Silvermine Kennel BE AWARE! Unethical Breeder! Greensburg Kentucky

We answered your complaint in this forum. We did not respond to the BBB because it was an exact duplicate of your complaint as registered here. The fact that you have repeated your complaint in other forums does not make it any more valid.
Mike

For a business that has nothing to hide, Silvermine Kennel sure didn't feel the need to rebuttal or defend themselves to the BBB.....Here's the BBB's report:



This message is in regard to your complaint submitted on 3/11/2008 3:50:06 PM against Silvermine Kennel. Your complaint was assigned ID 6176639.

The BBB has made several attempts to resolve your complaint filed against the above-named business. Unfortunately we have not received a reply from this business. Your Better Business Bureau receives the cooperation of the majority of firms when working with customer problems. Sometimes, however, we encounter
a company that simply refuses to cooperate.

If your complaint has been resolved or is resolved at a future date, please advise us so we may adjust the company's file.

We sincerely regret we have not been able to assist you. However, please know that anytime the BBB must close a complaint as "no response," the company is advised that continued failure to answer the complaint will result in the company's BBB reliability report stating that the business "has an unsatisfactory record with the Bureau due to failure to respond to complaints." When potential customers check the company's BBB report before doing business (always a good practice), your complaint will help the BBB alert these consumers regarding the company's business practices.

Thank you for using the services of the Better Business Bureau.



Once again please research before buying a puppy/dog, and heavily research the breeder/facility that you will be getting the puppy/dog from. I can not stress this enough!

I did not say that your pup did have threadworm when we sent her to you, only that she did not show any symptoms and that that there was no way that I could have known that she had them. She was not thin or "anorexic" when we sent her to you.

Certainly you must have known before adopting this pup that medical problems occur with dogs and that they are the responsibility of the owner not the breeder. Even if the hip problem with this dog is genetic, which I am not conceding as there is no way to be certain of this, that does not mean " poor breeding practices". Hip dysplacia is a problem with most large breed dogs and it is accepted that good breeding practices cannot entirely eliminate it. There is always going to be a percentage of pups that develop hip dysplacia. We inform you of that in our contract.

You signed a contract knowing that we would not pay your vet bills. We are still willing to exchange this pup for another one. We do care about this girls care and comfort, which is why we are willing to take her back and assume responsibility for her. However we maintain that as long as you keep her that her care remains your responsibility. This is not a matter of caring about the dog it is a matter of finances. You accepted this financial responsibility before you purchased her and now you want us to assume it. We will not unless you return her to us.

We welcome visits to our kennel we are proud of our facility and of our dogs. The
"killer reference section" that you mention should tell anyone with an open mind that we sell many puppies to people who are satisfied with them and their health.

Just a few comments.....First of all, yes I did write that the symptoms did not appear for two days (as we did not know what we were looking for). But where you're mistaken is by saying that you sent "this pup" in good health. Zoe was anorexic (as shown on her chart), and had the parasite in her system. Our vet said there was no way possible for her to have an infestation that bad in the short amount of time she had been with us (four days -three when showing symptoms-). At the time of our "phone calls" we remember you saying that there was no need to check the mother or notify the owners of the other puppies. So we're relieved to hear that you took some form of action (as we never heard back from you).

As for the hip dysplasia, Zoe's hip dysplasia is severe. And they have diagnosed it as genetic. Not from hurting herself, being overfed, or over exercising. I would agree that not every vet has the same treatments or expenses, but I don't agree in not feeling responsible for the health/happiness of your young puppies and their new owners. Yes, I believe you can be expected to cover the expenses, because you promised us a healthy puppy, and then sent us a very sick little one that nearly died, and we continue to help through a painful/troubling time. I guess though, you're missing the big picture. Money aside.....This is really about the mistreatment and health neglect of animals.

Yes, you have only talked to my husband, but I've listened to everything he has say while he's on the phone with you. And he has confided in me about how he feels about the issues at hand. We talk about everything, and make decisions regarding our dog/family together.

One thing I've learned. Never judge a book by it's cover. That can be a good and bad thing. Just because you go to www.silverminekennel.com and they have a fantastic looking kennel with beautiful dogs and gorgeous pups (oh and a killer reference section) doesn't mean that you're going to get a healthy, beautiful dog like the site will lead you to believe. *Always ask to visit the kennel and puppies. Be comfortable with the breeder (their qualifications, get references, etc.) and facility. If you're not, don't buy a puppy just because you WANT or NEED one!

When we shipped this pup to Lindsey it was healthy. Lindsey even says in her complaint that the syptoms did not appear for two days. Threadworm is an uncommon but not rare worm in puppies that the general wormers that we use do not eliminate. When we were told that this pup had threadworm we treated our entire kennel, even though they showed no signs of threadworm, and we notifed the other purchasers of this litter. We agreed to pay half of their vet bills that dealt with this problem.

As far as the hip dysplasia issue, our contract limits our guarantee to replacing the puppy with another puppy from the next available litter and expressly states that we are not responsible for any vet expense while the dog is not in our possession.

Lindsey has ask us to contribute to these expenses and we have refused. Hip dyplasia is a common ailment among all large breed dogs, Golden Retrievers included.Genetics play a factor but even with selective breeding of parents with good hips it continues to be an issue. Over feeding and improper feeding of pups and young dogs is a factor, over exercise of young dogs is a factor, injury is a factor. Even if none of these things are the cause of a particular case of hip dysplacia it continues to occur, sadly all to often. We are willng to accept responsibility for all of these things even though we have no control over them. We do however limit our liability to exchanging the dog for another puppy. We point this out to our clients verbally and also in our contract which all purchasers of Silvermine puppies are required to read and sign. I was never angry or defensive with Lindsey's husband who was the only one that I ever spoke with about this issue. I was only very firm that I was unwilling to accept responsibility for his dogs vet expense unless I had her and had control of her care and the cost of that care. Veterinarian treatment and expense can vary widely with many vets running up cost with unnecessary treatment and diagnostic care. I cannot be expected to cover these expenses without having control of what is done.

Please visit our site www.silverminekennel.com and look at our dogs and their environment before you decide whether the charges that we are "puppy mill" or "bad breeder" are true. Also there is copy of our contract on the site.
Mike