Stirling Collies - Rik And Diane Stirling Unethical, Immoral Dog Breeder...Sells sick and aggressive puppies Refuses refund & recommends Pound or Euthanasia Clearwater Minnesota

Stirling Collies of Clearwater, MN. This is an awesome family!!! I have known the Stirling's for almost 20 years, and have gotten several dogs and pups from them. The animals are as awesome as the people are. Diane was there every step of the way, answering any and all of my questions. Not one time was I disappointed!! I still keep in contact with Diane. The animals are very healthy and well socialized. The whole family gets in on the fun with the pups. I have no complaints about the Stirling's. I am very impressed that Diane offers to take back any of the animals should the owner not be able to care for them any longer. Diane would NEVER recommend taking your pet to a shelter or having them put down!! Sure, there are trials, and adjustment. When you bring home an animal, everything is new, some pups adjust better, or quicker. People are the same way!! I applaud Diane for the Bible verses and music on the website. I find it reassuring, comforting. And, Diane does not judge you whether you are Christian or not. These are her beliefs! Life is precious, it's a gift! Whether human or animal, a life is a life!

The first thing I find thoroughly embarrassing about this original rip-off alert were all the statements on how they have "witnesses" to prove that Diane is unethical. Really?  Let me guess, you are a lawyer too.  This type of language when it comes to dogs is embarrassing to all.

I have known Diane for over 14 years.  Diane has provided me with two dogs and I know her property well.  I personally visit her pups often to simply provide a social aspect for the puppies.  Diane has been always a gracious woman, and, in her steadfast loyalty to honesty and faithfulness, she helped find a very desperate individual.  I was able to help bring this person out of her depths and spent a month of my own time and money setting a new, and positive life for her.  Additionally, Diane is actually on my Health Directive because I trust her opinion and loyalty to me and my love for collies.  In fact, Diane was able to translate my directive to my mother this year as I was in a coma in March/April from an assault.  The doctor's inquired of my mother if I preferred to live or die.  Diane was able to make that statement as is directed in my health directive.  This is truth as to how much I trust Diane. I am alive.

I also found it embarrassing that the author of the rip-off alert gave the dog three months from birth to be perfect.  Diane would not have sent the puppies too soon before 8 weeks.  So, that gives John, one full month of behavior assessment of a puppy.  Wow, I applaud that behavior as chronically deficient.  From the tone of the rip-off alert, I certainly see a sense of grotesque entitlement, unbridled expectations of perfect, and a complete lack of compassion and undertsanding of dogs.  It leads me to believe that this poor puppy was beaten or kept in a kennel for long periods of time and ignored.  My father was a deputy in MN and, because of a lack of a humane society facility, my father brought home well over 100 stray dogs and puppies and found these dogs new homes.  I am very experienced in all breeds because of this and I tell all who read this one simple thing.  No dogs are evil and can always be brought into a family regardless of thier past.  Dogs need compassion and sometimes a bit more attention than say, a cell phone. 

I find the original report to be that of shambled thoughts and undertsanding of what it takes to bring a pet to your family.  I would suggest this person, John, get a stuffed animal.  That would be a better fit for personality traits for the new environment.  And, one further comment.  Intestinal hernias can easily happen and it is a part of a dogs life. In the wild, these pupies die. The most critical event here to save the puppies life is to make sure you can separate the mother and the puppy so the mother doesn't consume the intestine thinking it is umbilical cord.  It appears Diane was perfectly on top of this, and John, obviously considered this puppy defective.  How pathetic is that?  I got a defective puppy ! That is how I view this Rip off alert.  I certainly hope that puppy was able to find a new home when it was loved, and treated with exemplary Kindness and Grace.

All of my statements are correct and verifiable.  If you wish to verify them, please say so.  I am happy to disclose as facts usually do not lie.

Steven

Two and a half years ago I purchased an 8 week old collie puppy "Allie" from Diane Stirling, owner of Stirling Collies.  Allie is the most beautiful, most well behaved, most loving dog that I have ever had, and I am almost 70 years old, and have had dogs all my life including several other collies.  Every where we go people comment on what a pretty dog she is and want to pet her.  Our veterinarian told me that of all his collie patients, Allie is the most perfect example of what a collie should be both in looks and temperament. 

I drove all the way from South Texas to Minnesota to purchase this dog and I would not hesitate to drive twice that far to buy another dog from Diane Stirling.   

I have purchased a collie from Diane and Stirling Collies and have known her and her family for 10 plus years and we could not be more satisfied with her and her breeding program. We drove 2000 miles round trip to visit her an her operation when we picked up our collie. 

My family always said for purchases a puppy. I was purchased a puppy from Stirling I was also scared with the service of Stirling after reading this comment  but at this time, we are feeling good with  a puppy and also the service of string. I think, this comment is totally Nonsense. I am really happy with the service of Ms. Stirling.

Reading these comments, it seems Ms. Diane is a dishonest monster. Why are you people painting such a bad picture for a caring, honest & hardworking lady? Hats off to Ms. Diane and her team for the wonderful job and being there for animal lovers like us.

Even after reading all these bad reviews about Stirling Collies and Ms. Stirling, we decided to get Ms. Diane’s help to find us our Collie.  Thank you, Ms. Stirling, for all your help and support.  I highly recommend Ms. Stirling & Stirling Collies.

Reading these comments, it seems Ms. Diane is a dishonest monster. Why are you people painting such a bad picture for a caring, honest & hardworking lady? Hats off to Ms. Diane and her team for the wonderful job and being there for animal lovers like us.

Even after reading all these bad reviews about Stirling Collies and Ms. Stirling, we decided to get Ms. Diane’s help to find us our Collie.  Thank you, Ms. Stirling, for all your help and support.  I highly recommend Ms. Stirling & Stirling Collies.

 I find that single complaint against Sturling Collies to be entirely not even close to possible. The complainant must have been misunderstanding Diane or maybe there were other issues involved on their part. Our family has just adopted the most adorable, healthy, and happy collie imaginable. Diane and Rik have made this experience more wonderful than words could describe. As soon as we got our new baby we brought him to the vet and our Doctor was very impressed with him. She has asked us to consider breeding him because he is such an outstanding representation of the traditional collie breed. The doctor requested Stirling's contact info so their office could refer to Diane for future collie adoptions. Our family has given Diane permission to release our telephone number to prospective adoptees. We would be happy to speak with anyone considering a puppy from Stirling Collies. With genuine gratitude and sincerity, Krista E

I was extremely surprised to discover a complaint about Stirling Collies; this breeder was recommended to me by both the AKC and The Collie Club of America.

I purchased an eight week old Blue Merle puppy from Stirling eight years ago; his only health issue was an umbilical hernia, which is easily rectified and which Diann advisid me of prior to purchase. He is beautiful, smart, and very gentle.

I have had collies all my life, and have never seen this breed behave in the way described. Once, many years ago, I had a collie rescue who snapped at non- family members out of fear, but he was certainly not naturally vicious. I recall my vet remarking that, were he not inherentlty mild-mannered, the degree of abuse that he had sustained would have likely rendered him untrustworthy as a family pet.

The complainant obviously had a regrettable experience and I feel for his disappointment. However, I think this is likely an isolated incident rather than a pattern, and I believe that, if it becomes necessary, a disinterested third party should investigate thoroughly to see if there might some other genesis of this aberrant behavior.

I have a beautiful collie named Windsor that I purchased from Sterling Collies. After reading the complaint against Sterling, I felt compelled to respond.

My experience with Sterling was nothing but positive. I purchased my beautiful laddie in the summer of 2008. I cooresponded with the breeder for months in advance of having the puppy we had chosen delivered to us. To say that this dog is the joy of my life is an understatement. While I am sure that not every dog is exactly the same, I cannot believe that any puppy from this breeder would behave in the manner discribed, unless "someone" had done something to the dog.

The dogs at Sterling are well-breed and cared for. I have had lay-people and professional breeders, vets, and trainers compliment the breeder of my dog. He is an extrodinary example of a properly bred collie. He is my protector, companion and best friend. I cannot image life without him. It is obvious to me, that who ever these people are who complained about their dog, are the culprits in this case. It seems to me that they were not willing to put the time in with their dog that a puppy requires.

For the first few months that I owned my dog, he came everywhere with me. It takes a lot of committment to the animal. They are no different than human babies in the amount of care they require in the beginning. Collies are very devoted dogs. To have a collie exhibit the kind of behavior discribed, something terrible must have happened in that household.

The owners of Sterling Collies are very devote Christian people. Maybe that was off-putting to the California couple.

My heart breaks for the dog more than anything. I hope a proper home was found and that the dog was not killed by the owners.

Some years ago, I'd have to look up my dog's papers to know when, we bought a collie pup from Diane and Rik Stirling. Despite the fact that we bought the dog shortly after their daughter's birth and the fact that their daughter was in the hospital at the time, Diane communicated clearly and supplied everything we asked for. We drove across country to pick our dog up at their house. Diane and Rik were there when we arrived. They communicated clearly with us all the way across country. They supplied everything we ordered from them. Our dog has been perfect. She is everything a collie dog should be. Good tempered, honest hearted, safe for our kids. My children were from toddler to 7 yr old when we got our dog, we had no issues with her. Ever. She is about 8 yrs old now and she has had no health issues and no temperament issues. Our experience with Stirling Collies was nothing but great. If I was to buy another collie I would buy another from the Stirlings in a heartbeat.

Wonderful breeder and Puppy!!

Laddie is very loving, well rounded, smart little guy. I bought a beautiful 8-week old sable and white collie from Diann. She helped me though the shipping and mead sure he had every thing he could need when I picked him up! I cried when I got him out at the airport, when I did get him in my arms he nuzzled my neck and wined a little, then he was all happy! I couldn't be happier with my new baby and will definitely buy another puppy from Diann again. I got my Laddie on 5-12-12. 

I rise poms so I KNOW what a breeder goes though to rise a happy & healthy puppy!

I am a certified dog trainer and currently own 4 dogs.....2 are collies and 1 is a german shepherd/collie. In May of 2009, I was fortunate to get a beautiful tri color female german shepherd/collie whom I named Minks from Stirling Collies. Minks came to me via airplane to RI as I live in MA. When I first took her to the vet, I was told that she came from a great line, was very smart and had an excellent temperment. Minks is now almost 2 and is a certified search and rescue dog who is training to be a service dog for wheelchair, retrieval and guide work for my son James.

When I read the ripoff report, I was quite surprised to see that it was about Stirling Collies as I had a great experience with stirling collies and thought Diane was extremely helpful and went above and beyond making sure that I got the dog I was looking for. She even went so far as to ask me to call her when Minks arrived at the airport showing how much she cared about her puppies. I have been in contact with Diane on several occasions since getting Minks and to me is a caring and responsible person who truly cares about her collies and their puppies.

When I inquired about collies to other breeders when looking for a specific collie for my blind client, I mentioned Stirling Collies and was told by at least 2 breeders that Stirling Collies had beautiful collies and one breeder in Georgia even told me she wished her collies could be as beautiful as Diane and Rik Stirling's collies. It turned out that I got 2 collies not from Diane but only because 1 was a rescue from a family member of mine and the other was from a breeder in Maine to whom I could drive and therefore pick the one I wanted. The one I got from Maine however did have medical issues at birth so I had to incur vet bills from the getgo. In addition after registering the dog, I was notified by the AKC that my dog was NOT a full collie and therefore could not be registered as such. The dog I got from Stirling Collies was healthy and well socialized and is an extremely well balanced dog and Diane and Rik Stirling sent me the dog that I wanted and all the pedigree information and did not lie or make any false statements about my dog. She is a great dog and the Stirlings are great breeders!!!!

I thank Diane and Rik Stirling with all my heart for selling me such a smart and wonderful dog and when the time comes to get another collie mix or full collie I will definately buy from them again!!!!!!

I hope that other people getting collies will strongly consider Stirling Collies. In my opinion this ripoff report was by someone with no experience with dogs who had no business getting a collie in the first place. Thank you again Diane and Rik and keep on breeding such wonderful dogs!

I was very disappointed to see this report concerning Stirling Collies. Considering my past experience with Diane Stirling, I believe this statement is false and malicious. I first talked to Diane four years ago about getting a collie. We could not do it at the time, but she took so much time on the phone, telling me about her dogs, and as we were just getting introduced to the breed, she was very helpful and kind. I talked to her at different times for several years, and each time, she was always considerate and continued to give me the information we needed. I bought my first collie in October 2009, from a friend of Diane's, whom she had recommended because she did not have what I needed at the time. This collie is my favorite dog I have ever had (and I have had many); she is smart, gentle, great with my boys (ages 1,2,4,5, and 7), and protective. She did not get along very well with my rat terrier, so I separated them and eventually gave my rat terrier to a family member who wanted her. If dogs do not get along, you separate them, which it seems that John and his wife did not do. In January 2010, I bought a male collie from Stirling. Again, Diane was kind and helpful. I, like John and his wife, live in California, and the dog was shipped to me. He is absolutely beautiful and obviously from great bloodlines. He is extremely intelligent and has completely taken care of my problem with racoons and skunks eating my chickens. I could not be more pleased with my purchase, and considering the prices of collies in California, Diane's prices are very reasonable and fair. I am so thankful for Diane and all the information she has given me over the years. Just recently, I called her with a question about my collie's ear, and again, she gave me quick and helpful advice that completely took care of my problem. She is to me, a perfect example of what a dog breeder should be, and I would strongly recommend her to anyone looking for a collie.

First, it must be explained that we were not asked to post this rebuttal. We have not talked with the Stirlings since yesterday when we left their home. We typed in Stirling Collies on our search engine to find Rik Stirling's sound studio information for our musician son. We stumbled across this Ripoff posting and we were appalled at the comments made by the man in CA. Our hearts ached when we read how this puppy was mistreated, and we hope it finally went to a new home.

Yesterday, my wife and I and my adult daughter and son-in-law just finished traveling to central MN from just North of Chicago and then back home again. The purpose of our trip was to pick up our second and third collie puppies from Stirling breeders. We received our first puppy three years ago. We could not be happier with our collie. There is hardly a day that goes by that we do not get a comment from friends, family and many strangers about how beautiful, intelligent, or smart our collie, Sammy is.

Contrary to the complainant's remarks, we have found the Stirlings to have the highest moral character, and Diane is "extremely" knowledgeable about her trade. When we originally picked up our first collie, and when we picked up the two new puppies, Diane spent a long time giving us information on Collie care. She sent the same contract information with us that she posted on her rebuttal about the MN laws concerning guarantee of the dog's health during the first year. In short, she offers quite a guarantee for the little amount of money she charges! She has received calls from us when we had questions about Sammy and she has always been extremely helpful.

As to the accusation that the Stirlings recommended euthanasia instead of replacement, the complainant obviously does not know anything about the character of the Stirlings. Those of us who know them know that killing a puppy would be the absolute last option if not an option at all, see the above moral character comment)!

Our daughter posed a question to Diane Stirling yesterday about how her new puppy might get along with her new Yorkshire Terrier puppy. Diane was very helpful and explained that they may get along fine. She was very helpful about how the two puppies might interact and how to introduce them to each other. Side note: How many 10-week collie puppies are "agressive" to other dogs? In our experience with Collies, we have never found collies to be an aggressive dog! My daughter knows, though, that it is her In responsibility to monitor how the dogs are interacting, not the breeder's responsibility!

We absolutely love our new puppies, as we love Sammy, our three-year-old collie. The Stirlings provide high quality, mix and pure bred dogs. We highly recommend the Stirling Breeders to anyone who might be considering a collie for a pet.

THIS STORY IS FALSE. Her collie is a "puppy", only 2 1/2 months (8-10 weeks) old. She was told about the "cosmetic" umbilical hernia repair, and it was disclosed on her Animal disclosure form that she has in her possession. The collie puppy was given a clean bill of health from the vet before transporting her to her new family. An interstate health certificate is required in order to ship with the airlines. The family was given the option of returning the puppy to the breeder, but it didn't work with the time frame they were hoping for. Her husband was the one recommending to kill the puppy and not spend any money on her for training. They live in a 2 million dollar plus home and didn't want to take the time to properly train her. The wife, Deanna, was upset because she missed her "luncheon with her friends" as she had to bring their Boston Terrier to the vet, due to the dogs fighting. The puppy did not get along with the Boston Terrier, of which they had figured this out previously, but they continued to leave the 2 dogs together. This shows poor responsibility on the owners part. The whole situation is sad - no one wins... This can be confirmed by the breeder and the vet.

While we appreciate the fertile imagination of the individual that posted the complaint, Deanna and John either suffer from delusions or they are looking to earn a Pulitzer Prize in fiction. It's quite fascinating to see a frustrated individual's targeted vents at another, instead of looking objectively at circumstances and realities regarding dog socialization (yes, sometimes dogs just don't get along). It's always easier to blame someone or something else instead of merely looking in the mirror.
There is no question that the puppy received was in fine health with a travel certificate issued by a licensed veterinarian. What the customer possibly could have done to this puppy to have resulted in her behavior is beyond our understanding. She interacted playfully and without problem with 4 young children (11,9,7,6) and every other dog she came in contact with... until the complainant received the pup, and did "whatever" to her within a couple of weeks... either through over-inocculation, abusive behavior, and/or simple ignorance. John and Deanna's response is truly a real-life example of the movie "Down and Out in Beverly Hills". We pity them...
We did not tell them to kill their puppy - Deanna said that her husband wanted to kill the puppy because he didn't want to spend any more money on her. They were told they could ship her back on June 2nd and we would find her a new home (we were in TN at the time). Their puppy came with a clean bill of health from our vet - this vet check was required to be able to obtain an interstate health certificate in order to transport her, via the airlines. They have the paperwork, and so does the airlines - this is verifiable through NW Airlines. They have an animal disclosure form that states she is healthy, and it states about her "cosmetic" umbilical hernia repair - this was disclosed previously - it was not an issue to her health and wasn't required to be repaired. We had it repaired as it was less expensive in MN then to have it done in CA later (for cosmetic purposes), and my vet will state that I usually repair anything that is cosmetic before shipping, at my expense. It only required 2 stitches, and was fixed before the transport date. This umbilical hernia was caused by the mother dog chewing and pulling on the cord when she was born.

They picked the puppy out of the litter that they desired, and we shipped the puppy THEY chose. She was gentle with 4 of our younger children (6-11) and other dogs at our home. It is NOT our responsibility if their puppy does not get along with EVERY OTHER dog out there, or other animals for that matter. I know Deanna missed her salad luncheon due to the 2 dogs fighting and she had to bring their terrier into the vet, so she was VERY upset because she missed time with her friends. If they KNEW that the puppy didn't get along with their terrier, then the puppy and terrier should have been supervised so that the incident didn't occur--this is the responsibility of owning a dog, or dogs. Deanna said she live in a 2 million dollar home and that she didn't have time to find the puppy a new home, as she was busy with life. I told her that we are out of town until June 2nd, and that I don't have anyone that could go to the airport to pick her up, if she was to ship her before that. She said that her husband wouldn't be willing to ship the puppy back anyway, or bring her to a "no kill" shelter (that would cost money too), and that he would prefer her to be killed then spend anymore money. Deanna didn't want to take the time to find a home for her as she was "too busy".
We don't know how her personality could have changed so much in such a short period of time, but obviously she wasn't the puppy for their family, and NEEDED to be removed from their home and quickly. I offered her over the phone, and several other times, via emails, to ship her back to our home on the 2nd of June and we will try to repair the damage that had been done to her personality and then find the puppy a new forever family to call her own. I also offered to have Deanna ship her to another breeder before June 2nd, and she would help find the collie puppy a new home - all verifiable. We flew to California shortly after her calling about the puppy, and offered to come over and she refused, saying that they were too busy. I told them that the puppy NEEDED to be removed from their family as we felt that each day she will become more traumatized due to the lack of love that they felt towards her, since she got in a fight with their boston terrier. She is a puppy and needs to be loved and cared for. Puppies, especially Collies (they are very sensitive) can sense "anger and hatred", from their owners and this will only make matters worse for her life. We have requested an update on the whereabouts of their Collie puppy after seeing her listed online for sale (for a higher amount then what she paid for her), and any vet expenses that they are claiming occurred - to date they have NOT responded.
Stirling Collies cares very much for every puppy/adult that we find homes for. This was a very sad situation, and has caused us to reconsider how to "check out" families before sending our puppies to them.