Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Preying on the ignorant ~ Puppy buyer beware!


So last week at work a new client came in with a "Buttercup" puppy. What is a Buttercup you ask? I have no idea. The puppy cost $1200 so it must be a real breed though right? Google wasn't much help either. Tho I did find a discussion of the "breeder" in question. First here is a link to her website: http://www.buttercuppuppies.com When some people asked her a few questions on her "breeding practices" in an online forum here is what she replied:
"This is for people who think I am a bad person for breeding dogs and even for "mixing" them. Believe me, I hear from them. This is America and we have the freedom to choose whatever kind of dog we want. Many mixes are very beautiful as you can see on my Previous Puppies Page. Many people think they are better than pure breeds. They are not raised "puppy mill" style as you can read on some of my other pages. I am free as an American to pursue happiness and this is what I enjoy doing. To these people, please don't bother emailing me or calling me. "

Sincerely,
Maryjo
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Wow, way to make being an American and the pursuit of happiness look super awful. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. Oh wait, but if it makes YOU happy........ (and fattens your wallet)
From her website the breeds she currently raises and their "adoption" price:

Maltipoo (Maltese/Poodle) $900.
Maltichon (Maltese/Bichon) $900.
Also known as Teddy Bears!
Maltese/Westie $700. (my husbands
favorite!)
English Munchkins $900. (small)
Maltese/Doxin $900. (very tiny)
Maltese $1200. purebred (can't live
without them!)
Buttercups $1200. (can't live without
them either!)

Maltese and Buttercup teacups are
$2000.
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Yegads!! People are spending ALOT of money for a mixed breed dog they can find on petfinders and in shelters! But wait, HER dogs are healthy, non-shedding and hypoallergenic. They also don't bark, love kids, NEVER growl and don't need ANY vaccines. They sound magic don't they? I'm sure if you ask her she also has a bridge somewhere for sale.
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It is frustrating because people these days have SO many ways to do their research when it comes to buying a dog from a breeder. WHY do we need to keep pointing out what a back yard breeder is? She says she isn't a puppymill but with all those "breeds" she has available she must have quite a few dogs at her home. I know a REAL holistic/natural breeder. I can guarantee you she does vaccines on her puppies. (appropriately) They are just so many things on that website that raise red flags it is incredible that people buy from her. And they must or she wouldn't be able to continue doing it!
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We see people at my job all the time who seem to be well educated fall for these breeder scams. That is what astounds me. Is it because surfing the internet is so easy? What part of give me your credit card number and I'll ship you a puppy sounds ok to a person?? Do you want fries with that? I honestly can see why so many shelter people hate breeding. Breeders like this give responsible breeders a bad name.

5 comments:

Ruth said...

Its the folks like that "breeder" that are why I have to argue like heck to get the vaccination schedule I want from my vet. Heck, the breeder we got our Tibetan Mastiff from HIGHLY RECOMMENDS a 'low' vaccine schedule (titer instead of auto revaccinate, no lyme, lepto only if its highly found in your area, no kennel cough) and she made sure her pups got their DHPP at 8 weeks and ordered us to make sure he got his rabies on schedule!

And even if she has only the miminum dogs nessecary to pull off all those crosses think about how many litters that poor maltese bitch is pumping out!

Lady Liz said...

Oh my, that is scary. And sad. On the website (and other similar ones I've seen) a "health guarantee" is assured, usually with a specific time frame. What does that even mean?!

Anonymous said...

I still don't know what a buttercup is! Does the lady who paid more than I did for any of my dogs know her dog's breed makeup? Does she care?
Like, you know, for genetic disease purposes?

Un.be.lievable.

Anonymous said...

Interesting that no adult dogs are shown on her website.

JulieandCaleb said...

This hurts my heart :-(