Laughlin Kennel

Purchased a puppy and the puppy died 1 1/2 months later at 4 months from a medical trauma. Purchase agreement was not honored.Purchased a [redacted] puppy from Laughlin Kennel on Jan. 31, 2105 at the cost of $1200.00. All guarantee plus extension papers were signed by me along with a charge on my credit card for the fees. We were told that he had had his shots. On Feb. 17, 2015 he died from what the attending Vet said was a trauma which further findings included distemper. When I called to tell Laughlin about his death, they did not honor the purchase agreements and offered me another puppy at a discount! This was not acceptable to me because further investigation showed that this puppy had come from a closed Puppy Mill in Illinois. The so called breeder, [redacted] has a record of being associated with many closed Mills in Illinois. Our puppy was loved for 1 1/2 months and given the best care but never had a chance coming from this kennel. Laughlin Kennel is just another Puppy Mill and the associates have no regard for breaking people's hearts by selling designer puppies at a high price and not honoring their contracts.Desired SettlementThe price paid for our puppy was $1200.00 and that is my request.Business Response Dear Mrs. [redacted],We are very sorry your pup passed early. We take your concern seriously and strive to always honor our guarantees with customers.Your pup's issue does not fall under any of our guarantees' protections. You presented us with the veterinary statement, and we looked it over and had our vet review the vet statements. Our vet saw the most pertinent symptoms to be the bleeding nose, and pulmonary crackles. To our Vet, this indicated an injury, or physical trauma.Our guarantees do not cover injury, or physical trauma. We offered you a discount on another puppy, as a sign of good faith and condolences for your loss.You state that injury is not the case, and we left it open that if you could send more veterinary information proving that what you say is true then we would be willing to look over the new information and move forward from there.Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)The puppy did not die from an injury received from our care. He was watched and loved day and night and lived in a safe environment. He began coughing several days before he died and the day of his death my husband say him foaming from the mouth and took him to the Vet immediately. Our usual Vet was not there so another Vet attended to him. We did not order an autopsy because we were so traumatized by his passing. The Vet said to us that he had suffered a trauma in that he died from complications. Subsequently our Vet has indicated after the fact that his immune system had been compromised and that was a breeding issue. He was 4 lbs. at the time of how death. Upon discussing this situation with several dog owners, his couph and foaming from the mouth indicated distemper. He was not a healthy puppy. We in not way caused him to have an accident or a life threatening trauma. I signed and paid for additional health coverage on him when we picked him up on Jan. 31st to protect us from such a situation. We were told that he covered by this agreement. Instead of honoring their paid for agreement they accuse us causing physical harm to our much loved puppy. Laughlin Kennel is a Puppy Mill. They charge high prices for innocent puppies and market additional expenses and do not honor their agreements. If you were to visit their facility you would not be welcome to see the kennel area. God only knows what the conditions are in their basement. When we were picking up our puppy they gave us a female instead of the male that I had sent a downpayment for. They were not attentive and the place is run as a cold hearted business. As a business owner myself, I would never treat people as bad as this. We loved our little boy and are still heartsick about his tragic death. This business does not care about the situation and is trying to get away with not owning up to their responsibility to unite people with healthy puppies. They are only interested in the money. Their Vet did not attend to this puppy and is making an assumption from the report from the Vet that attended our puppy. There was no mention of an accident or accusing us of wrong doing. I feel for all the pet owners from this kennel who are treated as poorly as we are. Nothing can bring him back to us but my truthful response to this situation will hopefully bring some justice to this situation. Hopefully others don't have to go through what we have gone through as a result of Laughlin's neglect and false business practices. It was a hard lesson to learn but we never contact another puppy mill again and will give a truthful account of our experience to anyone seeking a puppy from Laughlin or another disreputable puppy mill.I have been told that the state of Massachusetts has strict laws about bringing puppies into the state for sale or for adoption. How can Laughlin Kennel get away with this?When we researched the breeder from Illinois that was documented on our sale papers, we saw that he has been involved in several closed puppy mills and that he no longer was a breeder. How can that be when our puppy was only 3 months old? Our puppy's background information was questionable. How can we know that the Vet that Laughlin uses is reputable? Did he get his shots? I have no trust in Laughlin Kennel and from the bottom of my heart, I hope that whoever is reading this statement accepts this information as truthful and submitted by an honest and heartbroken victim in this heartless case.Final Business Response We always wanted to resolve this in an amicable manner, and the offer for you to send more vet info so we can have a better understanding of what happens still stands.To inform you, we are randomly inspected by the Massachusetts Dept. of Agriculture to make sure the living conditions of the dogs are sanitary, spacious enough and that the dogs are well fed, hydrated and receiving proper vet care.Also, the AKC will inspect our kennels from time to time, in addition to the MSPCA, and the local dog officer.We have nothing to hide, it is just that we do not allow the public to view our private kennels.Final Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)I am obtaining further Vet records and will forward them. Your resolution to this situation was to offer me another puppy "at a discount"! I already paid you over $1200.00 for our [redacted] who died a month and half after purchasing him. Now you want more money from me to obtain another questionable puppy. You just want more money. This is not an amicable negotiation. You turned cold on the phone when I told you the situation and your Vet read into the report that we abused him causing his tragic death. This is not amicable!I am submitting a report to the Attorney General and contacting [redacted] with this situation. I am not accepting your "proposed resolution". Your business practices are unacceptable and I will pursue this to save others from being exposed to your mistreatment of puppies and possible future clients.

My complaint is regarding a sick and diseased puppy that I purchased along with my brother [redacted] from the Laughlin Kennel Co.On Friday Oct. 24, 2014 I along with my brother [redacted] purchased a puppy from Laughlin Kennel Co. On Monday Oct. 27th I made my well puppy appt. with Dr. [redacted] of [redacted] for Friday Oct. 31, 2014. Over the weekend the puppy experience some slight diarhea which can happen duing the adjustment period but during the early evening of Oct. 27th my puppy(herein call [redacted] started experiencing a slight cough by Thurs. Oct. 30th into the overnight hours [redacted] started to present with a thick green mucus from here nose along with the cough. I brought [redacted] in for her appt. along with a stool sample, she had blood work done regarding her respitory issues. [redacted] was put on an antibiotic. On Sat. Nov. 1, 2014 I rec'd the results of the stool sample and [redacted] was diagnosed with a parasite called Giardia on MondayI got the results of her distemper blood work which came in as positive. Mind you the first antibiotic had a negative reaction on Oct. 31, 2014 and I had to bring [redacted] back to the vet but unfortunately she could not go inside as she could have been contagious so a nurse had to come curbside to the car and give [redacted] 1 anti-nausau shot 1 antibiotic shot and we given a new liquid antibiotic. The second part of my complaint has to deal with a congential defect, which was explaind to us as a previously repaired umbilical hernia due to Marleys mother licking off the umblical cord. According to Dr. Chase this was something that would have happened in utero.Desired SettlementI would like reimbursement for my veterinary bills up to at least the purchase price of the dog as I believe the State Puppy Lemon law states, I also would like to know how a business stays in good standing with the Revdex.com to let them display such in thier place of business.Business Response Dear [redacted],We are sorry your puppy is having health issues.The Boxer puppy you have is a living creature, and we do everything we can to ensure that when a puppy goes home she will succeed. We have the pups checked by our Vet no more than a week before going home with you, and we examine the pup with you and make sure the pup is not displaying any signs of illness when the puppy goes home with you.You agreed the pup was healthy at the time of sale by initialing on the check list that it had the appearance of a healthy puppy.But, as we have said, pups are living creatures and can break with infections post sale.We do go over what we can do for you at the time of sale, and it is to return the pup with the vet statement, and you can receive a full refund, or a replacement puppy. I am copying and pasting the exact language from the contract, which cites the Massachusetts CMR.14 Day Health GuaranteeYou are receiving a copy of the puppy's health and immunization records. The puppy is healthy, to thebest of our knowledge, with any exceptions noted on the health record.You are given the 14 day health guarantee prescribed in regulation 330 CMR 12:05, as follows:"All licensees shall provide a substitution or a full refund of the purchase price of any dog or cat to anypurchaser who: (a) within 14 calendar days of sale has the dog or cat examined by a licensed veterinarian of his or her choice, and the examination indicates the dog or cat is diseased or has a congenital disorder; and . (b) presents the dog or cat, a veterinarian's written statement that the dog or cat is diseased or has a congenital disorder, and proof of sale within two business days of the date of the examination."We also explicitly state we cannot reimburse for vet bills, which you are aware of, and initialed the clause.That being said, you are still within the 14 day guarantee, we will accept the dog back (and issue a refund in accordance with our contract). Also, we are willing to allow you to repurchase the puppy after our vet has cleared the dog as healthy two weeks in a row.To address the umbilical hernia your pup has, it can be caused in utero, and also can be cause by trauma.However, it has been fixed, and the prognosis for pups that have a repaired umbilical hernia is excellent. We are sorry that there was confusion on that part, but it should not have long lasting health effects that would interfere with your puppy being a pet.You have stated you wanted reimbursement for Vet bills, we cannot do that, but we will certainly honor our 14-day Guarantee that you and we agreed to at the time of sale.

HI my name is Chris I bought a Pom a Poo at Laughlin kennels and so glad I did . the place was clean and the young lady who helped me was very nice . I took the dog right to my own vet and he said the pup was in good health good to go . I asked him about Laughlin and he said he has seen many dogs from there all were just fine .he had nothing bad to say about Laughlin. if your thinking about going just go and see for yourself I did and so happy I did !! COCO is the love of my life ! take a chance you might be glad you did !! FROM CHRIS AND COCO from [redacted] Ma.

Bought a puppy and was told that puppy had a resolved luxating patella issue. Took to vet and was told issue had not resolved and puppy needs surgeryBought a [redacted] puppy and puppy appeared healthy except for a click on the right back leg. Mentioned to the sales person and he said the puppy had been vet checked and the issue was a loose knee cap (luxating patella), but the issue had resolved on it's own. Bought puppy on a thursday. Sat took puppy to personal vet and was told that patella had not resolved and the puppy would need surgery as an adult.Desired SettlementI think the business should pay for the surgery. We are not willing to take an exchange as this would mean putting the puppy down or trying to sell her to someone else as a healthy dog. We want a billing adjustment.Business Response [redacted],On 6/27 you called and left a message with the back office asking for the kennel manager to return your phone call on Monday 6/29 when she came in. You had concerns from your puppy's first veterinarian exam. The kennel manager called first thing in the morning on 6/29. She made a second attempt to reach you by phone later that afternoon. Shortly after leaving the second message, we received a complaint that you filed with the Revdex.com stating that you would like for us to pay for your puppy's surgery, if it becomes necessary. Per the second message that our kennel manager left you, even though you did not purchase the optional health guarantee, we will honor it for this Patella issue only, for not only 2 years but for 5 years.As our contract states:12 Month Congenital Defect Guarantee:For a full year from this sale, we will replace a puppy which has a congenital defect so serious that your and our veterinarians agree it disqualifies the puppy as a pet. You must return the puppy to us and we will give you a substitution puppy as soon as one is available. Medically necessary surgery, the customary and reasonable cost of which exceeds the "Puppy Price" will be considered to disqualify the puppy as a pet.The Optional Guarantee Extension is as follows:For a charge of 4% of Puppy Price $___, you may purchase an extension to two full years of the congenital defect guarantee. This extension also gives you the option of receiving a refund of the Puppy Price or a substitution puppy, and gives you the option of keeping or returning the original puppy.All we ask is that you please fax in all of your paperwork from your veterinarian with all soap notes from all exams to XXX-XXX-XXXX.Consumer Response We are not satisfied with this response and have emailed the kennel the following:We are not interested in returning her. She's a living thing not a product. If she's returned she would be resold to someone who might not be able to get the surgery she needs or put down because she can't be resold. Thats not responsible practice on the kennels part. The paper work was falsified. If your vet was licensed there's no way they could have missed the very audible click to her back leg. I commented on it to the sales person, but he just reassured me the vet had cleared her. We are having a third vet look at her on July 8th to verify. Final Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)We never received an offer by the kennel to pay for any surgery. We received a request for notes to which I responded we would let a lawyer handle this. This response comes after I told them we would consult a lawyer, but again was not made to us. Our vet has told us our puppy may need surgery when she's older. This condition can also cause pretty significant arthritis down the road. Grade 1 and 2 can obsolutely pop out of place but can usually be manipulated back in place manually. If not then they require surgery.Final Business Response We offered this customer the relief she is requesting even before this complaint was filed with the Revdex.com. We will pay for any necessary surgery up to the price of the puppy. We do not expect there to ever be surgery required. A grade 1 or grade 2 patella is one that is in place and remains in place unless manually pushed out (the tendon in the knee's groove). A grade 1 cannot be pushed out but will yield a little, and a grade 2 can be pushed out but pops right back in on its own. It is typically grade 3 and grade 4 patellae which are not in place and may cause problems.Apparently 4 veterinarians (our two and two of the customer's) have examined this pup, and each had a different finding, but all the vets agree that the patellae are in place, and none believe surgery to be necessary.There were some statements made in the initial complaint that were not true. It is not the case that she was given falsified veterinary information by us. Two veterinarians examined the puppy at our facility and their findings were written and signed.It is not the case that this luxation is immutable nor is it the case that any veterinarian will grade a knee the same as any other. We now have seen four separate results from four different veterinarians.It is not the case that there was an audible click discussed with the sales person. This concerned us as the pup should not have been sold if a customer had made that claim. So we watched the videotape of the sale and no such conversation took place at all. (We can provide the video recording if the customer or the Revdex.com desires it.)Despite our confidence that the puppy is healthy and will remain healthy, we regret that this customer is unhappy with us. All we know to do is to agree to pay for any surgery in the unlikely case it should become necessary.

Bought a puppy there that won't eat after a week. Vet says its a lemon law situation. $453 in tests and antibiotics and the dog is still starving itself to death. The office manager insists its the food, but its beyond Vet Tech 101 at this point. The dog lost 15% of her bodyweight. I live in Maine so I can't casually drive the dog down there for treatment. I bought the warranty, but there is a circular indifference of the staff that its the food. Office manager is crude. Nobody returns phone calls. Emailed the owner directly and waiting for a call back.