Willow River Farm |
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Consumer reviews about Willow River Farm |
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Jon McCartney
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Jan 9, 2012
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Sick Puppies being sold
Why did you buy from a puppy mi!!? What makes you say that it is? Did you do research prior to purchase?
Unfortunately, a lot of people assume that all breeders are reputable, and that isn't the case at all. Those who are in it to make money are to be avoided. That isn't why reputable breeders do it, but imagine all the people who see it as a way to earn a living.
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Help
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Jan 10, 2012
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Sick Puppies being sold
Hey Jon. I actually know a person by that same name; he lives in Alabama.
Bet you are my buddy that bought that pretty little white dog from the well known breeder - if so, been a misiin' ya buddy.
If not, excuse my intuition for being wrong.
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Budman
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Jan 12, 2012
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Sick Puppies being sold
After reading the negative report about Barb and Willow River Farm, all I can say is that the buyer must be completely ignorant of contracts and puppies.
I have known Barb for many years, have been to their farm to see the operation and how they raise their dogs and have purchased several puppies from them. The facilities are clean, the dogs are cared for better than most people treat their own pets and Barb is almost obsessively concerned for the well being of her puppies. She still contacts me on a regular basis to check on them and is always asking for current pics of the dogs.
If the buyer had even read the contract he signed, he would have known to call her as soon as he noticed something was not right with his new puppy. Even if he didn't read the contract, wouldn't common sense tell him to call the person he got the puppy from? Every puppy I have ever purchased ( I have gotten several from Barb over the years) has been taken to my local Vet immediately for a check. The initial examination always includes worm/parasite tests. I don't know what Vet he uses but any Veterinarian that I know would have first checked for parasites if he knew the puppy had just been received and had been shipped, especially if the dog didn't appear well. If you had a cold and went to your doctor, would you not think something was fishy if he sent you for a brain scan, an MRI of your shoulder and an EKG??
I feel bad for this buyer, it seems like he may have been taken advantage of by this vet. I feel even worse for the new puppy, he/she suffered needlessly.
Barb runs a first rate operation, cares for her dogs and their puppies and is very knowledgeable about their healthcare and health issues. To slander her for this buyers' mistakes and not contacting her concerning this new puppy is inexcusable and wrong.
I hope and pray the puppy is doing well.
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Budman
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Jan 12, 2012
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Sick Puppies being sold
My name is Michelle and I live in Ohio and I would like to comment on a Rip Report I recently read about Willow River Farm. I find the report to be very inaccurate and untrue. I have been to Willow River Farm on three different occasions in the past five years to pick up puppies I have purchased from Willow River Farm. Most recently in September of 2011 to pick up a puppy I purchased for my Son. I have purchased a total of 4 beautiful Aussie's from this breeder and none of these puppies had any issues when I first brought them home or now for that matter. I can tell you this farm is not a puppy mill as stated by the person who wrote the rip report. If the purchaser had the puppy ship to them then obviously they did not visit the farm. It is a beautiful property were the dogs are turned out in huge fenced areas to run and play. It is unfortunate that this particular puppy that was mentioned in the rip report was sick. However I also am very aware of the Health Guarantee that is signed by all individuals purchasing a puppy from Willow River Farm. I have signed four of them one for each puppy I have purchased. The contract clearly states that if a puppy does not pass the physical or has any serious health problems documented by a licensed veterinarian the breeder should be contacted before any treatment is started or the contract will be void. Sounds to me like this particular individual did not follow the rules of their signed valid Health Guarantee Contract and medically treated the puppy without contacting the breeder and therefore voided their contract. It is unfortunate that they now feel the need to make trouble for this respectable Aussie breeder.
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Jon McCartney
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Jan 13, 2012
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Willow River Farm Sold Me A Sick Miniature Australian Shepherd Puppy
Reputable breeders spend most of their time showing dogs, and on the side sell a handful of puppies culled from just a few litters a year. You have to look hard on their website just to see that they may have extra puppies or retired adults that they wish to place in a new home.
Then there are many breeders who do it as a business. It is easy to imagine that the standards such breeders have for socializaion, environment, health become second prioritites to income. Do an internet search for this breeder, and the link says "Miniature Australian puppies for sale." Draw your own conclusions.
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etw67p
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Feb 25, 2012
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Willow River Farm Sold Me A Sick Miniature Australian Shepherd Puppy
I agree. This breeder seems to be over breeding - they have at least two litters a month. It's just a business for them and clearly don't have any interest in the breed. They just see dollar signs for a newly popular dog.
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Jackbergman
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Feb 28, 2012
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Willow River Farm Sold Me A Sick Miniature Australian Shepherd Puppy
I have a down payment on a dog there already. Just saw this an I am pretty concerned now. Any suggestions from anyone?! I am pretty nervous now.
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jackbergman1
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Feb 29, 2012
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Willow River Farm Sold Me A Sick Miniature Australian Shepherd Puppy
I have been doing some research and have seen this post on numerous websites, and seen people respond that know Barb. In dealing with her thus far it has been a good experience. I will try to post in a few months about how my dog is doing, but I am very confident going back.
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paige6602
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Oct 25, 2013
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Buyer Beware
We recently purchased an 8 week old Miniature Austrailian Shepherd puppy from Willow River Farm breeders. We immediatley took him to our vet and found that he had ear infections in both ears, lice on his coat, and multiple intestinal parasites. We contacted the breeder to inform her and were disapponted to hear that she would only agree to pay for the ear infection medication ($38). It has been over a month since she agreed and she has not sent the reimbursement and has stopped replying to my emails. My warning to anyone thinking of purchasing from her is that you can expect to pay some additional costs in vet bills to get your puppy back to the health you would expect to receive it in.
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30yr Trainer
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May 17, 2014
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TWO SICK PUPPIES
I have read the complaint on here and I know how Jon feels. I bought a puppy and another lady near me bought a puppy out of the same litter as me. We actually made arrangements for me to pick up both puppies. Two weeks prior to me picking up the pups I was told that they were sick...throwing up and diarrhea. She said she was going to keep them until they were better. They never went to a vet to get checked but Barb communicated with the doc over the phone. When I arrived to get the pups they seemed ok. They were drinking water at least and did not appear to be sluggish or looking sick. When the puppies had their first stool is was runny which is ok. It is something that is expected since they were just sick and missed their deworming. The other pup was picked up the next day and my pup went to the vet that day too. At the vet he had ear infections, severe case of worms and dehydration. Not a problem. Things got treated. But three days later he still has diarrhea. I called Barb told her what was going on and she told me to put him on rice and ground beef. I did that but things still did not get better after three days. Back to the vet we went. I was given some meds for five days. Still did not get better. Vet put him on stronger meds for 14 days. Still didnt get better. For the first month and a half we were at the vet at least once a week. The other pup was just as sick. But when they called Barb she made it out to be their fault that their puppy was sick. The puppies were never taken outside so they thought going in their cage and laying it was normal. Barb is NOT on a farm. Who knows if or where this so called farm is. She is in a house in a neighborhood with a very very small backyard. Her house is NOT clean. It smelled very badly of urine and feces. I could hear dogs barking from downstairs and when I went to leave I saw one in a cage at the end of the stairs. When I was there Barb said that she had a litter downstairs that were two days old and that night another litter was born in her bathtub. Yes! Barb is a puppy mill!!!! She has 16+ breeding females and just as many males as well. She has anywhere between 2 and 4 litters a month! When I asked for the shot records it was typed up on the computer. I asked about his papers and was told that when I fixed him I would get them. Now I paid more for my dog than the other lady did because he was show quality. Apparently she doesn't know that "Miniature Australian Shepherd" is not an AKC breed. So you can NOT show a mini. If you look up American Shepherd you will see that AKC has labeled the dog as being developed. I have one of each and there is a big difference between the two. Also no contracts were signed nor offered. She does not know what she is doing when it comes to prices and what or what isn't a show dog. If I am paying for show then I sign a contract and get his papers. If I am getting a pet then I pay the same as everyone else and I get papers once he's fixed. There is another pup that got returned due to being sick also. She had it back on her website stating that the pup had been attacked and there was a mark on her nose. But there was no mark to be seen on her nose on the recent pictures posted. My boy is now almost 6 months and is healthy, smart, loving and quiet the protector of me and the other Aussie (a month younger than him). I love him dearly but there were many health issues and training challenges with him because of the dirty environment he was breed in.
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Kimberly Sego
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Jul 2, 2014
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Kimberly Sego
I went with my daughter to Iron River to pick up a puppy, that she worked through her whole college for. I walked into a house that you got knocked down from the smell of kennel. She went down stairs to get the puppy my daughter bought, I was following her and she told me to stay and she would go get him. I grew up with a grandma who owned a kennel, and I bought a lot of dogs throughout my life. Most of the dogs I bought were registered and always got papers. I wanted her to give me the vet check, and shoot record. But she would not give them to me, I asked to see the parents, she said she did not have them here, I asked were are they. She said she owned a farm 20 minutes away and the male was there but the mom was down stairs. She also would not give me the papers either, she told me my daughter would get them when she got the puppy neutered. Well that was the first time I heard that. We took the puppy home on saterday, but by sunday he was throwing up and had worms. My daughter took him to the vet on Monday and he had provo and was infected with worms. So she treated him at home, but he had to spend the knight also. The vet bills were quiet a bit, I called Barb and told her what happended and I wanted the vet bill payed and the money for the dog given back to my daughter. She said she would pay the vet bill but I was on meth and called me a bitch and told me she would see me in court. My daughter sent her the vet bills but of course has not heard anything from her, but she will hear from me.
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kimsego
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Jul 9, 2014
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kimberly sego
Would like to file legal action against her for selling my daughter a sick puppy she will not pay the vet bill. She needs to be stopped Kim sego
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gwalker
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Jul 24, 2015
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VERY SICK PUP
Bought a pup from Barb wish I would of done more research. Wife traveled from North Dakota to Michigan to pick it up but the day before pickup Barb contacted us and said puppy was sick and we could not pick it up. Three days later we were allowed to pick her up wife drove the rest of the way to Michigan to her surprise NO FARM and was right in town barb was on front steps with the puppy as wife walked to the house the smell was horrible and she could hear dogs MANY barking from back yard and house. We were informed that the brother was sick also wife asked to see him Barb said no. Finally wife was on the road she called me as she drove away telling me puppy stunk bad like shit and did not look well I told her to call are Vet and head straight there as see got to the vet I received a phone call from Vet stating you bought a very sick pup and Vet gave it a 50% chance of pulling through pup was infested with worms and perisites pup and a 9 month old pup weight of 2.8 lbs were on day 4 to early to tell what is going to happen. Barb is a CON she stated to me when I purchased pup that they were breed and raised on a farm and told me to check out the farm online. We never got any paper work as of shots etc. I contacted Barb with Vet info she stated my Vet of 35+ years did not know what they were talking about told me I had no reason to be upset its normal for puppys to be in the=is shape it takes time to get them well. Sent the bill to her nothing about paying said she would come get pup and give money back my reply was ( n=NO WAY IN H--- WOULD I EVER PUT A PUPPY GO BACK TO BE TREATED LIKE THAT AND THE WAS ONE OF THE LUCKY PUPS) The condition of the pup concerned my Vet to the point she asked me for all of Barbs info hope someone can put a stop to this PUPPY MILL and that is all it is. Legal action to follow would like a list of people with same experience [email protected]
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willow123
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Aug 8, 2015
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willow river farm
What kid of people- keep the puppy and then try to ruin someone?? if you did not like the situation why did you buy the puppy?
what is with the folks who write bad reviews? mental illness? depression? Or just lairs?
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gwalker
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Aug 16, 2015
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Honest people
No mentall illness no depression and for sure no liar your a puppy mill and only care about the income not quality animals and for the price I would have expected more I know I should of check into Barbs Willow River more but live and learn. Beware of this PUPPY MILL at 9 weeks are puppy weighed only 2.8 pounds now in are care for a little over 3 wks 8.2 pounds and doing well should of named her Lucky cause she lucky to get out alive!!!!!!!
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Anonymous1995
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Aug 6, 2017
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Puppy Mill!!! DO NOT BUY!!!
This is beyond awful. These people are not "reputable breeders", they are a puppy mill hiding behind a breeding license. The lady and her husband don't even live together. She keeps 20+ dogs in her basement in tiny cages. They are covered in feces and urine, the entire house reeks of ammonia. All the puppies are infested with fleas and mites. Most of the time her puppies contract coccidia and parvo from these horrible living conditions. She throws them in the trash.
Her husband is no better. He keeps between 80-100 dogs on his farm at any given time and they switch the dogs back and forth so it doesn't look like they own so many. His "stock" is absolutely horrid to eachother, and horrible to other animals. They have ganged up on his sheep to break their legs and have a living meal. All of his dogs are unsocialized, all of her dogs are unsocialized. You will get a very skiddish, and sickly puppy if you EVER even think about buying from these people.
The police have already been contacted on multiple occasions and unfortunately they can't do anything because of
1) this "breeding license" they have and
2) they have refused to let police see the horrible living conditions.
DO NOT under any circumstances buy anything from these people.
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Cxc
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Dec 13, 2017
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Another sick puppy
I also bought a mini Aussie from Barb at willow River farms. The day I got her home she urinated every 10 minutes. She had a parasite, giardia, lice and a UTI! One of her litter mates died and another had open heart surgery. Luckily, my pup survived. She was on antibiotics for the first six months that we had her and it took a long time to train her to feel loved and not attack us in frustration. She is now over a year, and a very smart little girl, but it does not excuse the torment and monetary burden that this has put on our family. I do believe that the Barb loves these animals but has no idea what it takes to be a responsible breeder. She is not malicious, just careless. Nevertheless, I would not recommend buying any animal from this breeder. She needs to work with animal safety officials to understand what it takes to run a safe operation for the puppies that will become very loved members of a family one day. I was very angry in the beginning and I am taking this time to spare people any heartbreak they might receive by getting one of these animals. Mostly, Barb, if you are reading this, it is time to get over being defensive and take some responsibility for these beautiful puppies and their parents. Do the right thing. Turn things around. You obviously love animals, but everything blew up around you. You have the opportunity to redeem yourself by creating a healthy environment for the dogs you love so dearly. Downsize, focus on the health of these animals. I will never regret getting my baby from you. My heart is so filled with love for her every day. You can still get back to filling families with love. Please right the wrongs. It really is up to you. Do you want to fill people with joy or heartache? I know the answer, so please, please, do the right thing. Your babies are counting on you.
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Aussielover
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Apr 12, 2020
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Papers
I purchased a puppy from Barb 5 years ago. Fortunately, my Molly was healthy, just a little bit of a worm belly. I was told she was registered but never received the papers, I spent $1,000 for the purchase price and $200 for delivery.
I have e-nailed Barb on numerous occasions and I still don’t have papers. Molly is amazing but I am not impressed with Barb’s customer service. I did not see the facility, but after reading these reviews my heart is aching.
I will be forever grateful for Molly, but Barb, if these reviews are true, please clean everything up and give your little angles a chance for better life. It is never too late to accept responsibility and clean it up ❤️👍🏻
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