CAUTION: Irresponsible Breeder

Can they be reported to either the Better Business Bureau or Angie's List?

Oooh, that really gets my blood boiling. Why does it have to be so hard to trust a breeder? There will always be those isolated cases now and then when something unusual will happen with a puppy from a breeder - I've been through that myself. My puppy died of pneumonia a week after I brought her home. But the breeder was just as upset as I was, and she made it up to me fairly. This situation is so unfair to the puppies, especially, and also to the new family who has fallen in love and already made the baby a part of the family. When I'm looking for a pup now, I check references and I see the breeder's facility before I make a decision. If the breeder welcomes you to see their kennel, their papers, and provides you with decent references, you can feel pretty confident. This Barton's operation needs to have the AKC called in to inspect their facility. If the puppies are AKC registered and the breeder is an approved AKC facility, the AKC will move in pretty quick. I hope this baby recovers and lives a long life. But if it were me, since the breeder is refusing to answer calls, I would file a small claims suit to bring it out into the open, and to try to recover some of my expense. These irresponsible and unethical breeding operations must be stopped, and unless their victims take action, nothing will change. My soapbox for today :) xoxo

Oh - Call6 For Help is a great resource for investigating animal neglect. So is the local animal control department.

Because I live in Lebanon, I can say this. They are way behind the times up there. There are some well known breeders up there and some well known agility people, but other than that, many people have a very farm like attitude towards dogs. What you've just said doesn't surprise me in the least and there are numerous signs in people's yard right now that simply say, "boston terrier puppies, "free kittens," "free puppies." You know, the usual. And, to top it off, the "pet store" in town is full of ignorant people that know nothing about animal welfare issues. I was socializing my puppy in there one time (recently) and listen to the store clerk tell a lady to put her puppies in a box and say free in order to more easily get rid of them! I about lost it!!!!!! Fortunately, liver shunts aren't always fatal and often appear in a runt, or unhealthy puppy to begin with. That puppy should have come with special instructions and probably should have been at least 5 or 6 months of age to insure the healthiness and prosperity in a new home. As for the worms--are they pinworms??? This is just one of the many reasons why Boone County is in dire need of a humane society!!!!

Poor dogs, stupid people. We are so sorry the puppy and your gf's parents have to go through this. We hope their puppy pulls through.

Thanks for posting this. More people need to come forward and report irresponsible breeders by name and location.

In response to Alena:

The disturbing part about this whole thing is Mrs. Barton has been breeding Yorkies for many years, has pictures in her house of her champion Yorkies that she showed, and charges $1,000 per pup.

No one should pay $1000 for a pup unless you are planning on showing or breeding it. Thanks for the warning- there is no reason for poor breeding practices. Wish you could remember the name of the worm that is so deadly. Most worms that our pets get are not just dog or cat worms and are contagous to other animals (including humans). Almost always the egg of the worm has to be ingrested- that means eating poop!

I have a friend who loves Yorkies and always has at least one- I'll tell her!!!!

I will find out the name of the worm. The hip problem here recent puppies had is the direct result of improper breeding.

That is sad. Especially because things like this put pure breeds in the wrong spotlight when there are good people out there trying to improve the breeds we love. I really hope your puppy pulls through.

The name of the worm is strangyloides.

Corrections: THE VET DID NOT SAY THEY WOULD NOT TREAT BARTON YORKIES. Also, they have treated only one case of liver shunt - so far (we are still watching our puppy). But the strongyloides has 3 confirmed cases and possibly a 4th now.

Considering what this one vet is seeing from Barton's Yorkies - what does the bigger picture look like? It would be quite interesting to see what the reports from ALL of the vets treating these dogs would look like.

Matt, you heart was in the right place when doing this post and for the most part you got it right, but I felt I needed to correct a couple of things.