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- I went to several local shelters looking for a puppy. I have adult cats, so a good friend suggested I get a puppy (as opposed to an adult dog) so that I could train and socialize the young pup to my cats. I wanted a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel - I have wanted one for many years. None of the local shelters had any.
I started doing research online because I wanted a ruby (all brown) Cavalier and these seemed somewhat difficult to find from some of the breeders I called. However, I saw an ad for a ruby and it was on a website that was a so-called celebrity affiliated “Puppy Boutique” a.k.a "Wizard of Claws." They had lots of positive/great references and even "Sharon Osbourne" and her family had bought from this company and requested a Cavalier from them. WoC advertised that their dogs come from "private breeders" and are "very well cared for." They have a knack for choosing very cute, marketable puppies and some buyers are attracted to them because they advertise “teacup” breeds that are supposed to grow up to be exceptionally small. Their website brags about how many celebrities had purchased their high-priced “top quality dogs.”
Before I bought my puppy, I called and inquired a few times as to where my puppy came from. They seemed annoyed to have to answer this and they told me she came from a private breeder that they have dealt with repeatedly. They told me I would receive her papers within 120 days after the transaction was complete. I purchased my puppy in April, 2008 for $2,000 (not including additional money for lifetime insurance, shipping, and microchip.) My puppy was 3 months old at the time. As soon as she came home I noticed she had a cracked canine tooth and runny, watery eyes. The vet told me that it looked like she had been chewing on metal as some of her teeth had remnants of wire cage residue on them. Also, she was sick! First, she was diagnosed with the intestinal parasites coccidia and giardia. As if that was not bad enough, two weeks later she was diagnosed with pneumonia! Gilda, the owner of Wizard of Claws, reimbursed me for the parasite treatment and is "supposedly" in the process of reimbursing me for the pneumonia. However, she has not returned any of my calls regarding the pneumonia reimbursement or the origins of my puppy.
When I received my puppy’s registration papers it said her dam and sire were AKC registered so I was able to register her with the AKC as well. However, this is where all the truth began to come out. The “breeder” of my puppy was listed as Kathy Wayt. The “dealer/broker/litter owner” was Robert Lourance. First of all I came to realize this means that the Wizard of Claws never even MET the original breeder nor had done any business with her directly - as they originally claimed. They bold faced lied to me! The real truth is, they purchased my puppy from none other than a puppy mill broker-turned-“litter owner” Robert Lourance! In fact, the broker apparently did not even know he was buying a dog that was pregnant!
Petshoppuppies.com did research on my puppy's background. This is what they told me:
Wayt sold 8 dogs at a huge dog auction right before Christmas last year. The mother of your puppy was one of those sold. What's odd is that it said nothing about her being bred (believe me...if there is even the slightest chance that she was bred, they would have listed it because it more than doubles the price of the dog). Here is the auction listing for her: 138 FE Kathy's Sierra Molly TR25421805 4/30/04 #39 Wayt Comments: AKC. Reg. Color: Ruby.
Robert Lourance’s "line of business" is "Animal Specialties Farm." This is what I found out about him:
Oklahoma dog brokers Robert and Darlene Lourance have received the distinction of being number 4 in the TOP 10 WORST DOG BROKERS in Oklahoma, racking up 14 USDA violations between 2003 and 2006. Four of the violations were under the category of “cleaning, sanitization, housekeeping and pest control," affecting SIX HUNDRED and NINETY dogs." Source: http://savepuppymilldogs.com
Is it any wonder my dog arrived with parasites and then developed an upper respiratory infection that lead to pneumonia? As one can imagine, the past month has been full of worry, tears, regret and the eye opening awareness about the choice I made to purchase her from Wizard of Claws. I had absolutely NO idea that this girl was from a puppy mill. I started to suspect it though because of all her ailments. That is when I went online and found out Wizard of Claws has sold several sick dogs in the past! I was FLOORED. How could I have been so stupid? ME the ANIMAL LOVER of all time, staunch supporter of the Humane Society and the ASPCA, who ABHORS animal abuse. I NEVER would have thought this company would WITHHOLD information - aka LIE - and tell me that in no way did she come from a puppy mill! As for my being cheated out of thousands of dollars, I will not send my dog back to them (which is what is required for a full refund.) They know people don't want to send dogs back, which is probably why they are able to cheat people as they have: once you've developed an emotional bond with the animal they know you do not want to part, hence they keep the money you worked so hard to pay for. It is all based on a lie.
I have recently inquired about joining a class action lawsuit that is currently in the works against this company… several other people who were also lied to are now banding together to bring Wizard of Claws – Puppy Boutique – to justice! This is becoming a high profile case: even the Humane Society of the United States has recently become active in getting the word out about this company. If only I had done more research and knew what puppy mills are really all about, then I would NEVER have inadvertently supported these deceptive people. However, they are very good at their game and they are excellent at deceiving many innocent, trusting people. I think a lot of people don’t even know about puppy mills or that dog auctions go on around the country where animals are bought and sold like slaves! Especially most of the time the dogs are treated inhumanely and live in dirty, unsanitary conditions. Most dogs live that way for their entire lives until they are not needed for their “services” anymore.
Please learn from my mistakes and do YOUR research! I am so sorry I had to learn about puppy mills this way – the painful and sad way. Do not support any pet stores, online or locally, even if they come across as sophisticated and have many good references. Even if celebrities bought their dogs from them. Celebrities are just people, too. They make the same mistakes as the rest of us!
*Please feel free to distribute this letter as much as possible*
Please note: Wizard of Claws/Puppy Boutique changes their website names a lot! It is currently www.puppiesforsalebynet.com
- Website:
- http://myspace.com/mypuppymillstory
Puppymill Awareness on Myspace's Blog
South Florida "Puppy Boutique" - Wizard of Claws - Puppy Mill Front!
I went to several local shelters looking for a puppy. I have adult cats, so a good friend suggested I get a puppy (as opposed to an adult dog) so that I could train and socialize the young pup to my cats. I wanted a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel - I have wanted one for many years. None of the local shelters had any.
I started doing research online because I wanted a ruby (all brown) Cavalier and these seemed somewhat difficult to find from some of the breeders I called. However, I saw an ad for… Continue
I started doing research online because I wanted a ruby (all brown) Cavalier and these seemed somewhat difficult to find from some of the breeders I called. However, I saw an ad for… Continue
Posted on May 24, 2008 at 10:30am —
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