While I cannot speak for any one else on the forum, all I can do is relay my own experiences with the Kingcreek Kennel breeders:
I first contacted them 3 and a half years ago, and purchased a "teacup" male yorkie from them. He was far to young, when I received him (I cannot remember how young, but I think Peter even mentioned he thought he might have been too young now, to leave it's mother). The dog was 1.9 lbs, and was already sick with a virus. He died less than a week later. They're response was to let us pay again, half the cost of a Yorkie, and they gave us a "replacement" dog. We still trusted them and felt this may have been a fluke, and just bad luck. We have reason to believe they actually gave us a Silky Terrier, though we paid for a yorkie. This is of no consequence, since we love Slayer dearly, and think he is the best dog ever.
Reccently, Slayer has had difficulty jumping up on beds, or couches, and even into the car, all things that were easy for him to do before. We took him to the vet today, and he was diagnosed with bilateral luxating patellas (essentially both of his knee caps slide on and off very easily, which means OUCH every time it happens). He's only 3, and he will have to take Omega 3's and Glucosamine every day for his whole life now. He will also have arthritis when he gets older. He's been perscribed Meloxicam (Metacam) for his pain, and will have to take that daily until we can schedule a surgery for him (anywhere from 2200-2400 $$$). If he has to stay on the painkiller, he'll need annual bloodwork to make sure his other organs are doing ok. I called Anita today to discuss this, as Luxating Patellas are genetic, and seem to be a dominant gene, as far as I've heard. She admitted that she's had a few people contact her regarding this, but as far as she was concerned, she thought glucosamine alone would cure him. I saw the knee cap move....I'm fairly certain taking omega 3's and glucosamine alone cannot cause miracles like fixing a knee cap in place. She told me she wouldn't even look into his heritage, or his parents, because the line was most likely discontinued. I contacted her in hopes that she might take me seriously, and look into this pretty serious genetic defect...possibly call up other owners who may not have realized why their dog was limping or inexplicably unable to jump anymore. She took a pretty cavalier attitude about the entire thing. Thought I love love love my dog, and will do absolutely anything I can to help him- I truly regret even making contact with this kennel, which in my opinion needs to be seriously investigated. |