Golden Meadows Retrievers Do not purchase a puppy from them! Moorpark California

Both of the articles posted by golfbuddy were articles written and posted on the Ventura County Star website with a by-line of : Gallagher 20/20 Consulting.  Most of the articles started to appear AFTER Barbara Hoke was arrested.

Ventura County Star's website includes a section called YourNews.  Here is the description of YourNews: "Our YourNews stories, blogs and calendar items are written by community members and cover a broad range of local interests -- from politics and events to sports and weather and family activities. All stories and photos are reviewed by an editor prior to publication and stories that do not meet our standards for content and/or quality will not be published.

One of Gallagher 20/20 Consulting specialities is what they call Reputation Enhancement.  Their website states that one of their main purposes is to "build and manage your reputation through the free media".  They also state that the people who might use their services include "law firms representing clients in civl or criminal matters."  Gallagher 20/20 Consulting is also publishing items about Golden Meadows on Facebook and states that they are a client. 

These last 2 posts by golfbuddy are intended to create good PR for Golden Meadows, nothing more.  The fact still stands that on December 14, 2009, Barbara Hoke will stand trial for Cruelty To An Animal, Filing a False Report, and Grand Theft Dog. 

Golden Meadows Retrievers Kennel in Moorpark has passed its American Kennel Clubs compliance inspection certifying that it remains a top-notch facility.

The AKC inspector passed Golden Meadows "with no issues."

According to the AKC website, "The AKC is the only purebred registry in the United States with an ongoing routine kennel inspection program. The AKC has a dedicated team of field inspectors who visit kennels to ensure the proper care and conditions of AKC-registered dogs and verify that breeders are maintaining accurate records for their dogs. In 2007, AKC field inspectors conducted approximately 5,600 inspections nationwide. The AKC dedicates nearly $6 million annually to its compliance programs to ensure the accuracy of its registry and the care and conditions of dogs raised by breeders of AKC dogs.

AKC inspectors check the dogs, their identification records and their breeder records. "Inspectors enforce the AKC Care and Conditions policy to ensure that dogs have access to adequate food, water and shelter and that kennel space provided them is appropriately constructed and not overcrowded. If a dog appears to have a health issue, inspectors make sure it is being addressed."

"We are thrilled with the results of this inspection," said Tim Hoke, co-owner of Golden Meadows. "The inspector told me she loves coming here and seeing dogs that are healthy, happy and well taken care of."

Golden Meadows Retrievers is the happy home to dozens of Golden Retrievers and Vizslas. The kennel, located north of Moorpark, has been breeding op quality Golden Retriever puppies for more than 18 years. All of our Golden Meadows Retrievers come from excellent pedigrees with champion lines, sweet temperaments and great looks.

Golden Meadows puppies are trained and come with a two-year health guarantee against genetic hip, heart and eye defects. The puppies are loved from day one and given the greatest care and respect.

Golden Meadows also has a few 12-week-old Vizslas puppies in training. These beautiful and statuesque dogs are being named after the Los Angeles Dodgers. Come and see ManRam and his teammates.

Tim and Barbie Hoke of Golden Meadows Kennel, located in Moorpark, pride themselves on their White Golden and Light Golden Retrievers and Vizslas. They train the dogs themselves (along with the help of a few on-site trainers) starting at three days old. Also, as stated on their website, "We specialize in choosing & matching the right puppy for your family." This is how Brad Johnston, a 10-year-old autistic child, ended up with his dog, Costner. Golden Meadows Kennel's amazing training helped Brad and his family be able to have a dog.

Brad was a quiet kid who had trouble interacting with others. "He did not engage in give and take communication or idle chit chat. He did not know how to play with peers or even involve himself with them," said Brad's mother, Rebecca. But thanks to Golden Meadows Kennel, Brad is a changed boy. He now loves to go out places with Costner. Costner brings Brad a sense of relaxation and confidence. Costner also brings Brad closer to other children. When the two go out together kids will ask Brad if they can play with him or what his dog's name is. Brad now feels invited into the groups he once felt excluded from.

The reason the dogs at Golden Meadows Kennel were a good match for Brad and his family is simple: the training. The trainers at Golden Meadows Kennel start with early neurological stimulation at three days old. This trains the puppies to deal with stress, and strengthen their immune systems. At six weeks they move onto crate training and potty training. Three to four weeks after that the puppies begin sleeping in crates, which give them a sense of protection. At eight weeks the puppies begin basic obedience training and by four to six months, they are fully trained. However, with a dog from Golden Meadows Kennel, the training does not end there. In fact, with a Golden Meadows dog, the training is never finished, as Rebecca Johnston learned while purchasing Costner. Rebecca was taught how to train Costner herself, first in a DVD sent to her by Tim and Barbie prior to picking the dog up, then again when she arrived at Golden Meadows Kennel.

The amount that Golden Meadows Kennel trains their dogs was a major factor in the Johnstons' choice of Costner. With Brad's challenges, they did not have time to train a dog. Brad, like many children with autism, has a problem dealing with sensory overload. The stability Costner received from his training has given Brad a sense of stability as well.

I have been to Golden Meadow and I don't know what Cathy is talking about. I showed up without an appointment. Surprised them. They had no time to hide anything.

I saw a lot of happy, well-cared-for dogs and a number of happy employees.

I learned that they have a lot of repeat customers, which is always an important sign for me as to whether a business is ethical.

I did read a newspaper article that said most of the complaints against this company came from someone who had worked there for a few weeks.

Why would these people be in business for almost 20 years if they were mistreating their dogs? Doesn't make sense to me. I've seen Golden Meadows with my own eyes and it looks like a great place.

Whether or not you believe the owners of this company, its customers, and former employees, the fact that authorities have filed a criminal complaint based on their investigations, as well as the fact that the company had no permit to conduct their business, tells you that something nefarious was going on. But the real tragedy here is DOG BREEDING. There are already too many dogs in need of a home that are being destroyed daily. There is no need to own a purebred dog. There are plenty of ways to get a puppy without having to BUY (for thousands of dollars?!) a purebred. People who prefer purebreds are selfish status seekers who care more about their image than they do about dogs.

My name is Lauren and i actually worked for Golden Meadows Retrievers for quite a bit. As their receptionist, i never once got a call from a lady named Emily and im not sure where Emily got her information from. I worked there around the dogs and never once saw a dog get abused. Not only are their puppies the most adorable things in the world, they are worth every last penny. I have seen famous people and people with autistic children and just normal families purchase puppies from Barbie and Tim and not once did any of them complain about their dog. Working there, i got numerous amounts of phone calls of puppy buyers telling me how wonderful their dog is and how happy they are. Most of them would say "this dog is the perfect addition to our family and we couldnt be happier". Christmas time they fill their house up with cards and pictures the puppy buyers send them. I have never seen so many satisfied customers and for them to get cards every year from these families just proves that they are doing things right. Barbie and Tim were very good about matching the families up with the right puppies. I saw everything that went on in the office and in the kennels and not once did a dog get switched for another one. They are not the type of people to lie to their customers whom are paying top dollar for a puppy. Its a shame that someone would go out of their way to make such a report, this world is filled with jealous people and if you really have nothing better to do than lie about a business then you need to get a life. Its sad all the hard work they put into their business just so one individual out there can make such a rude report and try to ruin it for them. I have never met more hard working people in my life, sometimes they wouldnt get a day off because they are so committed to their business. If i could afford a puppy i would definitely go to Golden Meadows for it. All of their dogs are healthy, happy, trained and adorable. I mean, their dogs are in movies!!!!! Honestly, if i were you, i would make a trip to Golden Meadows and see for yourself because if you are going to make your decision based on this false report, then you are missing out on the best opportunity you have. I hope you guys will take my advice and check them out in person.
-Lauren

I must in all honesty tell you of my positive experience with Golden Meadows and Tim and Barbie Hoke, I live in Indiana and was in search for a Vizsla puppy and stumbled across Golden Meadows on the internet, I inquired to the Hokes for information and was suprised on how informative and interactive they were to place a puppy with my family by asking about our living situation and personal expectations. Instead of pushing a sale they were more interested in how they could fit the right dog with my family. After a few phone conversations we felt comfort in knowing that we were being fitted for the dog and vice versa.Once we received our Vizsla, we were amazed at how well behaved and beautiful he was. We would recomend the Hokes to anyone who is looking for a Golden or Viszla they are true profesionals and go leeps and bounds to make your experience in a major decision like the purchase and commitment of a new family member a truely wonderful experience.
Sincerely
Steven Lieberman

Isn't the Internet wonderful? Where else can you make slanderous remarks & not get sued? I wouldn't normally have bothered to refute such silliness as this letter, however there are so many misrepresentations that I felt I needed to set the record straight.

Emily claims to have come out & met with us & yet knows nothing about how we operate. We require any perspective clients to fill out an information request form, which we don't have from an Emily, I also have no record of anyone named Emily on my appointment calendar during the last 6 months.

We choose the puppy for our clients, based on the clients' lifestyle, activities & needs. The client doesn't choose the pup, we choose client to match to the puppy. We don't abuse our animals; if we did we wouldn't have been in business for over 17 years.

Illegally selling their dogs, I am not even sure what that means. We are a corporation, with all that entails, which includes corporate taxes, sales taxes, workers compensation, payroll taxes. So I am quite confused by which part of that makes this Illegal I do wonder if Emily paid sales tax when she purchased her puppy. If she didn't than she did indeed purchase an illegal puppy.

Our clients call & email us routinely with questions, concerns & photographs. We receive numerous cards & gifts from clients during the holidays. We have received so many glowing letters of compliment that I could easily fill up a dozen pages under our owner's comments. But Emily states that as soon as you take your dog home, they want nothing to do with you anymore. I haven't seen this personally. If you have no first hand knowledge of something why would you state it as a fact?

I am quite sure that whomever she spoke to, wasn't a current employee. However she is probably a disgruntled ex-employee. I won't be surprised to find out that is the former employee against whom we had to file felony theft charges with the police.

If this person was really ever a potential client, based on her letter, I am very happy we dodged the bullet & she didn't purchase a puppy from us. I am quite confused as to why someone with whom I didn't do business with, would write such a vitriolic diatribe. Unless she is someone who is bitter that I refused to sell her a puppy, it doesn't happen often but there have been people that we would never allow to have one of our precious puppies.

Sincerely
Tim Hoke
Golden Meadows Kennels L.L.C.