Originally Posted by Coco's Mom (Post 980376)

Thanks for your helpful post. I can't believe she is running this operation. My pup seems to be just fine, and is so much fun. I did get a health certification, however my vet was concerned because nothing was signed, just stamped with a vet's stamp (name and address). Do you think I should call the vet? What do you think I should say?

Originally Posted by bren (Post 981292)

Not sure if I should even get involved in this discussion but here goes...
(I apologize in advance that this is so long)
Both of my yorkies are from Fairview Kennels. When I first got Max, I had never had a dog before and I had no idea what I should be looking for. He was a gift (I picked him out, though) but we did not purchase Max from Terri--we purchased him from an acquaintance of Terri's who was helping her sell puppies. She said that she was thinking about getting into breeding. At the time, it didn't seem like it was a problem. This woman (not Terri) and her husband had a few yorkies of their own and a schnauzer and about 5 other puppies that she was selling. They all lived in their home and were well socialized. Max is slightly larger than the norm (10-11 lbs) but he's healthy. Since we had such success with Max and there weren't any problems, we we decided to get another yorkie from Fairview Kennels. Again, I was new to buying dogs so I didn't recognize any red flags. We drove to Terri's house when we got Abbie and and she had all of her yorkies in the house--there were 6 or 7. They seemed friendly, happy and healthy. We had already spoken to her about not wanting a tiny one before we drove out and she said that she had a female available so we ended up buying her and naming her Abbie. She is also very healthy but soon after we got her, we never received her AKC papers. She wouldn't return phone calls or emails. Soon after, I found YT and began reading about bad breeders and realized that there were so many red flags about her and I began to wonder if she was a puppy mill. 9 months went by and we had FINALLY received her AKC papers. When we sent them to the AKC, they would not register Abbie because Terri was no longer in good standing with the AKC (nobody would tell us WHY :thumbdown). We had to gather all types of documentation to show that we purchased her almost a YEAR before so that we could register her. I mean, Abbie is a pet and we never had any intention of showing her but just the feeling of being taken advantage of was INFURIATING to me :mad: :mad: . And also considering that we paid SO MUCH for her AND we were taken advantage of was even MORE infuriating :mad: :mad: :mad: . Bottom line--I'm thankful that Max and Abbie are both healthy and I love them to pieces but I would never buy a puppy from her or anyone like her again. Now I know what red flags to look for.

I'm not sure where you can go to report her but I hope you are able to resolve the situation

Originally Posted by lksdolls (Post 982445)

Yes, I would call the vet to confirm he is actually in business. Voice your concerns about everything you have heard about Fairview Kennels.

Originally Posted by lksdolls (Post 982465)

I don't know when you got your dogs but when we were there, she did have some of "her" dogs in the house. She only shows you what she wants you to see and nothing more. Apparently Terri has more than one acquaintance to help sell her dogs for her because of the bad reputation she's getting. I'm glad Max and Abbie are healthy.

Originally Posted by bren (Post 982497)

Yes, the dogs in the house were HER dogs--she was not selling any of them. I bought Max in January 2004 from her acquaintance but I bought Abbie from her a year later (January 2005). When I was having issues with her about getting Abbie's papers, someone else posted their issue about her here so I sent that woman a pm and I was told that Terri had been sick, so that's why she probably did not follow up with me. There were numerous emails and phone calles placed to her that she avioded. My bf actually got her on the phone one time and she gave him some bs excuse about why she was unable to speak to him. I can understand if you don't return ONE phone call--perhaps you didn't get the message, but she had NUMEROUS opportunities to get in touch with us and didn't. The way I see it is if you are trying to hide something or take advantage of someone, you will avoid them at all costs. :thumbdown :thumbdown :thumbdown

Originally Posted by lisatodd (Post 982545)

isn't there anyway you can get your money back? this is awful and i hate to see people who puchase something and don't get what they paid for. we need to do some investigation into all these bad breeders.
there has got to be a way to get rid of them.

Originally Posted by LunasMomma (Post 982553)

WOW! I can't believe that people like this exist. I hope that your new baby will be healthy and happy despite her rough beginning.

You can also file a report on http://www.ripoffreport.com A lot of people do searches on there before dealing with a business to check for problems. You could possibly stop someone else from getting ripped off, at least.

Originally Posted by Coco's Mom (Post 982639)

Below is my follow-up email to Terri a day later. No responses yet. Let me know what you think.

------------------

Terri-

I know you got my email of a few days ago, because I see you conveniently change the pictures of available puppies on your site the next day. Obviously, the puppy I picked out does not exist anymore. I have been getting emails from people in response to the messages I have posted about my experience with you, and I understand you have cages stacked on top of cages and that you never let anyone come to your kennel or see the puppies' parents. So, you are a puppy mill, and I fell into your trap.

I am giving you a chance to redeem yourself with me, at least. I am prepared to take action against you unless I get the money returned to me that you were paid, as I was scammed and I was not sold what we contracted for. I don't care what your contract says, I am expecting restitution in the form of a certified check (the same as you requested from me), or believe me, you will be very sorry.

If I do not get a response to this email in the next day or so, I will know what I have to do. And just so you know, I do have every email we sent between us ,as well as the emails in which you purported to sell the same dog to my friend, which he cut and pasted the information and there could be no mistaking what he wanted.

I will be awaiting your answer, and it would be in your best interest to reply.

Dana Catania

Originally Posted by Coco's Mom (Post 982478)

I called. The vet had the same last name as her! They must be related! Convenient.

Originally Posted by lksdolls (Post 982956)

YEAH! RIGHT!
Is she still advertising in the Pittsburgh papers? I haven't looked for some time.

If ANYONE is thinking about buying a pup from Fairview Kennels, tell them they better think twice. There are lots of other, really good breeders in the same area. I can't speak for others but I am very upfront and have my vet's number on my website. I've told them they can answer any questions asked about our yorkies. I have nothing to hide.

Originally Posted by bren (Post 983463)

She WAS advertising in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette--that's how I found Max. I had also seen ads with her phone number after I bought Max and Abbie but I haven't looked lately (I'm not going to go that route anymore--I've learned my lesson)