Officials: Puppy mill probe shows need for enforcement

The investigation of an East Northport woman suspected of running a puppy mill illustrates the need for expanded enforcement power for local animal-control authorities, officials said yesterday.

[Badtothebone]

The Sportsmans Kennels in Wading River should be investigated. They sell dogs from puppy mills and the Yorkie I bought was sick and had to be hospitalized for a week. The vet I took the dog to didn't think he would make it but he survived. It cost me over $1000 and I threatened to expose the kennel for reimbursement. They sent me a check with no questions asked! The poor dog had nothing but problems his entire life and suffered from skin problems and constantly scratched himself until his fur was gone.
My wife and I found this kennel in the yellow pages and we thought they would be a reputable place to buy a dog. Don't buy from this place! A vet told me if you buy a purebreed, ask to see the parents. If the parents of the dog can not be seen, don't buy the dog!

[Cal]

Since the AKC registers dog from puppy mills, they are part of the problem!

[Curious]

Badtothebone wrote:

The Sportsmans Kennels in Wading River should be investigated. They sell dogs from puppy mills and the Yorkie I bought was sick and had to be hospitalized for a week. The vet I took the dog to didn't think he would make it but he survived. It cost me over $1000 and I threatened to expose the kennel for reimbursement. They sent me a check with no questions asked! The poor dog had nothing but problems his entire life and suffered from skin problems and constantly scratched himself until his fur was gone.
My wife and I found this kennel in the yellow pages and we thought they would be a reputable place to buy a dog. Don't buy from this place! A vet told me if you buy a purebreed, ask to see the parents. If the parents of the dog can not be seen, don't buy the dog!

Are you referring to the Sportman's Kennels in Manorville, NY or another establishment? Why was your Yorkie hospitalized...what was his or her specific ailment? Did it in any way relate to the apparent skin allergy you describe? What are the "other problems" he suffered from his entire life? What was your specific "threat" to the kennel before they reimbursed you, and did they reimburse you the price of the dog, the vet bills, both, or what?

[Curious]

And how long after you purchased him did your Yorkie become ill?

[Curious]

How old was this dog when you bought him, and how long did he live?

[just my two cents]

We bought a german shepherd from them and never had problems. Unfortunately she had to be put down at 11 years because of cancer. She was a beautiful dog with no problems whatsoever. I think it's just luck of the draw. My aunt bought a shitzu from a breeder and the dog was always sick. She had to have a special diet, etc. I think she lived until four. Go figure.

[Karen Ann]

Badtothebone wrote:

The Sportsmans Kennels in Wading River should be investigated. They sell dogs from puppy mills and the Yorkie I bought was sick and had to be hospitalized for a week. The vet I took the dog to didn't think he would make it but he survived. It cost me over $1000 and I threatened to expose the kennel for reimbursement. They sent me a check with no questions asked! The poor dog had nothing but problems his entire life and suffered from skin problems and constantly scratched himself until his fur was gone.
My wife and I found this kennel in the yellow pages and we thought they would be a reputable place to buy a dog. Don't buy from this place! A vet told me if you buy a purebreed, ask to see the parents. If the parents of the dog can not be seen, don't buy the dog!

I bought a Yorkie also from Sportman Kennel 5 years ago. I was told he would be about 5 to 9 lbs and he is 13 lbs. A vet recently told me he was not a purebreed and asked me where I purchased him. I have to agree with ,if you want a purebreed see the parents. I love my dog and Sportsmans kennel is not a place I would recommend.

[Valerie]

My family has bought a few dogs from Sportsmans Kennels on Wading River Rd. We always had happy healthy puppies that grew into beautiful dogs and never had any problems ever. I just recently bought a pug from there.

Unless ppl have specific facts showing that this place is doing something wrong then they should stop speculating. If you prefer the parents to be on site then go to a breeder that has that. They do not. The puppies are happy and healthy in there.

[Need to Know]

I am planning to purchase a puppy from Sportsmans Kennel, at a price that is not cheap by any means, and after reading the above I am having second thoughts. Is there any way to search to find out if this Kennel is reputable and if they have been fined in the past? Hope to get an answer soon.

[Worried]

I purchased a puppy from Sportsmans Kennels yesterday... now I am very worried!

[Happy puppy]

We bought a puppy from Sportsman's just over a week ago. She is healthy, happy and smart as a whip! The place was very clean, the people were very knowledgeable, and we were very satisfied with our experience. My vet checked her over yesterday and stated that she is a healthy puppy.

[Sad]

We purchased a 6 month old German Shepherd puppy from Sportsman Kennels and it turned out to be a disaster - that place is a huge puppy mill. We brough it to the Long Island Veterinary Specialists for a check over the day after to make sure it was healthy. We found out the puppy had such severe hip dysplasia at only 6 months old that it would be crippled by the time it was 1 unless we did a hip replacement on both hips. When we called the kennel they said it was impossible you could tell that in a puppy that young and that we were wrong. They quickly changed their minds once we brought in the x-rays. I am still very sad to say that we had to return the dog because we could not afford a surgery to replace both hips which runs thousands of dollars (we had just spent 5 thousand at LIVS on our other GSD because he developed a tumor). While we were there we saw another GSD puppy that was around 6 months old that could barely walk - his back legs were crooked and he was squirting diahrea the entire time they were showing him to us ( they said he just wasn't feeling that well). We never wanted to buy from there but we felt bad for the girl GSD so we took her :( Any place that has soo many different puppies is a puppy mill. How do you think they treat the breeder dogs? They have so many they do not get any socialization, walks or anything. They sit in their cages and breed and produce so that Sportsman Kennels can always have 100's of puppies available for sale

[diane]

We did get a Shih Tzu from Sportsman Kennels last year. I was very suspicious after I brought her for her first check up with my vet because I was told by them that she probably came to them, via a 'puupy mill". She had kennel cough when I first bought her home, but Sportsmans Kennels sent me to their vet, and she was cured immediately. No problems since. She is a happy, healthy, one year old, and our little princess. We have since purchased from a private breeder, who I recommend highly for Shih Tzu's. She has her won web page. www.shihtzubymichelle.com . Go look, you won't be disappointed. Very reputable, and a lot less expensive. She is not too far from Sportsmans Kennels, but she will not allow you to view her babies if you have been to Sportsman on the same day unless you wash up and change your shoes.
Good luck!!!!!

[Tom]

Need to Know wrote:

I am planning to purchase a puppy from Sportsmans Kennel, at a price that is not cheap by any means, and after reading the above I am having second thoughts. Is there any way to search to find out if this Kennel is reputable and if they have been fined in the past? Hope to get an answer soon.

We are planning on a puppy from there, but have heard a lot of bad comments, have you heard anything else?

[John - Northport]

Tom wrote:

<quoted text> We are planning on a puppy from there, but have heard a lot of bad comments, have you heard anything else?

Do not get your dog there. In the spring of 2008 we put money down on a female havanese that my kids fell in love with. The day before we went tp pick her up I got a call that the puppy was dead. No other explanation. We were told we should come back out and pick a different puppy, I demanded our money back and after giving me a hard time I got it back, but still never got an explanation. Stay away!!

[D- Smithtown]

My husnabd and I purchased a boston terrier puppy from there, we went to visit her twice before she came home cause she had kennel cough and the second time we went to visit they brough out the wrong dog! Besides that we brought our new little puppy home and she threw up in the car on the way home, so we though ok car sick, so I called them when I got home and they agreed. So the next day we took her to the vet for a check up and she had a Bacteria infection, and a UTI, so we got meds, and I called them to explain, they said to fax over the vet bills so I did, and heard nothing, I called them back they agreed to pay them heard nothing again for a week so in the meantime my puppy was still throwing up all the time, she was going to the vet every other week, on a special diet, ect. So I called Sportsman back to update them and the lady was so cold to me and was now refussing to pay! How can you malke them pay for the vet bills, she is still sick, and seeing a specialist now. We love her and do not want to give her up and will do anything to make her better. But how can I make the kennel pay for the vet bills?

[Bob North Babylon]

I brought a female Shih Tzu from there 12yrs ago and she's been happy healthy all this time,never a problem. A real sweetheart. Only thing last year I found out that breeder from out of state that they say she came from was shut down by the state for being a bad puppy mill breeder. Don't know if they were that bad back 12 yrs ago....go figure

[weary sayville]

i bought a daschound from there almost 3 years ago. Very luckily, she is healthy. Whenever people ask me where i got her, I tell them Sportsman's Kennel but I would not recommend buying from them. My aunt is a top National breeder and was so angry I bought from there. She told me anyone who charges more than $700 for a puppy is most likely a puppy mill. She won't charge more than that for her Top National salukies. Besides that, my daschound does not look pure breed like they said she was.
Check out these videos to learn what puppy mills are:
http://www.youtube.com/watch...

[Constantine]

Wow. Figures. We're not the only ones. my family bought a Yorkie from there, and it was very happy and healthy until 1 and a half years old. Then, we found out that it had a neck problem, in which it couldn't hold it's head up and fell over often. He was very sick and money was flying out the door. It is a very poor kennel, and the poor doggie died at the age of 3. Save yourself from the trouble, and don't get a dog from this kennel.

[Stacey]

We purchased a sheltie pup from Sportmans 10 years ago. She was healthy, for the most part, but developed a rare brain tumor at 9 years old. We were later told that she was probably purchased from a puppy mill. We just got our new pup from a reputable breeder and now can see clearly that our pup was definately of a lesser quality.
DO YOUR RESEARCH and only buy from a breeder that is recommended by the AKC or your breed's headquarters- it is worth it later on.