**These are the photos that were sent to me. This was NOT the dog that I saw when I went to pick him up!!***
Country Lane Kennels (www.countrylanepups.com) in Purdy, MO
Please beware of this breeder in Purdy, MO. I was in search of a Poochon and came across this breeder on http://www.nextdaypets.com/, I believe. (which I found out is where all the backyard breeders are and the puppy mills) They have their ads posted every where. I found a cute 5 month old male Poochon that I was interested in, the only one left in the litter of 3. I suppose that is strange, that they would still have a pup of that age that no one bought. The pictures that I saw were of a cute, healthy looking puppy. I asked to see more pictures, and then was sent another picture where the dogs hair had been cut (they said to make him cuter, and that his fur was getting long). We live 4 1/2 hours from Purdy, MO and planned to make the drive to pick up the pup. We left on a Tuesday morning and arrived at the Schlessman's home around 2:30pm. Of course, it was out in the middle of nowhere. I am assuming that is where all these backyard breeders are. The man that I was meeting is named Jack W. Schlessman. His wife is named Jacquelyn. She is an art teacher and was not at home, so I believe that Jack is the one that responds to all emails, makes all transactions and sells the dogs. My first impression was not great. The place was dirty, the dogs that I saw outside were dirty. In fact, even the dogs that were their pets inside their home were very dirty. We went inside and the pup that I was there to pick up shocked me. Jack was leaning over to pick him up and he couldn't. The pup was so scared and terrified. It seemed as though he had either been abused or was never around people before. On their website it states that all their puppies are well socialized and healthy before going to their new homes. Obviously, this is not the case. I really couldn't believe my eyes. To make things worse, this puppy had large patches of hair missing on both hind legs. I didn't know what to say. This was NOT the pup that I had seen and was so excited to pick up. Of course, it WAS the pup.....but I was totally mislead and was not told that he had some skin condition on his legs, nor that he was scared of people. Here I drove nearly 5 hours.....was I to drive back home with no pup? Or should I have just bit my lip and taken this dog just to basically save it from this hell? After all, the litter that this dog came from had a total of 3 pups and the only one left was the one that I was to get. It's odd that here he was nearly 6 months old and still on the premises. Jack had the paper work all ready to go, and this dog was as good as sold. I sat there for awhile decided what to do. I asked to see another puppy that was on his website that was 8 weeks old. He hesitated, and wasn't even sure if they still had the puppy that I was speaking of. After looking through his book, he found her and went out to get her. When he brought her in, she was a cute little dog but was very dirty. Of course he wasn't prepared to "show" her. I just wanted to compare the two dogs. I am not sure why on their website they claim that their dogs are well socialized!!! This little 8 week old puppy seemed to be decent, but not the one that I was getting. If you ask me, it is false advertising. And they knew that I had to drive that long distance. I am sure that they knew that I wouldn't leave empty handed. All in all, I just want people to be careful who you deal with. Especially if you are purchasing a dog online. In fact, I would not recommend it at all. Especially from this breeder. They are NOT upfront and honest about their dogs.(and lied about this pup) Having never been told about the dogs skin condition (which turned out, according to my vet, to be mites) and that he was NOT socialized properly.....I wouldn't recommend them to my worst enemy. Thanks for reading.
Please educate yourself, and even take a look at their website to familiarize yourself. But PLEASE don't buy from them.
Country Lane Kennels in Purdy, Missouri
