Texas Teacups / Teacup And Toy Pet Boutique Misrepresents their Size and Health Guarantees on their website Forney Texas

TexasTeacups-TeacupandToyPet.com (Dog Breeder) TexasTeacups-TeacupandToyPet.com (Dog Breeder)

Owner: Becky Bice
Texas Teacups
6518 Lyndon B Johnson Freeway
Dallas, TX 75240

I picked a puppy to purchase in December. They kept promising me that it was going to be shipped. After several weeks of trying to get information on when they were going to send the puppy I found out that the puppy I picked was sick and they were waiting for it to get better to send it to me.

I told them I did not want the puppy and that I wanted my money back. They said they would give me only part of my money back since I had been on a waiting list and money that I had sent them to be on the waiting list had already gone to the breeder for the puppy. The other thing they could do is send me another puppy as soon as one was available.

There is basically no customer service, talking to someone is nearly impossible once you give them money to be on their waiting list and more money to be on a priority waiting list. I finally got a hold of them and they finally sent me a puppy.

Following is a letter that I sent to Becky regarding the puppy I purchased:

Enclosed please find copies of two 24 hour emergency veterinarian bills. The puppy that you shipped to me on February 3rd arrived safely and seemed to be in good health. Unfortunately, on Monday, February 6th at 2:00 a.m. the puppy became very ill. The puppy was vomiting and was passing bloody stools. I immediately called my vet and they referred me to a 24 hour emergency pet clinic. I also called and left several messages on what I was told was your cell phone (972.898.8495) and the office phone (972.991.6477). I started leaving messages on Monday, February 6th at 2:00 a.m. and continued throughout the day and also on Tuesday. Shelly finally returned my call on Tuesday afternoon. I explained to her the following:

1. The puppy got sick on Monday, February 6th at 2:00 a.m. It was vomiting and passing bloody stools.

2. I took it to the 24 hour emergency pet clinic right away. While there the puppy had another bloody stool and fortunately the doctor was able to analyze it. He told me that he found Strangyloidas Stercorelis. He said that usually you see eggs from the parasite but that this was bad because he could see the actual worm in the stool. Fortunately he had the medication (Panacour) needed to give to the puppy. The vet said to feed the puppy rice and cottage cheese to settle the stomach. He gave her a shot to relieve the puppy from cramping to relieve herself.

3. The main thing the doctor said was that this type of parasite is usually in animals that come from Texas. He said that the puppy should have been thoroughly examined, including a fecal sample checked before being shipped out. You can call the doctor and speak to him directly at 1-323-254-7382.

4. Throughout the day I was concerned because the puppy just slept and did not want to eat much and what it did eat it would vomit. My regular vet suggested I go back to the 24 hour emergency pet clinic and have her rechecked by the same doctor.

5. I returned that evening Monday, February 6th at 6:00 p.m. to have the doctor check on the puppy again. Although it was a little bit playful it did not want to eat and slept most of the day. The doctor was afraid it might have Parvo and tested for that. It was negative. He did a blood test and her blood sugar was a little low. He gave her water and some plain chicken and rice canned dog food made especially for puppies with gastrointestinal problems. Because she did eat it he let her go home and not keep her to put an I.V. He also gave her another shot so she wouldn't be nauseas and be able to keep down her food.

All this I explained to Shelly and she said that she had never heard of that parasite being linked to animals coming from Texas. She also explained to me that the puppy came with a health certificate signed by the vet. When I asked her if the exam included analysis of a fecal sample she said that it probably did if they checked the puppy out.

I called the vet office on the health certificate and spoke with a lady by the name of Snookie. When I asked her what the exam for the puppy to be shipped consisted of she said it was very general and basically if the puppy looked okay they would fill out the papers needed so the airlines would accept shipping out the puppy. I specifically asked her if the exam included a fecal sample and analyzing it for parasites and she said that normally it was not done unless it was specifically asked for by you. And unfortunately this puppy was not checked for parasites.

I told Shelly that I wanted to be reimbursed for my added expenses of getting a sick puppy. I was surprised when Shelly said that usually you just reimburse for medications, considering the Health Guarantee that you state in your website. After a $268.00 bill I am not going to be happy to be reimbursed for $20 worth of medication.

Per Shelly, I am writing you this letter and have sent it certified mail. I am requesting reimbursement of $268.00. I spent $1800 to purchase a puppy that was guaranteed to be healthy. As you state in your website the puppies are Health Guaranteed for up to one year and I expect full reimbursement for my added expenses.

I have also done some research on your company and was rather shocked to find out that the Better Business Bureau has numerous complaints regarding Texas Teacups. The complaints range from not returning calls, which I have telephone bills showing the number of calls I have made to you with no call back, complaints of no response to emails, to complaints of selling puppies that are supposed to be small and end up weighing 11 pounds. I also found that you have many DBA listings.

I am hoping that I do not have to file a complaint not only with the Better Business Bureau and add to the already long list of unhappy customers but I will also file a complaint with the local Humane Society in Texas as well.

After sending the letter I had to keep calling and calling. I finally received my refund for $78.00. Even though they state on their web page that the puppies are 100 % health guaranteed up to a year it is not the case. The health gurantee that they send AFTER you have the puppy says that they will only pay for medication for up to $20.00. Becky found it in her heart to pay the additional monies for the 2 shots the puppy received.

I think it is wrong that after paying so much money I had to pay additional money to save the life of the puppy. I feel that it wrong for vets to just give a health certificate without getting a stool sample and checking for parasites. So Becky gets away with the costs of paying a vet for parasite medication or lab work and puts it on the new owner.

Becky is an irresponsible breeder/owner. I feel helpless in that I am in another state and are not able to incurr additional costs to take her to small claims court. What makes it worse is that is now selling puppies for up to $14,000.00. (no I did not put the decimal point in the wrong place). She claims these puppies are from the bloodline of the celebrity puppies she sold to Paris Hilton, Michelle Quon, Jessica Simpson, etc. It even states that some of these celebrities have received these puppies for free. And she also has a puppy for $1 Million dollars. It is so tiny that you would have to constantly be feeding it for fear the blood sugar will drop and it will die.

I am really upset about this and wish I could do more. The only thing I can do is keep telling people not to buy puppies from her. I really would like to get back the rest of my money for the vet bills and also the extra money I paid to have the puppy shipped to me as well as getting my full money back since the puppy did not stay at the 4-5 lb. weight that she "Guarantees" on her website.

The better business bureau and Humane Society needs to put an end to her business as this company misleads consumers into purchasing puppies. I feel bad that I purchased a puppy from Becky Bice and had not idea what Puppy Mills were all about. I am now doing all I can to put complaints about this breeder to warn other consumers.

Gloria
Glendale, California
U.S.A.