Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  12/08/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  June 4,2023 purchase of male golden retriever from golden gals, LLC. Puppy had several parasites that cost over $1000 to rid. Puppy has stage 3 loud heart murmur and will now need to see a cardiologist . Contact with owner of business on 12 /4/22. Steve states he knew of no other dogs that had heart issues in his breeding program . There are at least 4 others from this time frame and he is well aware of these issues. He sold these puppies regardless of health conditions and must have falsified paperwork with so many other puppies having the same issue.

  Business response

  12/14/2023

  ***** purchased one of our puppies on June 4th 2023. She has claimed that her puppy had several parasites since her initial pickup. Parasites are very common in puppies. There protozoa and live in the environment.  Her complaint came to the Better Business Bureau 190 days later. Puppies are seen by our licensed vet before they go home where they get their health certificate and clean bill health. Once our families take their puppies, they should bring their puppies to the vet within 72 hours per contract. To make sure their vet agrees with our vet. Considering it has been 190 days since ***** took home her puppy, there is no way her dog left our home with existing parasites. She did not provide us with any proof , nor any documentation of a heart murmur from the vet that diagnosed it. She claims the dog got the heart murmur when he went in to be neutered and it was not detected during the other visits with her vets since June.
  13 days after her pickup, she sent pictures with comments that he has been a wonderful addition to the family.  She just contacted us for the first time last week regarding these issue.
  We are currently looking more into this issue.

  Customer response

  12/22/2023

  I must have missed the opportunity in my email to respond to Golden Gals. Can this case be reopened as I would like to form a response and add additional information that I did not have at the time. Or should I begin a new complaint?

  Thank you

  ***** ********

  Customer response

  12/24/2023

  This is in response to Ashley K**** at Golden Gals, LLC. I have attached a copy of the "Health Certificate" that you claim is valid. It does not have a signature, nor a person who is licensed in the state of ** to certify said "Health" of ****.  You are correct, on June 17, 2023 I did send a text, with pictures. You asked me to fill out a ****** review for you and your business. I responded that I would, but I never did because there were growing concerns mounting with ****s Health, behavior and your breeding program as a whole. Although I had hoped I would get everything under control with him,  taking him back to your business was unacceptable, considering the amount of complaints about puppies coming home from your kennel with Parvo, Giardia and other parasites and/or bacteria, behavior issues and genetic heart disease. I would have never taken the chance for him to pick up something else.

  During ****'s his regular work up for surgery to be neutered the Doctor performing the surgery detected a grade 3 murmur. I reached out to your business in good faith to warn you that a puppy had been detected in your breeding line with a heart condition. Your husband Steve responded to me by saying "I have no other history of heart murmurs in my lines that I am aware of"  This didn't sit right with me, given the initial parasites and now the murmur as well as increasing anxiety and behavioral problems we were experiencing with ****.  So I began to research on your business and your breeding program, as anyone can and I encourage everyone to do.

  We waiting a few weeks to get into ****** ******** ******** on the Cardiac Care Unit to see A licensed and Board Certified Cardiologist for ****. An echocardiogram was performed. This test confirmed our worst fear. **** was diagnosed with Sub Aortic Stenosis, and there are others. which you are completely aware of. This GENETIC condition is not detected until later in their life. It is very common for it to go undetected and show up sometime within the first few years of life. By that time, the people you have sold $4,000 puppies to have bonded with that Dog. 

  I am an experienced dog owner, specifically of Golden Retrievers having had them my entire life. **** may "look" normal but he will likely live a shortened life, we will not be able to go on hikes together or swim in the lake for too long, he won't be doing agility as we had planned, nor will he ever be able to do fly ball. 

  On December 23, 2023 legal proceedings were filed against your business Golden Gals, LLC with *** ******** ***** in *** ******** ******** ** ********* at **********. I intend to keep this BBB updated to that cases proceedings.

• Initial Complaint

  10/02/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  The Company was contacted as a result of clear and convincing website advertising that depicted calm, kind family-oriented English Cream Golden Retriever puppies for $4,000 each. Since the Company made clear they retained all rights regarding selection, without a prior meeting with the animal, we trusted the Company to honor our request for a gentle and kind puppy like those advertised. This need was driven by the personality of our 6-year old kind and gentle existing canine companion. Unfortunately, we were victims to an obvious "bait-and-switch" since the Company negligently selected a dog in no way representative of that advertised and promised to us by the Company. Heartbroken and after additional training expenses and three months of contending with repeated attacking and aggressiveness toward our six year old pup, we asked to return the dog to the Company. In order to do so, we were forced to sign a release that held the Company harmless for all liability and absolved it regarding any of our costs, veterinary bills and training expenses incurred. Despite our subsequent written request to the Company to provide a refund, we have been completely ignored.

  Business response

  10/17/2023

  To whom it may concern, there was no bait and switch here. Families put a reservation in advance, and they come here when the puppies are eight weeks old and personally choose their puppy. That puppy had nothing but the best of care here and phenomenal socialization with our family, children and other animals. This family had an aggressive dog in their home that was attacking this poor puppy. Luckily, this puppy was returned to us, and after reviewing, and evaluating the puppy it seemed very much neglected, and scared. These people should not be allowed to own an animal based off of the care they provided for our poor puppy.

  Customer response

  10/24/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because of the facts presented in the attached PDF reply dated October 24, 2023.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** *******

• Initial Complaint

  02/22/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  We purchased two puppies from Ashley & Steve K**** 16 months ago. Beautiful dogs. I went with her because of her health guarantee she had on her website. The contract stated, if your puppy has any genetic problem, we will replace your puppy. I gave her all the required paperwork and the puppy have hip dysplasia was never challenged. She did not even have a vet review it, but her first email stated, “sure I will give you a puppy, but what will do with her (meaning my puppy with hip dysplasia. I sent her at least three emails asking her questions and explaining to her we have every intention on keeping her. I called many times, texted her and my husband also had to contact them. They ghosted us for a week, she was at a horse show. I guess she did not have her phone. Then she was sick. My husband spoke to my husband and said, sure we will give you a puppy but when we say replacement, we want your dog, who we sold you for $6,000.00, who has hip dysplasia, back. No where in her contract does it say we have to take your current puppy back. I think the legal wording for that would be an exchange. We said what breeder, or dog lover would do such a thing. It would be detrimental to the puppy. He said he didn’t think so. My husband asked to be compensated and he said not only are you not getting another puppy from us for free, we are not given you a penny. We told them we will have to take it to the next level and they said okay. That same day, their contract we purchased our puppy under was removed from their website, and a new better thought out one was put up. She continues to breed the stud dog knowing he produced a puppy with hip dysplasia. We were told by her partner Alex, that Ashley already added us to a puppy list for new puppy. They must have all changed their initial good intentions, because they told me I was confused. They lied when they said yes we will give you a puppy and never spoke of having to surrender my puppy. Didn’t honor their own contract.

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