Ripoff Report Needs Your Help!
X  |  CLOSE
Report: #956585

Complaint Review: Copperhead Kennels - Arkadelphia Arkansas

  • Submitted:
  • Updated:
  • Reported By: Annonymous — USA Nationwide United States of America
  • Author Confirmed What's this?
  • Why?
  • Copperhead Kennels 722 N 15th St. Arkadelphia, Arkansas United States of America

Copperhead Kennels Copperhead Siberians Sells mix breed dogs as purebred AKC Arkadelphia, Arkansas

Show customers why they should trust your business over your competitors...

Is this
Report about YOU
listed on other sites?
Those sites steal
Ripoff Report's
content.
We can get those
removed for you!
Find out more here.
How to fix
Ripoff Report
If your business is
willing to make a
commitment to
customer satisfaction
Click here now..

Copperhead Kennels in AR is proving to be irreversibly destructive to the purebred Siberian Husky community while simultaneously stealing from innocent, unsuspecting people. They do this by selling Merle pattern mix breeds as AKC Huskies.

A little background on Merle: Merle is a dominant gene pattern (not a color) that is also commonly referred to as Dapple in Dachshunds and horses. Please do not confuse this with Piebald, as Piebald is distinctively different; a quick Google image search will make this differentiation exceedingly clear. Now there are two major reasons why a Merle "Husky" is unacceptable. First, there is absolutely no historical proof that this dominant gene existed within the breed prior to a few years ago. Meaning the only way for the gene to be introduced at all is through impure breeding, intentional or not. It is suspected that a breeder of both Huskies and Australian Shepherds is responsible for the initiation of this epidemic. Second, when two Merle's are bred there is a 25% chance of significant problems such as a deaf and / or blind puppy. Problems increase from there and could include dropped pupils, missing eyes, and many other disorders that could lead to a young puppy being put to rest. This issue is serious enough that the SCHA amended its color identification guidelines to include a somewhat long and detailed policy regarding Merle Huskies. That policy can be found here: SHCA Merle Policy

Given the provided information, any reasonable person could easily conclude that a Husky with a Merle pattern is not a purebred; hence why one cannot register a Husky with the AKC as Merle. In order to circumvent the rules established to maintain breed integrity, unethical breeders such as Copperhead Kennels misrepresent their stock as Piebald. However as stated above, there is not only an extremely visible differentiation, but also significant genetic and health related discrepancies. 

This becomes a much larger issue when you consider that every Merle "Husky" sold could potentially become the breeding stock of new breeders, thus exponentially increasing health risks and impurities within the breed as a whole at a highly rapid rate. Had the upcoming breeder known of the issue of Merle gene's within the breed, they would not have purchased the pup in the first place, and therefore it is unreasonable to assume they would ever realize there are any problems with their stock. Consider that every two years, six new puppies are birthed from every one previous Merle. In a short ten years, this would introduce nearly 1600 impure Huskies into the community. 

There are two logical reasons why a breeder would continue to breed a Merle mix and sell them as AKC Huskies. First, as stated above, the breeder legitimately may not realize that there is an issue with their stock. However, this raises reasonable questions about the breeders knowledge and if they are indeed the best option to provide the newest member of your family. Second, the breeder has knowledge of the issue, but chooses to ignore the information based on an infinite number of reasons that almost certainly include financial gain. Not only is the latter option highly unethical on multiple fronts, but it is illegal. 

During conversation with Copperhead Kennels I personally informed them that they were selling Merle dogs and why there was a problem in doing so. Ironically they had already previously linked me to the very SHCA webpage where the Merle policy is found; making it very difficult to believe that they had no prior knowledge of the given situation. When confronted they first tried to pretend that the dogs were in fact Piebald Huskies, however as previously stated it is difficult to confuse the two patterns. From there they tried to defend themselves by claiming that the AKC told them to register the dogs as Piebald. This is highly doubtful unless they intentionally described the dog in a false way through phone conversation and the AKC representative did not have a clear and accurate description of the dog in question. Then they tried to save themselves by claiming that they were open and honest with their customers about the colors and patterns of their dogs in question. However, that was nothing more than a complete and total lie, as you can see from the markings section within this screenshot of their website: http://imageshack.us/a/img826/93/merlepage.png Finally, they decided they best option would be to remove all Facebook photos and pictures, and remove the Merle dogs from their website, and instead open a private Facebook group.

Since then we have made multiple complaints to the AKC about their false registration, and have been in contact with the SCHA. The same parent club that Copperhead Kennels is not a member of but rather extensively quotes while simultaneously ignores for their own personal gain. In addition to their Merle line, Copperhead Kennels also breeds a woolly Husky, a trait that individually is undesired in the show community but mixed with the extreme curl of the tail suggests a mix breed Malamute / Husky. 

So if you are in the market for a good pet that should never be registered, and you are able to overlook the outright lies and deception, then maybe Copperhead Kennels is a good place for you to purchase your new pet. However, if you are an avid lover of the breed, want a knowledgeable and honest breeder, or desire a truly purebred Husky, then you should look elsewhere. Please do not fall victim to their fraud.

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 10/18/2012 08:05 AM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/copperhead-kennels/arkadelphia-arkansas-71923/copperhead-kennels-copperhead-siberians-sells-mix-breed-dogs-as-purebred-akc-arkadelphia-956585. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content

Search for additional reports

If you would like to see more Rip-off Reports on this company/individual, search here:

Report & Rebuttal
Respond to this report!
What's this?
Also a victim?
What's this?
Repair Your Reputation!
What's this?
Featured Reports

Advertisers above have met our
strict standards for business conduct.

X
What do hackers,
questionable attorneys and
fake court orders have in common?
...Dishonest Reputation Management Investigates Reputation Repair
Free speech rights compromised

WATCH News
Segment Now