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Confessions of an Imported French Bulldog Buyer...


lsailor

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This message is for anyone who is thinking of buying an imported French Bulldog or who already owns one...

Hi, my name is Lesley, and I am an imported French Bulldog buyer.

Before I decided to purchase my Frenchie (my first purebred) I spent about a year researching the breed. I had heard about the bad importers and had talked with a girl that got her Frenchie from a certain infamous Southern California import broker, just check out FBRN and you'll see who I mean. Luckily, her dog is very healthy. I asked her what questions she had asked the importer, etc. and found that she had not done much investigation into the importer & the pedigree of her dog prior to purchasing him. I made mental notes of what I should ask if I decided to get an imported dog.

I looked at American breeder's websites, but only emailed 2 or 3 - they had long waiting lists. I got discouraged easily and decided that there HAD to be good importers out there somewhere. It made sense to me that since Eastern European countries are very poor, that reputable breeders would sell their dogs to people in the US, Canada, etc. where there would (presumably) be a better chance of them finding good homes.

I found my importer through a Yahoo search. She has a very impressive site, with TONS of good information on the breed. She is knowledgeable and was upfront about being an importer (I found plenty of breeders that turned out to be importers). I grilled her extensively, had her send me pictures of Adora's sire - who was reported to be a Champion. I researched his pedigree and the kennels that the importer said she did business with. All came back as being very good - so the money was sent. I even referred a friend who was also looking for a Frenchie - they ended up buying Adora's sister.

Adora and her sister arrived, we were very pleasantly surprised. Both are beautiful little girls, healthy and good natured. Took them both to the vet the next day, the vet said they are both healthy and was impressed with how tight their knees and hips are and how well they breathe.

And then...I received Adora's pedigree in the mail yesterday. Her sire is not who I was told he was. She has none of the bloodlines I was told she had. She was not bred by the kennel I was told she is from. The kennel she came from is an exporter for other breeders in Russia. I do not know anything about the breeder - they could be good or they could be a puppy mill. I am going to find out who this person is and I can only hope they are a good breeder. It will not change anything, but I want to know.

The moral of the story is, all of the research in the world won't help you if the person you're getting your dog from lies about where the dog came from. I am very lucky that Adora is a healthy puppy - lots of people aren't so lucky. Be careful who you trust.

If you are thinking of buying an import or already have one, please join the Imported Frenchies Yahoo group - we'd love to have you!

[url]http://groups.yahoo.com/group/importedfrenchies/[/url]

-Lesley

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Firstly I am glad that she is healthy, but on the other hand it is terriable that you have been mislead. Can you take it further and look into how this came about and do something to try and stop it happening to others. You are completly right by saying to people to beware and know matter how much research you do can you really trust the person at the other end. Good luck in finding out where your pup really came from. :-?

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Thanks hicksstar,

I just hope someone reads my post, who is planning on getting a dog from an importer/broker, and thinks twice about it to make sure they know what they're getting in to...

Here in the US, and I'm sure elsewhere, being in the dog import/brokering business is becoming very lucrative. Especially amongst the bulldog breeds - although I've heard a bit about imports being popular in a few other breeds.

There are many unscrupulous importers/brokers out there. Unfortunately a lot of people are getting very sick dogs and immeasurable heartbreak. I probably dealt with one of the best importers - at least my baby is healthy and I'm sure she was cared for correctly during her time with the importer, but I was still misled in regards to her parentage.

I'll just chalk this one up to experience and letting others know that even the best of the best are often unscrupulous! You truly don't know who you're buying a dog from, unless you visit the breeder...


-Lesley

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