Breeders near Minneapolis?

[Patty M]

Anyone know Teresa Hestekin? Supposedly the breeder who sold the pup for $1200, without AKC papers, nor Fanconi information. The gal wants $600, and he isn't neutered, so sadly, if someone buys him, they can breed him without knowing about his Fanconi status…

[Patty M]

Pat, I just saw your post- apparently it is the same person… the ad said it was a student going to school, so do u think that is true, or a marketing ploy from the breeder? Alternatively, would Teresa be interested in knowing someone is selling one of her pups on Craigs List? (Insert confused smiley here...)

[tanza]

@Patty:

Pat, I just saw your post- apparently it is the same person… are the ad said it was a student going to school, so do u think that is true, or a marketing ploy from the breeder? Alternatively, would Teresa be interested in knowing someone is selling one of her pups on Craigs List? (Insert confused smiley here...)

I have no idea if she would be interested or not… I suppose the "owner" should call the breeder, if you read the breeders website, there should have been a contract, but don't know if that means that the dog needs to come back to her if the placement doesn't work out....

[sharronhurlbut]

Poor dog, I hope he goes to a home where he will be fixed and loved as a pet. SIGH

[Patty M]

I sent an email to Teresa, to see if it's okay for her pup to be on Craig's List. He's an adorable brindle.

[Patty M]

I sent two messages to Teresa, and there was no response. So, I Googled her name and found it listed on a website for "No Puppy Mills", where she sold a miniature poodle in poor health through the Thorp auction a couple of years ago:

http://www.nowisconsinpuppymills.com/thorpauction-dogstats.html

That website listed her USDA license number (35-B-0166); her USDA inspection reports can be found here:

http://acissearch.aphis.usda.gov/LPASearch/faces/LPASearch.jspx;jsessionid=7f00000130d83707ba9ad4be48ed8dbcb3f95a44ccc0.e38Obx8Sb3yQby0Pc3aSbNeLahv0

When I originally visited the Hestekin Hills website, I thought they were a breeder dedicated to basenjis,especially when you read the praiseworthy testimonials from puppy owners. However, after reading the USDA inspection reports, where two violations involved 30 dogs, I wondered just how many dogs are being raised there? At what point does one turn from a Back Yard Breeder, to a responsible breeder, to a Puppy Mill? The USDA website indicates that her USDA license was cancelled on May 27, 2010. I don't know why.

I also discovered that Hestekin Hills maintains separate websites for each breed they raise: Basenjis, Shiba inus, Toy Poodles, Standard Poodles are the 4 sites I found.

P.S. I just found an old thread here, where Teresa and some of the members here got in a "dogfight". I'm NOT trying to re-hash that dialog; I wasn't aware of it because I'm rather new here.

My point: when I visited her website, I thought that she would want to know that someone was on CL selling her puppy for $600, and that she would be an advocate for her pup. Yet when she didn't respond, I looked beyond her wonderful website and did my own research. I guess it goes to show that you shouldn't let a fancy website fool you! Buyer Beware!!!:eek:

And in the meantime, another dog is looking for his forever home…:(

[sharronhurlbut]

Shame on her!

[curlytails]

That's really too bad. Her adoption agreement on her website says "Puppies are not placed on a trial basis, but may be returned to us at any time in their life and for any reason. The adoptor is aware that no refunds will be given and that they are taking full responsibility for this puppy from this date forward. At no time should a puppy/dog be placed in any rescue organization, shelter, pound or any other such organization, and/or for any reason. If a situation such as this ever presents itself to you, you simply are guaranteeing me that you will be responsible enough to return this puppy/dog to me so that I can aid in placing him/her in a new loving home."

I guess resale to another private owner is permissible to this breeder, given the way she phrased it (it's like a sneaky little loophole). It's disconcerting to me that someone can put all this info on their site and make themselves appear pretty legit, but then their lack of response to you, Patty – not even a "Thanks for the information." -- suggests otherwise?

I took a look at her shiba site too. YIKES she charges a lot, with significantly different prices with/without registration.

Sometimes I wonder about the potential for spreading libelous information online, but when someone already has such a prominent electronic paper trail, I'm almost glad that this kind of information is easily searchable, for the sake of all future buyers. You just can't hide some stuff from the internet. Now to continue spreading the word on HOW to find good information and do your research...

[khanis]

She breeds without doing Fanconi testing…
that is enough to tell folks that she is NOT interested in the betterment of the breed.
She has quite a few pups to place on puppyfind and seems to keep them through half of their first year....
She can't seem to move them before they get too big.

[tar9091]

From: Pat Meisenholder