PuppyFind.Com

Thumbs up here. I have advertised on [redacted] for several years now, and they have a good following for people looking for a specific breed. There are great breeders on here, hobby kennel, and show breeders, who breed to perpetuate the AKC standard and who do genetic testing on their dogs to improve the health and longevity in their breed.
I have purchased 2 top show dogs from this site, and a wonderful DNA tested male for my breeding program as well as a potential show puppy from ads on this site.
Like anywhere else, you have to know what to ask for and to do your own research.
People, who have had poor experiences with some breeders cannot blame the advertising website, which simply publishes the ads.
This site is an excellent place to get exposure for your dogs to many potential buyers.

I would like to share my very positive experience with PuppyFind.com. Like all internet services you must be cautious. However, through this website I have found much success - applying thorough & person-to-person contact. Our family recently purchased 2 extremely beautiful and very well maintained and loved Newfoundlands. Newfies from Whispering Pines located in Waynesboro, Virginia. This lovely couple absolutely care about their Newfies 150%. To them it is not "just a business" but finding good homes for their puppies. They have a land that is exquisite and ideal for their early development and safety. Having spent time in Whispering Pines of Waynesboro, VA the love and nurturing they provide to this excellent breed (Newfies) is vividly demonstrated and a clear reflection of their healthy and most gorgeous puppies. I highly recommend them if you're looking for a great Newfoundland Breeder. Carolina of Dutchess County, New York

My sister and I both posted a negative review after receiving two "critical care" puppies and the breeder, [redacted], had our reviews removed. We sent the documentation which included proof of purchase, letter from vet and copies of vet bills and our reviews were still not add back to the site. This site is protecting irresponsible breeders and not the dogs or consumers.

Review: The site continues to provide a basis for scam artist to advertise their goods (dog breeds) without properly vetting their sources... this site is full of scammers/con artist.

There are over 49 complaints on this site from consumer affairs, in which a person attempts to buy a dog from a seller on their site.... sends money... and is scammed out of a dog/puppy

I was scammed out of 758 dollars. local police cannot establish a crime due to the nature of the sell. Puppyfind.com com is well aware of the issue and still claims they cannot and will not

resolve the issue or return funds lost.Desired Settlement: $758.00

Business

Response:

In response to Complaint ID#: [redacted] regarding [redacted]

We received the complaint from [redacted] and wish to resolve the issue promptly.

The Puppyfind.com website is not a scam. Scams perpetrated on the Internet have risen in recent years, and websites such as PuppyFind.com have become unfortunate victims of these scams.

Puppyfind.com acts as a bulletin board service offering space on the internet for sellers to post listings for dogs for sale and for buyers to look for dogs for sale, comparable to posting an ad in the newspaper. PuppyFind.com is meant to be a means to initiate the sale and we do not get involved in the terms/completion of the sale, so PuppyFind.com does not refund any money paid to sellers. You can report them to your local authorities and pursue legal action against them if they did not fulfill their end of the contract.

Each new account is reviewed by a PuppyFind.com staff member prior to approval. However, scammers will often locate legitimate breeder information from outside sources and use the information to create accounts that appear legitimate. Unfortunately, photos that are posted on the internet are susceptible to being used by others. Only after the account has been approved does the scammer log back in to alter the information and create their fraudulent listings. Any PuppyFind.com seller has the option to make changes to their account information which, unfortunately, allows the scammer to change contact information. Further, the credit card information used by the scammer is almost always stolen information and any payments made are

immediately refunded when the fraudulent account is located. PuppyFind.com has nothing to gain from allowing fraudulent users to list on the site and we are making every effort to prevent them at this time.

The account that Miss [redacted] is referring to was created and approved on 5-22-13 and once they changed all their information on the account it was flagged and removed by the fraud department on 5-25-13.

PuppyFind.com is doing all it can to prevent the scam artists from ever contacting the public or from even creating accounts on our website. Various forms of back office fraud protection are currently in place, so that a great majority of scam artists are not able to access the website. The PuppyFind.com security team routinely checks the website manually to locate and remove any fraudulent accounts that may have unfortunately made it to the public portion of the website. Additionally, staff has also been hired so our manual checks can be performed virtually 24 hours a day.

Once a fraudulent account is found it is immediately removed. If there was a membership purchased the charge is refunded and all emails that were sent from the account are deleted in order to protect the legitimate members of PuppyFind.com.

It must be remembered, that while security is being enforced on our website to combat scam artists, we still do not and are not able to screen every single member that joins the website, and this is explained in our Terms of Service.

Every seller/breeder goes through an approval process, however, as stated in our Terms of Service policy, we are not able to offer any guarantees that the individuals listing on the site are reputable breeders and we are unable to pre-screen all content or account changes after the account has been approved.

We do offer Buyers Tips located at http://www.puppyfind.com/buyer_tips/ which gives buyers several tips on what questions to ask and how to protect themselves when purchasing a puppy, and we hope that this information will assist people in educating themselves so as not to fall victim to fraud. Internet fraud is on the rise, so these tips are here to help protect you when buying on-line. Reading Seller Reviews is also advisable to see what type of history they have with their buyers.

It is unfortunate that Miss [redacted] came in contact with a scammer, but we are currently doing all we can and apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.

Please let me know if we can be of any further assistance.

Sincerely,

Puppyfind.com Customer Support

###-###-####

Mon.-Fri. 8am-4pm MST

I would give Puppyfind.com less then a Negative review if possible. I read all terms and buyers tips provided by Puppyfind and still had a bad experience with a breeder. I had left a negative review regarding the breeder in hopes to help other potential family seeking for a new addition. After a while I checked back but the breeder had gone quiet for several months. Then I find the breeder is now going under a new name. When I tried to leave a review to this new company name, it said I already had left a review (which is evidence that it is the same breeder) My review though was not visible to viewers. After reading reviews for puppyfind I found they do this quite often. How can you form good judgment on a bad breeder when only good reviews are left. I have submitted proof to puppyfind so they can put it back up, but still no response.

We posted a puppy on this site for sale. After 2 days of being posted we received an email from puppyfind.com that said we needed to upgrade our service because 16 people had viewed our puppy and could not contact us unless we upgraded. It then said the next 16 would be able to. so we paid the $30 and nothing. If there was in fact soo much interest then there would likely be a single message. Also they did not mention this issue when creating the add to begin with. We fully feel as though we were tricked into paying this fee with false numbers to get our hopes up. We would like our money back but realize that if the company pulls this kind of trickery then they would likely never return our money. Just want to make others aware.

I am a small hobby breeder and I have bought 4 dogs through puppyfind.

I am very careful and do my research. Check out the breeders website and do not send money. I drive to meet the breeder before making a commitment.

My experience has been very positive. I read between the lines and ask a lot of questions.

I intend to sell puppies on puppyfind. I will ask a lot of questions and have a contract with my clients. If the breeder is not interviewing you? That's a red flag. Responsible breeders love their puppies and will question your motives as you are questioning them.

It is always ":buyer beware" everywhere. No matter what link you use to find an animal. It's no different on puppyfind.

I purchased a dog on puppy find. I tried to post a negative review because the condition of the dog. Puppy find removed the review because the breeder denied the information was true. I provided more than enough documentation to puppy find to support my statements (which they asked for) but because the length of time between purchase and review date was over 2 years they refuse to post the review "out of fairness to both parties". How is it "fair" that people will continue to purchase dogs from this breeder based on inaccurate/one sided reviews? The length of time between purchase and review date does not make my review non-applicable. Reviews are meant to be factual and accurate information not "fair".

From reading other negative reviews, it appears that other people have had the same complaints. www.puppyfind.com lets breeders delete negative reviews, and leave the good ones. And, who knows that these reviews are not written by the breeders themselves! www.puppyfind.com says this is because other breeders would abuse the system, and write bad reviews about their competitors. The problem with this system, is it is one-sided. There should either be both good and bad reviews, or nothing at all. I have had a terrible experience with a breeder, FC's Precious Yorkies. After putting several bad reviews, which I could back up with emails, www.puppyfind.com asked me to document my claims to them. I sent them 57 pages of emails backing my claims, and they were not acceptable. My documents included confessions from the breeder that she lied about my puppy's shipping weight, and the age. Even with all these emails, www.puppyfind.com took her verbal word that these claims were not true. They took her word, when there was a ton of documents to the contrary. The whole thing was a waste of time. I have asked for someone else within the company to talk to, and as of yet, have not received a name. I will continue my search.

Review: I tried repeatedly (well over a month of back and forth e-mails to [redacted] in[redacted].[redacted]) to post a negative review about a breeder that I did business with through their website. I submitted pages and pages of e-mail contacts I had with the breeder to support the issues I was submitting the negative review on and finally I went as far as having my two puppies I purchased DNA tested to prove beyond a doubt to [redacted] in[redacted].[redacted] that the puppies the breeder claims and advertises as registered pedigree Mi-Ki's have no ancestry to the Mi-Ki pedigree and are nothing more than mixed breed dogs advertised for financial gain by the breeder through their website. [redacted] informed me on multiple occasions that I would have to include certain positive information (from [redacted] point of view based on whatever information the breeder submitted to support their stance) and also she informed me what statements I could or couldn't write on their website regarding my experience since it is related to my opinion of my experience and not proof of facts despite all the information I had already provided. I informed [redacted] she could write her own stellar review of the breeder if she wanted and I would not use the character limitation I was restricted to to enter comments that she ([redacted]) felt would put the breeder in a better light. I just wonder if those positive 5 star reviews posted for all breeders on the[redacted].[redacted] website have to go through the same grueling and tedious task of submitting proof to validate the positive review? I am not requesting that the[redacted].[redacted]website resolve any contract issues I have with the breeder or find a resolution to what has occurred between the breeder and I. All I ask of the[redacted].[redacted] website is to post my negative review that I have submitted mounds of paperwork to support as to warn potential buyers of Mi-Ki pedigree puppies to proceed with caution when dealing with this particular breeder despite her claims of having and breeding only registered Mi-Ki pedigree puppies. I would of thought that puppyfind.com would not want to encourage scammers or disreputable breeders from using their website for financial gains, which is putting the website in a very bad light with consumers especially as to they way they handle the review processes by allowing breeders to determine what can or cannot be posted about them. More than likely the response by[redacted].[redacted] will match the last two responses submitted regarding negative reviews that were filed by other consumers.Desired Settlement: Post my negative review regarding my experience with Candy Coated Doxies as [redacted] said she would do on her e-mail of September 19, 2013.

Business

Response:

In response to Complaint ID# [redacted] regarding [redacted].We received the complaint from [redacted], and wish to resolve the issue promptly.The PuppyFind.com review system is in place to allow individuals who have purchased a puppy from the seller to leave a review. Due to the abuse of the review system the option to dispute the review is given to the seller. It is possible that a seller may delete a review that could be considered valid, however, when this occurs, Puppyfind.com staff will send out a request to both the buyer and the seller for additional documentation. This could include vet reports, copies of email communication, etc. If supporting documentation is received from the buyer, the review could then be reinstated to the site so it is once again visible to the public. Sometimes the buyer and the seller provide supporting documentation that conflicts what the facts are. In those situations the buyer and the seller are requested to resolve the issue outside of PuppyFind and a review is not posted. Unfortunately, Ms. [redacted]’s review falls into this category. In this case the breed of the dog was in question. The seller provided the registration and pedigree for the dogs that they purchased from another breeder showing the breed of the dog. The buyer provided the DNA test showing different results, but the DNA test states it predicts the most likely combination of mixed breed dogs in the last 3 ancestral generations that best fit the DNA marker pattern for the dog. The mixed portion lists the 5 breeds with the strongest statistical likelihood. One or more of the breeds could have contributed to the genetic makeup of the ancestors indicated by the mixed breed icon. It also states that it is highly unlikely that all these breeds are present in the ancestry and that there could also be a breed or breeds present in the mixed breed component that cannot be detected with the current database.The Mi-Ki breed is a combination of several breeds. Dogbreedinfo.com gives the following information about Mi-Ki’s:[redacted].[redacted] – Mi-KiIt shares common ancestors with the Papillon, the Maltese, and the Japanese Chin. Unfortunately the cloudy history of the Mi-Ki makes it impossible to tell the percentage of each breed in its makeup. The Mi-Ki was recognized by the States Kennel Club in 1995. According to the IMR, the Mi-Ki is a new breed started in the late 1980s by a woman who went by the name of [redacted], among others. She resided in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and its suburbs. She started developing a strain of small dogs from the Papillon, Japanese Chin, Maltese and the small Shih Tzu and in 1993 there was a Papillon / Yorkshire Terrier mix stud that she introduced to some of the females. Unfortunately, she did not keep accurate records, so the degree of mixture or combination of the breeds used is not known. The company that provided the DNA test results state on their website that ‘Wisdom Panel® 2.0 provides the highest level of accuracy possible for a cheek swab DNA test, but that accuracy can vary depending on the quality of DNA collected by an owner from their dog. Because of the potential variation in DNA quality sent to our testing facilities, we are unable to provide a definitive accuracy percentage at this time.’We do sympathize with the buyer and her concerns about what the test results show, but the test is not definitive and because the documentation conflicts with the documentation that the seller provided, we request that the entire issue be handled outside of PuppyFind.com including any statements or reviews regarding the situation. We apologize that we were not able to post Ms. [redacted]’s review, but this is the PuppyFind.com policy that is in place at this time regarding these types of situations. Ms. [redacted] is welcome to pursue other avenues such as contacting the [redacted] with the information or pursuing legal action against the seller if she feels it is necessary. We do hope Ms. [redacted] will be able to find a resolution to the situation elsewhere. Please let me know if we can be of any further assistance.Sincerely,[redacted]Puppyfind.com Customer Support###-###-####Mon.-Fri. 8am-4pm MST

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

Most companies in existence including via the internet offer all parties doing business with or through their organization the opportunity for review commentaries to be posted and also allow for rebuttals, if applicable. They do not favor whoever may be paying the bills, whoever may be in charge or refuse to allow anyone to be heard or express themselves as long as it is done tastefully. The [redacted] is one example. There are very little restrictions, if any, that would violate anyone the right to exercise their First Amendment Rights. Then there is puppyfind.com that always sides with the breeders (who pay the bills) despite the piles and piles of information submitted by consumers per [redacted]’s request to support whatever negative review or situation that is occurring. I find it very interesting that the [redacted] gives this company an A+ rating despite all the same type of complaints that are being submitted on the practices of this company who condones deceptive trade practices on their site. It is no wonder that scammers and disreputable breeders are flocking to their website. They know they will be hidden and protected by puppyfind.com. Is there no company that offers honest ratings for consumers to depend on?[redacted], at puppyfind.com, referred to the wrong canine DNA test in her response indicating and quoting information about the Wisdom Panel 2.0 Swab test. The test [redacted] mentioned is not documented anywhere in the documents I supplied to her to support my negative review request. The canine DNA test performed on the 2 puppies I have that is recommended by American Miki Registry Association (AMRA) is the Wisdom Panel Professional, which is an actual blood test and not a swab. The swab test does not pick up on the Miki pedigree ancestral history. Only the blood test does that is why I incurred the additional costs to have it done to submit as proof to [redacted] mentioned the common ancestors of the Miki breed in her response, but none of these ancestor’s DNA showed up in the mixed breed findings for the two puppies I was sold aside from one of the immediate parents of one of the puppies I purchased, which was a purebred Yorkshire Terrier (100%). The registration papers the breeder submitted to [redacted] for review and is the conflicting piece of evidence in her statements are not from either AMRA or IMR. [redacted] goes on to say that sincethe test is not definitive and it conflicts with what the seller is saying they would rather I take the issue and settle it outside of the puppyfind.com environment. The seller themselves advertise DNA testing confirmation on their [redacted] registered breeds through the puppyfind.com website so the results of DNA testing validity should not be in question. Puppyfind is just trying to create excuses to protect the seller and prohibit me the opportunity to exercise my First Amendment Rights to post a negative review that could have an impact on the sellers and puppyfind.com finances. Yet this same company allows the breeder to continue to defraud other unsuspecting consumers, post stellar reviews about themselves, which verification is not done by anyone in the puppyfind.com payroll just to keep the money rolling in so [redacted] and her bosses can continue collecting a paycheck.Per the AMRA website “unfortunately, other registries that will register dogs and puppies as Mi-Kis without known history of the parents, knowledge of the lines, and/or DNA. evidence to support only Mi-Ki to Mi-Ki breedings. The reason is that they are just a functioning registry that registers many many breeds. They are not familiar with the Mi-Ki breed and which dogs/lines are legitimate. They do not claim to specialize in any one breed, and therefore, they rely solely on the word of the applicant as to the truth of the information being provided. They do not require DNA or any other testing. They simply take the word of the person registering the dog and put the information down on paper. For a rare breed, this leaves much room for hanky-panky. The only SURE way to know that you are receiving a quality pure bred Mi-Ki Puppy is to adopt from an AMRA registering breeder who will provide you with AMRA paperwork.” Per IMR website “We do DNA profiling to verify parentage. Currently the IMR and CMA are the only Mi-Ki registries to DNA-VIP profile all their breeding Mi-Kis. DNA-VIP is done through the CDHPR in conjunction with the United Kennel Club, the second largest purebred canine club in the United States. DNA-VIP assists us, as breeders and registries, to ensure the future of this new rare breed as ahealthy purebred. By documenting our DNA results with this independent registry, breeders are assured that bloodlines are accurate and buyers are reassured of the authenticity of their companion.The resolution I am seeking is to be allowed to post my review comments on my experience with this breeder on this website as they would allow me to do if I was submitting a positive review since I have been more than cooperative in submitting every piece of documentation requested by [redacted] at Puppyfind.com that supports my less than stellar review. I am not sure why [redacted] insists that I take legal action, if desired outside of puppyfind for final resolution to get my review posted on their website?

Regards,

Business

Response:

We do understand that the situation is very frustrating and stressful. To make it clear, PuppyFind.com does not side with buyers or breeders in dispute situations based on who upgrades their account. Upgrading your account gives the members on the site the option to see contact information for the seller. Both the buyers and the sellers have this option. PuppyFind.com is a bulletin board service, like a newspaper, and every seller/breeder goes through an approval process, however, as stated in our Terms of Service policy, we are not able to offer any guarantees that the individuals listing on the site are reputable breeders, but PuppyFind.com does not condone deceptive trade practices or protect scammers. When definitive documentation has been provided to warrant removal from the site then they are removed. In this situation the buyer is claiming freedom of speech and the seller is claiming slander, which is another factor in the decision to not allow the disputed review to be posted and direct the to be resolved elsewhere. The following statements are taken directly from the DNA report the buyer provided date 8-30-13, which states “predicts the most likely combination” and “While it is difficult to identify strong breed signals in this mixed portion, the 5 breeds with the strongest statistical likelihood identified in the analysis of your patient’s DNA are listed below. One or more of these breeds could have contributed to the genetic makeup of the ancestors indicated by the mixed breed icon. Note that it is highly unlikely that all these breeds are present in the ancestry. There could also be a breed or breeds present in the mixed breed component that cannot be detected…”The following information is taken directly from the Wisdom Panel Professional website:General questions about Wisdom Panel™ Professional What is Wisdom Panel™ Professional? Wisdom Panel Professional is our gold standard genetic analysis for mixed-breed dogs. This test not only detects over 235 breeds, types and varieties that may be present in a mixed-breed dog, but it pre-screens for certain breed-related health risks, predicts the likely adult weight range of a puppy and offers a validated accuracy measure of 90%.* The test uses a tiny blood sample taken during a dog’s routine veterinary check up. Blood is necessary for this test because it provides the highest quality DNA sample for analysis. *Accuracy was determined by average positive predictive value across breeds studied. How does Wisdom Panel™ Professional work and what type of information will it provide? With just a simple blood sample taken during your dog’s annual vet visit, Wisdom Panel Professional will:• COMPARE your dog’s DNA to the genetic signatures of over 225 breeds, types and varieties.• PREDICT your dog’s adult weight range.• PRE-SCREEN for your dog’s breed-related risks for developing certain genetic diseases.• PROVIDE you and your veterinarian with valuable information so you can work together to create an effective care and wellness program.How accurate is Wisdom Panel™ Professional? Validation testing has resulted in an average accuracy of 90% in first-generation crossbred dogs of known parentage. The breeds in this validation study represent 45% of American Kennel Club ([redacted]) registrations. Accuracy was determined by average positive predictive value across breeds studied.How accurate is Wisdom Panel™ Professional? Validation testing has resulted in an average accuracy of 90% in first-generation crossbred dogs of known parentage. The breeds in this validation study represent 45% of American Kennel Club ([redacted]) registrations. Accuracy was determined by average positive predictive value across breeds studied.It is unfortunate that Ms. [redacted] is not satisfied with the PuppyFind.com response to her dispute. However, we are unable to allow a disputed review to be posted when the documentation does not definitely and accurately support the claims the buyer is making against the seller, and when opposing information is provided. We do advise that Ms. [redacted] read over the Terms of Service posted on the PuppyFind.com website to familiarize herself with the policies and procedures that are in place for the website.We did not insist that Ms. [redacted] take legal action to get her review posted. We advised her that legal action outside of and independent of PuppyFind.com against the seller is an option if they feel the seller did not follow their contract. Regardless of whether Ms. [redacted] chooses to pursue legal action against the seller or not, her review will not be posted on the sellers account. Ms. [redacted]’s original issue on this matter is with the seller, not PuppyFind.com, and therefore needs to be focused in that direction and resolved outside of PuppFind.com and without any further involvement from PuppyFind.com.Again, we are sorry that we are unable to assist Ms. [redacted] in resolving the issue with this breeder but do hope she will be able to get a satisfactory resolution with her efforts elsewhere.Please let me know if we can be of any further assistance,Sincerely,[redacted]Puppyfind.com Customer Support###-###-####Mon.-Fri. 8am-4pm MST

We had a great experience finding a good, honest breeder on puppyfind...[redacted] and her daughter [redacted] from the Grand Island, Ne area, have beautiful Pomeranians and are well taken care of prior to going home. We were surprised at how well socialized our little lady was. It goes to show you they, love and play with them. Puppy's play pen is their website and we couldn't be happier.

Review: I have a account for almost two years and now it has vanished. All of a sudden my email was invalid. Only way to contact puppy find is by email with a two day waiting period per contact. It took two days for a response. They wanted the first four numbers and last four numbers of my card number to find my account. I gave it to them. Another two days later Now Day 5 of not being able to use my account and looking business, I get a email saying my account was inactive and have to start a new one. IT HAS NOT BEEN INACTIVE I was in the account it at least once a week and the day before it was supposedly inactive.. Well I have had to wait five days for a answer. Mean while I lost a week of sales and I have been paying my monthly fee as a upgraded member, I am so upset by how tedious it is to use the site to begin with and to have to start my listings all over without any compensation or responsibility on there end is poor business. If the site was free I would understand the nonchalant behavior. There response time is two days per inquiry is absolutely unacceptable for a paying member.. when a phone call could have resolved this with out me waiting and wasting a week of waiting and loosing business. I want my account recovered. It will take me three hours of my time to rebuild the ads, I don’t like wasting time or money and that’s what this site had done to me.Desired Settlement: Disired resolution would be more then repair..It should have more options like REPAIR, BILLING ADJUSTMENT AND SERVICE ISSUES.

I would like my account back and at least a month credit for my aggravation loss of business and time.

If I can't get my account back and have to make a new one I would like at least three free month for my loss and having to rebuild and loosing emails and review pictures and reviews. I would also like the company to have a better turn around time for paying members. If I didn't have to wait days to find out all my work was lost when it could have been done over the phone a week ago, I might not be so upset. There needs to be a phone number to call if you are a PAYING CUSTOMER