I'm not a rescue but an informed basenji owner. It's not childish when we're talking about as serious an issue as mass producing living creatures! Go scratch!
Ps- "A puppy mill, sometimes known as a puppy farm,[1] is a commercial dog breeding facility that is operated with an emphasis upon profits above animal welfare and is often in substandard conditions regarding the well-being of dogs in their care.[2][3] Similar types of operations exist for other animals commonly kept as pets or used as feed for other animals. The term can be applied to operations involving other animals commercially bred for profit, e.g. "kitty mills."[4] There are an estimated 4,000 puppy mills in the U.S. that produce more than half a million puppies a year.[5] Commercial kennels may be licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture which may inspect the kennels routinely.[6]"
Its clearly defined and if you don't consider not ACTUALLY doing the health testing as sub standard care, then you're a bigger idiot than I realized. Not to mention its a drop in the bucket when you have to pay out for a dogs health issues when 1) you make a ton selling a lot of dogs and 2) the customers as you call it who buy from you are for the most part uniformed and don't know health issues could be avoided at your faul so they don't seek reimbursement or complain.
Lifetime Health Guarantee is sounds great, too bad that genetic concerns like Fanconi can be tested for BEFORE breed and then potential puppy owners never have to worry about it…. Certainly it makes more sense to test first? Same with other genetic concerns with our breed... test first, then breed.... don't fool people with a "Lifetime Health Guarantee", because then their hearts are attached to those that may become sick... be it Fanconi, hips, eye problems... is it not best to test first? Of course that costs...
And I can say as a breeder that I have never made a dime from any litter that I bred or co-bred for that matter, but we had healthly happy pups that were conformation correct and that serves them for a lifetime. When the few times that I broke even... I was thrilled!
I do rescue and all my dogs are Fanconi DNA tested, have CERF eye exams, and thyroid tested through MSU-Michigan State University.
I commented on a picture that I saw and I stated my opinion. I am interested in a pedigree from your kennel to see who your breeding dogs go back to.
Jennifer
Sorry I'm not perfect like you ladies. Maybe in my next life I can come back like you ladies and be perfect.
I'd like to see all you rescues do half the testing you expect breeders to do.
A resuce is a non-profit organization out there to take in puppies from people who have not done enough research about a breed and have to forfeit the dog. I'm going to take a wild guess here, but I would think about 95% of these dogs (if not higher) come from people like you and other puppy-millers. All reputable breeders will have a signed contract saying that if the dog has to be surrendered it must go back to the breeders kennel so that they can then re-place the dog.
You are right, we don't know you, but when I have asked some very direct questions you have been defensive and evasive. I want to know if you do hips, eye certification, fanconi DNA (but you do strip testing), thyroid, patella and I would like to see OFA certification on those listed.
You also state that your basenji's have never had any health problems and they have not come back to you. What about the 10 other breeds that you have in stock? Becauise that is what they are to you aren't they? Just stock?
We are all far from perfect, but most of us are now in the know about health testing and this is a site where we can all come on here and LEARN. LEARN from mistakes and LEARN more about ourselves and our dogs. Questions about health issues that can now be avoided. Some people will take this information, process it and use it to their advantage, others will read the information given and pass over everything thinking they are right.
As already stated, people who raise puppies and PLACE them in appropriate homes, not sold to "customers", do not make money on breeding quality stock. These are the people who test, repeatedly, will not breed two dogs without testing, want to further the breed and love and properly care for their puppies. These puppies are like family to breeders not just another quick buck.
It is too bad that you cannot see how silly you sound trying to defend yourself and not take the information given and further yourself and your kennel with it.
I'm rude to people who are rude to me. My dogs are not STOCK to me. We have a contract on every puppy and it Clearly states that ALL puppies no matter there age have to come back to us if for some reason the people can not take care of them. It doesn't matter where they are. We stand behind everyone of our puppies/dogs. And we do not have 10 other breeds. Grow up. Yes, we raise several breeds and I'm not going to quit raising them anytime soon. They are my favorite. You can say I'm silly or I'm an idiot. I really don't care. We do learn from others and do try to better our kennel but I don't like wasting my time to stupid rescue people who think they are better than people. I'd be happy to answer your questions if your weren't such a rude person. I'm not going to bend over backwards and jump though your hoops just because you don't like the fact that I don't breed my dogs the way you think I should. We have 4 dogs come back in 16 years for genetic reasons. We had a westie pup that was alergic to grass, we had a shiba with a level 1 heart mumor that didn't show till 5 months of age, we had morkie come back that got cancer at age 6, we had a westie come back that a tumor at age 7. We took everyone of them back and replaced there dog with another puppy at our cost. So don't tell me I don't care about my dogs or customers. You may think I make a ton of money on my dogs but you are far off. I wish I made half of what you think we make.
" Stupid Rescue people"….....how do I even respond to that. First of all I am most definately NOT stupid, second of all I have just started doing Basenji resue. Both of my B's come from a very reputable breeder and I did a good year of research before I got my first B. Both of my B's are Canadian conformation Champions, which takes a crap-load of money to complete but when my female was bred I knew she was conformationally-sound, eyes were certified, hips were certified not to mention all of the other health testing. I am not STUPID about this breed.
"Stupid Rescue people" is a bogeyman for a puppy miller who's painted himself into a corner. Seems like someone's a little too "in tune" with the rhetoric of the Kennel Spotlight (cf. the June/July 2010 issue, pp. 14, 16-17 here in pdf form, keeping in mind that this publication is basically written for and by USDA commercial breeders; note, also the names of Thunder Ridge's "house dogs" and how they match up with the house dogs at Rock Creek).
"Breeder" and "Rescue" are not opposite entities at all. I am neither a breeder nor a "stupid Rescue person," though I support both responsible breeders and rescues. I have also DNA Fanconi tested my spayed female who will never be bred. Speaking for myself, I feel as strongly as I do about holding myself and breeders to higher standards (and nobody claimed "perfection") because I HAVE screwed up in the past and purchased a pet from a less than ideal source. My breeder was all honey and sugar as she was making her sale, but had I seen her conducting herself as this Rock Creek Kennel's "spokesperson" does, I would have been horrified and would have run far, far away.
The most respected breeders on this forum do not have two faces, one for "customers only" and one for fellow breed enthusiasts. If these truly are your "favorite" breeds, you can do better by them – and the people that will inevitably become attached to them.
(This feels like a lot of wasted effort... again... but maybe it will be eye-opening and educational to someone else who stumbles across this thread. All the information that I have posted is currently or was at some point publicly accessible.)
We have 4 dogs come back in 16 years for genetic reasons. We had a westie pup that was alergic to grass, we had a shiba with a level 1 heart mumor that didn't show till 5 months of age, we had morkie come back that got cancer at age 6, we had a westie come back that a tumor at age 7. We took everyone of them back and replaced there dog with another puppy at our cost. So don't tell me I don't care about my dogs or customers. You may think I make a ton of money on my dogs but you are far off. I wish I made half of what you think we make.
So 4 dogs in 16 years out of ??? 100+ puppies? Not really bad numbers, but it looks like the owners of the dogs had to return the dogs in order to get a replacement, am I reading that correctly?
So 4 dogs in 16 years out of ??? 100+ puppies? Not really bad numbers, but it looks like the owners of the dogs had to return the dogs in order to get a replacement, am I reading that correctly?
That is what I got out of the information. What owner after having a dog for 6-7 years wants to give it up to get another puppy. I know I wouldn't and I bet that is why the incidence of giving an affected dog back is so low. I also wonder what happened to those dogs that were given back, because I can almost bet they weren't given a proper chance at life and were instantly euthanized as not to be a financial drain on the kennel.
See you people think you know all the information. You jump to conclusions before you get the facts. You can call me names and say crap. But if I call you names or don't state facts you call me more names. This is why we don't deal with Rescues. You all think you are better. Instead of working with a breeder you would rather make fun of or call one names before you know the truth. We watch what we breed to try to not have any genetic defects. We stand behind all of what we breed. No the dogs were not euthanized. I try very hard not to euthanized any dog/puppy. The dogs that were returned became our house dogs and were given proper vet care. As all of our kennel dogs. They are properly vetted every year. Including rabies. This is going to be my last posting becasue you people could careless about tring to walk someone though changes. You just want to bad mouth someone. So you can all do whatever you want because I have better things to do that listen to lies from you.
I don't understand the whole 'this is why we don't deal with rescues' crap. This is not just a rescue website. There are many wonderful responsible breeders on this site. I believe we have tried to 'work with breeders' but it is up to the breeder to understand where we are coming from. Being evasive to questions does not help. I am glad that you took in those dogs and they are now your 'house dogs'. Good luck with your 'kennel' and Buh-Bye!
Even though he accuses all of us of not having our facts straight, he is by far the worst offender. Most involved in this conversation are not rescue people. Several are breeders and others are just concerned fanciers. He can't wrap his head around the fact that some peope believe being responsible means being proactive not reactive. That.means actively staying current not making changes 5 years after the means to prevent disease was released. If he truly cared at all for these breeds he would be seeking the most up to date information and nt waiting for his buyers to tell him what he should be doing.
Even though he accuses all of us of not having our facts straight, he is by far the worst offender. Most involved in this conversation are not rescue people. Several are breeders and others are just concerned fanciers. He can't wrap his head around the fact that some peope believe being responsible means being proactive not reactive. That.means actively staying current not making changes 5 years after the means to prevent disease was released. If he truly cared at all for these breeds he would be seeking the most up to date information and nt waiting for his buyers to tell him what he should be doing.
Exactly….if conciously breeding he would have known of the updates on fanconi as soon as they came out and like you said been pro-active about it.
However, as we all know, they are not the only ones that "cry" when challenged about breeding….. and it is pretty amusing that he keeps referring to "you rescue people" and as lvoss and others have pointed out, most that are commenting are breeders, however responsible ones...
Sure agree with the pro-active instead of reactive.
I stumbled upon this thread because I was trying to research Rock Creek Kennel in Meriden, KS because I had a bad feeling about them. We were looking to get a basenji pup earlier this year and found Rock Creek Kennel online. I was immediately skeptical as one of the first things I was told about purchasing a puppy is to be weary of breeders who will ship their puppies and accept PayPal straight from the website. We called the number from the Rock Creek website and had a number of questions to ask. We were told the information was on the website and did not receive any info from the man on the phone. We continued to do our research and found a breeder we are 100% confident in.
I can't find too much about this kennel online except what has been stated on this thread already. I do find it extremely alarming that "Rockcreekk" is so confrontational to people who love the breed as you would expect him to. When I had questions for the breeder we used she always had a lot of good, pertinent information to educate me. I also believe Rockcreekk is lying about Harold Buzz Powell, the sex ofender living in Meriden, KS. On the Rock Creek Kennel Facebook page they show off their newly painted office. This "office" is the same house that is shown on Google Maps for the address where Harold Buzz Powell is known to live.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=169979489750486&set=a.103994123015690.8662.100002153087698&type=3&theater
http://www.homefacts.com/offender-detail/KSSOP15025/Harold-Buzz-Powell.html
My motivation to responding to this it to warn other puppy buyers of Rock Creek Kennel. If you want to go and check it out and you feel comfortable buying a puppy from them perhaps we're all wrong but please do your research. If no one buys from them then they won't have a business. Just be a smart consumer.
Thank you for the post Shiya. If we can even stop one person from buying from a puppy mill it is one less 'sale' than they get. I am glad you found the information useful and confirmed your hunch about the breeder.
And if that information is correct it would make sense for him to want to work for himself rather than an employer because he'd have to disclose his sex offender status….either way...this guy makes me sick
Thank you, Shiya, for validating that the "crazy rescue people" aren't on a witch hunt. As several people have already stated, most of us on this forum are not officially rescue people, but we are in LOVE with the basenji breed. Sometimes when new people post on this forum about getting a new puppy, a long-term member will ask questions about who the breeder is (as what happened on the first part of this thread). I hope that new members understand that when someone asks "WHO?", "we" are not judging your decision, we just want to make sure that you understand the risks involved with using fly-by-night breeders. (And by risks, I'm referring not only to the initial puppy's health, but the long term effects of genetic diseases like Fanconi. It must be heart-wrenching to watch your beloved dog grow up, and then succumb to a disease that you had no idea even existed until it was too late…. 
As for Rock Creek Kennels,the facts are on public websites. Since the owner of a FB page can delete photos at any time, I've downloaded the photos and attached them, so that IF RockCreekkk wants to come back and explain their situation, they can do so based upon facts, and without a machine gun filled with false counter-accusations. You can make your own decision whether the "office" is, in fact, the same house found on Buzz Powell's page (coincidentally, both buildings are #211).
At the end of the day, this thread was initiated by a person who spent several hundred dollars on a sick basenji, and this new basenji owner came here for HELP and advice. There was no witch hunt to seek out the Rock Creek Kennels, but when this person came onto this forum with spit and vinegar, several of us wondered WHY? While I've never personally met any of the breeders that belong to this forum (i.e. Tanza in California, Sherwood in Georgia), these breeders KNOW about basenjis, and since basenjis aren't as predominant as other breeds, they operate in a tight circle. Many forum members here belong to the Basenji Club of America (BCOA), which is a non profit group dedicated to educating the public about the breed, and a place for dedicated breeders and basenji lovers to network. If you look at the Breeder referral list on the BCOA page, you will recognize several names from this string as supporters of the BCOA. (www.basenji.org)
In my mind, that's part of walking the walk, and talking the talk. If you are a long term RECOGNIZED breeder by the BCOA, then I feel that you have "earned" the right to inquire about breeders who suddenly pop up on the internet as basenji breeders. I feel that these BCOA recognized breeders not only have the qualifications to ask those hard questions about testing and dog genetics, but they also have the personal experience to state how many puppies is too many…. without mud slinging, but based upon being experts in their field.
Just because someone posts on the internet that they have 16 years of experience with dogs... that fact alone does not constitute that they have the experience to properly care for puppies.
You stated earlier on this thread:
This is going to be my last posting becasue you people could careless about tring to walk someone though changes. You just want to bad mouth someone. So you can all do whatever you want because I have better things to do that listen to lies from you.
You have it wrong: People on this forum don't care less, they care MORE- and not necessarily about YOU, but about those little creatures called basenjis. If you're no longer associated with Buzz Powell, then you should disassociate with him on this web site, too. If you truly want help "walking through changes", there are MANY people on here that would be willing to help you… IF you are serious about changing!
You must decide: do you want to become a legitimate dog breeder, or remain a puppy mill with over 60 puppies in "inventory"?
