Texas Breeder Warning
 

Texas Breeders - Yorkshire Terrier

We purchased a Yorkshire Terrier puppy from Betty Williams who goes by Llo-vers Yorkies. She is located in Richmond, TX. The puppy was 14 weeks old.

We told Betty we were looking for a small Yorkshire Terrier known as a teacup. The normal size for Yorkshire Terriers are 6 to 7 lb. when full grown. A small dog would weigh around 5 lb. and a teacup would be less than 5 lb. Teacup puppies sell for several hundred dollars more than the average Yorkshire Terrier. Our teacup Yorkshire Terrier now weighs 14 lb.

After taking the puppy home, it became obvious she was not taken care of. We noticed she had ear infections due to an over growth of hair in her ears. Her toenails had never been trimmed.

Before the age of two, she had operations to correct luxating patella's on both knees. Also before the age of two, she was diagnosed with gastroenteritis. This disease is marked by a large volume of bloody, foul-smelling diarrhea that may be accompanied by vomiting. This is a severe, life-threatening emergency. It occurs suddenly. While this is a noncontagious disease that has no known cause, I have never, ever seen this before in any dog I have ever known.

We tried contacting her in several ways to talk about the puppy's problems. This breeder never answered our phone calls nor returned any messages after the purchase. It seemed to us that she could care less about any of the puppies after they are sold.

When comparing notes with someone else who purchased a puppy in 2002, - This Breeder stated that she had just lost all her yorkies in a fire and was starting over. This breeder gave us the SAME story when we purchased our puppy in 1999.

After talking with several other people who have bought puppies from Betty, I have determined that she is knowingly selling puppies of questionable quality and health.

T. Kelly and Jamie Ashley
Richmond, TX.

Your story is very sad. Thanks for sharing the story and warning others of your experience. I hope no one else falls for it.

SAME BAD EXPERIENCE Lloversyorkies.com Richmond TX
 

I ALSO purchased Chanel from this SAME BREEDER in 2002. Back then - I didn't research breeders and didn't know any better - but now know she is a Mill and only in this for profit.

I ALSO was told the fire story - she made it clear it just happened and she was just getting back on her feet ? Funny how you heard THAT in 1999 - and I heard it in 2002.

ALL her yorkies were shaved down to the skin so we really never saw what the mom looked like.

When we brought her home she was fine - within 4 days she started having major diareah and after calling the breeder Betty - she insised this was perfectly normal due to stress. Well it wasn't. By the time I KNEW my little baby was sick for real - we took her to the ER at 2am on a Sunday night and they said she would have died if not treated. She had coccidia which is passed from mom to baby - they told me ALL the puppies were infected and after many calls to Betty the bad breeder - She denied her puppies were ill and never answered her phone calls. I was also told Chanel would be under 6 lbs. She is over 10 lbs. with the thickest coat I have seen on a yorkie - very hard to keep up but I now groom her myself and we go layered !

this woman also operates with another woman and they play off each other - one will act like the other is not who you want to deal with - and after personal experience withe Betty - I reported her to the AKC - and the Richmond TX SPCA hoping they would go make her treat those poor puppies.

I STRONGLY advise people in TX to not deal with this woman ! http://www.lloversyorkies.com

After comparing notes with other people I am just very lucky my Chanel does not have health problems other than almost losing her the first week - she is healthy - but very big !! I love her soooo much and the only good thing I can say is her personality MORE than makes up for anything and she is the light of my life - VERY VERY SPECIAL !!!

I just talked to the person above -Jamie - who also posted about Betty and I know she loves her baby but they've been through alot with her !

We just this week found out we both got our girls from the same breeder - her in 1999...me in 2002 - I just feel so bad that her baby had 2 surgeries due to Betty's Breeding practices !!!

Ugh. I'm so sorry to hear of both of your experiences. I actually bookmark these pages. If anyone says they are considering a puppy from her, I will point them to this thread.

Doggie cuddles from my babies to yours.

Thanks! The more we get the word out about bad breeders, then the more we're preventing the heartache and expense we all have been thru due to bad breeders. And it's not just us the owners and the puppies who suffer, but the poor dogs that are being bred usually in poor environments.
Jamie, mom to Gracie and Katie

this woman also operates with another woman and they play off each other - one will act like the other is not who you want to deal with - and after personal experience withe Betty - I reported her to the AKC - and the Richmond TX SPCA hoping they would go make her treat those poor puppies.

Do you have the'other womans' name?

It's terriable!!!!!

??
 

how sad

I only remember her name as Sandra - but you'd know her cause 1st she acts like it's HER stud - then she badmouths Betty and tries to buddy up - then tells you to come see HER puppies who cost a little more - I called her on this...I told her I wanted to talk to Better and she Cussed me out and screamed at me - lol...I just held the phone and said WHAT WAS THAT ! These 2 operate and sell lots of puppies this way - Betty is no good. She was awful when my Chanel almost died...claiming no knowledge of the word Coccidia - which I now know is totally common in puppies -

One of my puppies developed cocidia also. Here is some info on this condition:(this is from The Mar Vista Medical Center website) www.marvistavet.com/index.html

What on Earth are Coccidia?

Coccidia are single celled organisms that infect the intestine. They are microscopic parasites detectable on routine fecal tests in the same way that worms are but coccidia are not worms and they are not visible to the naked eye. Coccidia infection causes a watery diarrhea which is sometimes bloody and can even be a life-threatening problem to an especially young or small pet.

Where do Coccidia Come From?

Oocysts (pronounced o'o-sists), like those shown above, are passed in stool. In the outside world, the oocysts begin to mature or “sporulate.” After they have adequately matured, they become infective to any host (dog or cat) that accidentally swallows them.

To be more precise, coccidia come from fecal-contaminated ground. They are swallowed when a pet grooms/licks the dirt off itself. In some cases, sporulated oocysts are swallowed by mice and the host is infected when it eats the mouse. Coccidia infection is especially common in young animals housed in groups (in shelters, rescue areas, kennels, etc.) This is a common parasite and is not necessarily a sign of poor husbandry.

My breeder knew of a treatment called Chorid since my puppy was allergic to Albon, the typical medication used. he recovered fully.

She is always had ads in the Houston news paper. She has a real nice web site. the sad thing is new buyers who don't do research will be sucker in by her. Really anyone who is trusting would be taken by her. Glad you all are putting out the word about how bad of a breeder she is. If any one is looking for a breeder in the Houston area, I can pm you the info about them. Glad that all your Yorkies are doing good now...........Cindy

Very sad story .

Just a few weeks ago a ran across someone recommending this breeder to one of the other talkers. Unfortunetly I do not remember when or under which forum. There was someone form the Dallas area looking to buy a pup, and was wanting a breeder near them. I sure hope they choose someone else. It is breeders like that lady who made me want to raise Yorkies the right way, so people could have wonderful experience instead of such sadness.

Wow I live in that same area, and before I found a breeder in my hometown I was considering her... scary...I'm so so so glad that I went with the other breeder. I can't believe people can be so evil.
Amy

Betty Williams-Richmond, Texas
 

I am very sad to hear the stories posted about Betty Williams, breeder. This is very strange because I have had a completely opposite experience with her. In 2001 we bought a Yorkie named Rose. No promises about size, etc. She was the best and most beautiful dog who weighed 8.5 lbs at full size. We had her for 7.5 yrs. when she was killed by a buck just over 3 months ago. The only health issues she had was some teeth problems when she was older. Our family, including 2 kids age 10 and 12, decided to get another Yorkie. I called Betty and she had a photo on her site of the two cutest brother Yorkie-Poohs. She gave us a great price and even met us half way between Richmond and Austin, where we live. They are now 5 months old and very healthy. They weigh 3.5-4 lbs. They have the patella problem, but the vet told me that is very common with Yorkies. Betty has called us multiple times to check in on them and ask for photos. She really seems interested in how "the boys" are. I just thought I should share my story because she has been so good to us and I don't recognize the person described in the other stories. No, I am not a friend of hers. I will post photos of my babies when my husband shows me how!

Hmmm??

Poor language
 

Your reply does not comply with the rules of this forum. If you have a comment, make it, but don't cast doubt on what I said. You are only supposed to talk about your OWN experience. So what did you mean to say? I am the only person in this forum who has purchased THREE dogs from Betty.

Hello All,
I just bought a supposedly 10wk old baby boy from Betty Jan. 29, 2010. We had the hardest time getting Bentley from her, first we drove 4 1/2 hours to Richmond to pick him up and he was not there! Secondly after she had our money, she told us that she could meet us in Katy Texas if we had somewhere to go. After receiving Bentley's paperwork, I discovered he was not 10wks as she stated, but 8 wks. This is why he was significantly smaller than the rest of the puppies, as he was not the actual extra-small toy size as she claimed. After taking Bentley to his first wellness check, I was pleased to discover he is perfectly healthy, but I'm still furious that this is how she conducts business and that she swindled me out of an extra 250.00 for a puppy who was actually younger and really should not have been weened from his mother at such a young age. She made his transition here much harder than it had to be and this really saddens me. Anyone that can be of assistance w/ this matter or share some insight of Betty and her comrad, please email me at LBarnett1908@gmail.com

Pups should not leave their mother until at least 12 weeks old.
Im sure there are some laws against selling under age pups in the US but I am from the UK and not familiar with them, I will let an american member help you on that one.
It is common for bad breeders to lie about the age when selling "tea cups" or "tinies" to make you think that they are smaller then they really are.
Either way there is no such thing as a tea cup yorkie and breeding for tinies is very dangerous and not something a reputable breeder would do. I wish you and your pup well.

Gracie is still with us at the age of 11 years old I'm happy to say. Sadly, she is in bad shape for her age. She is so super slow, she is very weak in her back legs, deaf, can't see well, has major skin issues and now has a liver disease that she is taking meds for. With that said, she has no heart or kidney problems. We love her very much and will give her the best care until the end.

I wish you the best of luck with your new baby. Just keep up with the any health issues that pop-up as soon as you can.

Thank you all very much! I am pleased to say as of now,Bentley is in perfect health and I'm praying and hoping all stays the same. I am looking into AKC regualations today to see what the stipulations are for sale and definitely contacting them about Betty. My puppy is healthy and happy but other buyers should not have to go through this.

I know everyone comments negatively on "newbies" posting "for" the breeders that someone mentions they've had a problem with, but I wouldn't necessarily discount this one right off the bat, simply because they are not showering this one with all positive reviews...several bad things they've shared also, they seemed to be giving an honest account of their personal experience - which leads me to believe this breeder probably falls into the middle ground category (which is still bad)

I'm glad this thread has been brought up-front again. I do my best to warn people about Betty. I have met both Villette's Chanel and Jamie's Gracie and they are both great Yorkies BUT I know that they have paid a dear price for them. Before knowing about Betty I did respond to an ad of her's and went to see the pups. It was SO hard to walk away without a puppy but something in my gut just told me that there was some serious wrongness going on there. The pups were very poorly looking. I wanted to take them all just to get them away from the situation but that's how people get roped in. I didn't even know about puppy mills and bad breeders before then. I just knew something wasn't right. I do everything possible now to steer people away from her pups and hope that potential buyers will see this thread and do the same.

Add me to the list of members here that have first hand experience with Betty Williams. At that time (1997), I had a one year old Maltese and decided to get another older pup as a companion for her. I saw an advertisement about an 11 month old male Yorkie, called, and went to see him.

At that time, she had a house in a mostly rural area of Rosenberg (or maybe it is technically Richmond, I'm not sure), south of 59. The house had sort of a "basement" that was about half above ground, not as deep as a regular basement. (Basements are pretty rare around here due to the high water table). There was a little white picket fence outside, forming a pen, and the Yorkies had a dog door where they could go in and out from the basement. I went down into the basement and there was this little guy alone in a wire cage, separated from the other dogs.

She told me stories about the dog that didn't seem to go together.
(1) He had belonged to her mother, but she was sick and couldn't care for him any longer, and she (Betty) was helping to find him another home. He had been very loved and just needed a home were he could continue to be spoiled.
(2) Her son (a little kid) had been working with the dog to get him socialized with people. That doesn't sound like it would be necessary for a dog that had been spoiled.
(3) He needed a new home because he had to go through the force 5 tornado that had recently hit Jerrell, TX. Well, what is it? Is your Mom sick or did her house blow away?

The little guy was so smelly, and had obviously not been taken care of. He was just pitiful, and I felt so sorry for him. I agreed to take him ($300) and would pay extra for a neuter if she would get that done before I picked him up. She also promised to clean him up.

A few days later, when I picked him up, he was pretty much in the same condition as when I had seen him earlier, except for some stitches from the neuter. He was still filthy, and I couldn't believe she had actually taken him to a vet's office so dirty. The grime was so thick in his hair that it took me several baths (more than 5) to eventually get it all out. He had also never had any shots. I could not believe that someone would keep dogs that could get outside in a rural area and not give them rabies vaccinations.

When I first got him home, he immediately found the food bowl and got as much kibble as he could in his mouth. He went around the house and tried to "hide" pieces here and there. I believe this indicated that he wasn't always segregated from the pack of wild Yorkies there, and had to compete for food. Within a few days, he figured out that there was always food in the bowl and he stopped that behavior.

You couldn't pick up a stick from the yard or a yardstick without him hitting the ground, shaking, cowering in fear. He would also do the same if I called out to my husband from across the house. He was deathly afraid when someone raised their voice. No doubt in my mind that he was abused.

When I had him in the car to bring him home, I spoke to him softly and petted him the whole way home. It might have been the first time that anyone had ever been kind to him, because he was incredibly attached to me. I left him in the back yard to go and get our other pup and introduce them. Our back door had a glass insert, and as soon as I shut the door, he stood up against the window watching me. I brought my other pup out, about two minutes later, and he was still there at the door, looking through the window, waiting for me to come back. He had not moved. He was also the same way when I would leave our living area. We had a pet get that separated that room from the rest of the house, and when I would go on the other side of the gate he would go sit there, just waiting, head cocked to one side and one ear up, until I came back. It didn't matter how long I was gone or that my husband and other dog were still with him in the same room.

We had to work with him really hard on socialization. He improved a lot but there were some situations that we just had to avoid with him.

Whenever he wanted something, he was so focused that it was incredible. If a ball rolled under the furniture where he couldn't reach it, he would not stop trying to get to it. Thirty minutes later, he would still be trying. The Senior Earthdog title requires that the dog work in the quarry for 90 seconds to qualify for the title ... 90 seconds would have been nothing for this little guy, I don't think you could have gotten him out of the tunnels.

He would have made a great little earthdog (I know, Yorkies can't compete) if he hadn't died before the age of three of cardiomyopathy, which I have heard is genetic. We did all we could for him, we were crazy about this little guy. I know his first year must have been pretty bad, but he had a really good life, with lots of love, for his final two years. I will never regret giving him a good life, however short, but no way will I ever deal with that breeder again.

Bless you for making this little one fill loved

This has to stop
 

I'm emailing everyone in Regards to Betty Williams, something needs to be done about this situation. If not for the puppies that she has sold sick, dying, and the future puppies that's she's going to sell; but for the breed! She's getting top money for puppies that just aren't up to par; but we love whole-heartedly! If you're interested in action being taken, please email me at LBarnett1908@gmail.com. In my Bentley's defense, I'm going to fight and do all that I can for him. :aimeeyork

Still scamming
 

I came acrossed lloveryorkies.com while looking for a cute little yorkie for my daughter. I contacted "Betty" by email and the puppy I was interested in was told she was 12wks old. I was going to go out and look at her so later on I contacted her by phone and I think she forgot she told me how old the puppy was cause then she said the puppy was 8 wks old. I decided to research "Betty" because I got a little suspicious and came across his forum. So glad I did cause I couldn't imagine how my daughter would feel if I gave her a sick puppy for her birthday. Betty needs to be stopped!!

Who to go to?
 

Our family has decided on a yorkie as a pet, after months of research and discussions, but I have NO idea which breeder to go to in Houston! I'm so scared we are going to go to some scam breeder. Can someone please help steer us in the right direction? Thank you!

You can go to the National Yorkshire Terrier club's website www.ytca.org

Also you can contact the Bluebonnet Yorkshire Terrier club; I think it is located in Texas. They would have a good idea of the breeders that are local.

Mardelin Yorkshire Terriers has very lovely dogs, and I'm pretty sure she is in Texas; she is also a member of the National Club. Mary has been a member here for years but she doesn't post very often anymore.

Donna is in Texas too although I don't know how close to Houston she is. Brooklyn Yorkshire Terriers. She too has some nice dogs, and probably knows as well some local breeders for you to check out.

Thanks so much!
 

Thank you so much for the help!!

😮
 

Almost considered her!..........