HayabusaTygr
Senior Member
Our company owner's wife *thought* she was doing a good job when she told me about a dog breeder in NW Georgia: "Chickamauga Kennels."
This is meant to be an objective and informative post.
I drove up to "Chickamauga Kennels" whose website glistens with the several breeds of dogs that they have been breeding since 1989. The website had a neat and clean appearance, and the dogs in the pictures looked healthy and happy - romping on grass and posed in the house.
It was anything but "healthy and happy." When I got there, I was confronted by a shed that had full grown Jack Russell Terriers (3) in a cage big enough for MAYBE one small adult rabbit: chicken wire on all sides, the top and the bottom. The cages were stacked, and feces and urine from upper cages dropped into lower cages and to the floor. The smell was horrible. I was then told that the three pups I had inquired about were "around back."
The owner walked me around the corner, and the deafening sound of screams, yelps, and barks rose. The smell I HAD smelled earlier was amplified so that I held my hand over my nose. I tried to breathe through my mouth, but I tasted the smell of feces, urine, and just dirty dogs. On one side was a cement concrete slab with fencing haphazardly installed - NO drainage. The pens were about 3' x 5' and had anywhere from 3-6 dogs in each pen. There were piles of feces EVERYWHERE. We continued walking until we got to what looked like a converted chicken house with more dog pens in it.
We walked past them - there were all the "popular" breeds: Maltese, Yorkies, Papillon, etc. We got to the pen with the three pups I went there to see.
One had a blue haze across his eyes which was indicative of vision loss, another would approach, become paralyzed with fear, snap and run away. The third seemed more jovial, made eye contact and wagged its rear end as hard as it could.
By the time I had originally gotten to the kennels, I had talked myself OUT of getting a dog. Until I saw pup #3.
Now, I KNEW I was taking a chance getting this pup. Even though the website professed "health guarantee." I was willing to take a chance - both monetarily if need be and emotionally.
So I purchased him. Yes, I know - wrong thing to do.
The entire ride home, my car smelled like the feces, urine, and stench from the kennels. There's no way on God's green Earth that anyone had EVER done an inspection of that facility. If they had then they would be fined or shut down. There wasn't ANY drainage in any of the pens. The pens were full of waste, and no doubts, every single one of those dogs have some sort of health problem. Breathing in ammonia-rich air can't be healthy.
I took the pup to the vet who was diagnosed with flea allergies, staph infection, and ear mites. The vet gave the little guy his annual vaccinations (since he ONLY had puppy shots but was 6 mths old) and dewormed him again. The vet bill ended up costing more than what I paid for the pup. I scheduled his neutering when he was done with his medication for his staph infection.
I called the Dept. of Ag. and asked about the kennels, and lo and behold, "no complaints." Am I the only one that thought this place was less than sanitary?
I knew what I was getting into as well getting a puppy mill puppy. They take A LOT more time and effort than your average puppy. Saturday was the first time my little guy ever felt a different surface than concrete. He didn't know what grass was. He's scared of everything fast movement, loud noise, or when you go to pick him up.
On the positive note, as of last night, he was coming around. He eagerly wants to please, but is still unsure of who we are. He will sit 10 feet away and wag his tail as hard as he can and whimper and stare at us. When we call him ("Dude"), you can tell he just wants to run over to us, but doesn't.
I would highly recommend against purchasing a puppy from this person (hypocrite, I know I am) unless you have the time and the means to take care of an animal that will probably have lifelong problems (behaviorial - possibly and health - Lord knows there isn't a selective breeding process).
This is meant to be an objective and informative post.
I drove up to "Chickamauga Kennels" whose website glistens with the several breeds of dogs that they have been breeding since 1989. The website had a neat and clean appearance, and the dogs in the pictures looked healthy and happy - romping on grass and posed in the house.
It was anything but "healthy and happy." When I got there, I was confronted by a shed that had full grown Jack Russell Terriers (3) in a cage big enough for MAYBE one small adult rabbit: chicken wire on all sides, the top and the bottom. The cages were stacked, and feces and urine from upper cages dropped into lower cages and to the floor. The smell was horrible. I was then told that the three pups I had inquired about were "around back."
The owner walked me around the corner, and the deafening sound of screams, yelps, and barks rose. The smell I HAD smelled earlier was amplified so that I held my hand over my nose. I tried to breathe through my mouth, but I tasted the smell of feces, urine, and just dirty dogs. On one side was a cement concrete slab with fencing haphazardly installed - NO drainage. The pens were about 3' x 5' and had anywhere from 3-6 dogs in each pen. There were piles of feces EVERYWHERE. We continued walking until we got to what looked like a converted chicken house with more dog pens in it.
We walked past them - there were all the "popular" breeds: Maltese, Yorkies, Papillon, etc. We got to the pen with the three pups I went there to see.
One had a blue haze across his eyes which was indicative of vision loss, another would approach, become paralyzed with fear, snap and run away. The third seemed more jovial, made eye contact and wagged its rear end as hard as it could.
By the time I had originally gotten to the kennels, I had talked myself OUT of getting a dog. Until I saw pup #3.
Now, I KNEW I was taking a chance getting this pup. Even though the website professed "health guarantee." I was willing to take a chance - both monetarily if need be and emotionally.
So I purchased him. Yes, I know - wrong thing to do.
The entire ride home, my car smelled like the feces, urine, and stench from the kennels. There's no way on God's green Earth that anyone had EVER done an inspection of that facility. If they had then they would be fined or shut down. There wasn't ANY drainage in any of the pens. The pens were full of waste, and no doubts, every single one of those dogs have some sort of health problem. Breathing in ammonia-rich air can't be healthy.
I took the pup to the vet who was diagnosed with flea allergies, staph infection, and ear mites. The vet gave the little guy his annual vaccinations (since he ONLY had puppy shots but was 6 mths old) and dewormed him again. The vet bill ended up costing more than what I paid for the pup. I scheduled his neutering when he was done with his medication for his staph infection.
I called the Dept. of Ag. and asked about the kennels, and lo and behold, "no complaints." Am I the only one that thought this place was less than sanitary?
I knew what I was getting into as well getting a puppy mill puppy. They take A LOT more time and effort than your average puppy. Saturday was the first time my little guy ever felt a different surface than concrete. He didn't know what grass was. He's scared of everything fast movement, loud noise, or when you go to pick him up.
On the positive note, as of last night, he was coming around. He eagerly wants to please, but is still unsure of who we are. He will sit 10 feet away and wag his tail as hard as he can and whimper and stare at us. When we call him ("Dude"), you can tell he just wants to run over to us, but doesn't.
I would highly recommend against purchasing a puppy from this person (hypocrite, I know I am) unless you have the time and the means to take care of an animal that will probably have lifelong problems (behaviorial - possibly and health - Lord knows there isn't a selective breeding process).
