs. I spoken to him several times and
he kept saying it was a hip problem, a bone problem, etc.
You as a fellow breeder know this is not pretty,but what are we to do if a dog is cow hocked, euthanize him?
You have never bred a cowhocked dog ( with the hocks tucked in) ?
The reason why he called me is that he saw the Fleischerheim name and the lower price, that's all.
Please, remove the complain as this is slander, and I really don't want to take this any further.
I will also suggest that when someone writes a complaint, that you are posting on your site, due some research and talk
to the breeder before you post it, be kind, trust me sooner or later people will complain about you.
People are not posting the add by themselves,they are emailing them to you and you are posting them ,you are opening
yourself to a lawsuit.
Best Regards and Thanks, Jose R D www.VOMK
WE responded to their email with their statements on their site:
Do they give a LIFETIME guarantee ?
We offer the best Guarantee in the business, so you may have peace of mind when receiving
a dog from us.
Dedicated High Quality German Shepherds
We are so confident of the quality of our dogs that we offer what no other breeder offers.
we sent: Research findings on : Hock
Bones
Hock bones should
be strong, moderate, long, with well curved stifle. Hock joints should be powerful and strong. Hock joints should be tucked
in (not cow hocked) or twisted out. These are undesirable as well as disqualification. Cow hock is very common
in German Shepherds and should be excluded out of the breed program. Due to the deviation from the alignment of the hock joint,
the dog can not deliver right degree of propulsion and the gait wont effortless.
and asked V K kennel these questions
but they did not answer our questions:
Did you contact the buyer to see if his dog grew out of this?
Do you have a replacement ''guarantee''' for physical faults?
Did you stop breeding the parents of the cow hocked dog?
Do you know of any other cowhocked dogs produced from your dogs?
When breeders will NOT guarantee their
dogs- or replace a puppy instead make the buyers suffer- they are Not good breeders to buy from
In August of '08, my
family and I purchased a German Shepherd from a man named "Clint". He had a total of 6 puppies at the time our friend had
recommended him to us after we had met her new addition from said breeder. He claimed to have had a farm in Geneva, Florida.
But preferred to meet us at a middle school there. At the time, he had only two puppies left. Ripley and one of her brothers.
His price was $400 without papers, and $800 with papers. Claimed the parents to be from Germany,
and the litter to be born on 4/24/08. He also mentioned formerly having a kennel down south, but said he is leaving
shortly to Canada for a while.
Now, Upon getting Ripley home,
we immediately gave her a flea bath after noticing on the 1 hour and 45 minute drive back home, that she was infested with
fleas- Not only to find out later she had 3 types of worms and parasites. We treated all of these issues and as of current,
she is in great health. A loving affectionate dog, very intelligent, and well-mannered. However, her brother that our friend
had bought from this breeder has turned out to be very dog-aggressive, pig-aggressive not to mention unruly. He had the same
flea, worm, parasite, and even a tick problem. After our vet had found the hook worms, we decided to call the breeder and ask him what
the hell his problem was considering the condition of our animals --- The phone was disconnected. I still have the number
(It was a 407 area code) to cross reference with anyone else who may have
dealt with a similar person.
Thanks so much for such a helpful feature on your site,
Jill
Bill Fleischer……
Hmmmmm…..Not saying anything one way or the other but here are my facts …..
1: Purchased 4 month old “zonko vom fleisherheim” from bill on about 09-1991 and 8 years later after
2 horrible surgeries ($2900) within 7 days of his end, to correct his myopathy, he was put down.
2: Purchased 5 month old “paeso vom fleischerheim” from bill on about 10-1999. He arrived with all his
ribs poking out and a growth on his right paw about the size of a small marble and within about 4 weeks it was the size of
a golfball, and had to be surgically removed under general anesth. Bill refused to reimburse any expenses which were about
$575, and 9 years later, while I was emotionally torn on what to do about his severe lameness from myopathy, his cancer popped
up and he was gone 3 weeks from his first C symptoms.
Not sure how prevalent myopathy is amongst the whole GSD population, but 2 consecutive males having it was really
depressing. I don’t know if Bill’s kennel is is prone to this, if I was just unlucky or whatever. I just feel
the need to try another breeder.
Barry Justin 941 875 6038
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