It is strange that some of the posters say Tiger Kennel had "like 50 dogs". There were never that many dogs there on any of the occasions I was there. There were perhaps six to eight, to the best of my recollection. And I played with them all! As I previously stated, I actually spent a great deal of time there and did get a wonderful dog from Mr. Kim. My experience is firsthand and it was superb. My dog is beautiful and healthy.
Rather than imagine nefarious reasons for why the kennel would change names, I inquired directly to the old phone number I had for Mr. Kim. To my deep regret, I learned that Mr. Kim had passed away from cancer. And in my experience, new management...though they don't "have to", often chooses to change the name of a business, especially when the former owner has died. Nothing diabolical about it...just sad.
I would like to say too that if I were struggling with cancer, I might had made a mistake with someone's paperwork too, or even have cause to be a bit grumpy on occasion, don't you think? Grumpiness which might be confused with rudeness perhaps? Pain is a terrible thing to have at any time and can impact our lives in many ways. Not to mention that English Second Language speakers are often misunderstood. There are cultural varients in speech which simply don't always translate correctly or gently.
Additionally, as any good breeder can tell you, an older dog isn't cheaper if it is of good quality, and especially if it is a proven good breeder, or of proven show quality. In that case, the cost would be much higher. So to think that any older dog could be a less expensive dog is unreasonable. Mr. Kim's response to come over and talk about the puchase was appropriate IMHO.
And we all know that as tiny toy or teacup breeds are highly desirable these days, the smaller the dog, the higher the price due to the law of supply and demand. Females are also more expensive than males. So, to ask someone over the phone to quote you a price for any dog is not really fair...they don't know if you will choose a male or female, a teacup or a toy or standard sized dog until you actually arrive and select one. So a price range is all that one could expect from a question over the phone
As for your suggestion that Mr. Kim was "in it just for the money", I would say that there are far easier ways to make money than dog breeding. It is a job that keeps you busy 24 hours a day and there is much sadness involved when ultimately, some pups don't survive. And it's certainly no way to get rich, especially on the modest scale that Mr. Kim maintained at his kennel.
I have a picture of a smiling Mr. Kim with my mother-in-law and my sweet Lily before she came home to me. I will always be grateful to him for giving me this bundle of love and for the professionalism that he displayed in every way. Mr. Kim was a wonderful breeder, informative, gentle and caring. I would wish for anyone the same positive experience I had with whomever they do business with. |