SUWANEE, Ga. — Doodle dogs are soaring in popularity. The designer dogs are a cross between a poodle and another breed.
Breeders can charge you thousands to take one home.
Channel 2′s Tom Regan spoke with one woman who bought a doodle under a so-called guardianship program and wants other would-be buyers to think twice before doing the same.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
Kellye Landrum told Regan she was looking for a dog and was thrilled when a friend referred her to Mini Goldendoodles of Georgia.
The breeder advertises itself as family breeder of doodles and lists prices of some of pups over $5,000.
Landrum said the owner told her she could buy a female pup named Klover for $500 if she signed a contract to become a guardian.
“She said, you need to send the money, you’ll have the dog. But we do need to breed Klover,” Landrum said that was all the verbal information she was given.
“She said, sign this contract and she left my house,” Landrum said.
She told Regan she did not read the contract before she signed it.
The 10-page contract requires the guardians to return the female dog for breeding or whelping four to five litters over a five-year period.
Landrum said when Klover began her heat cycle right at 10 months, she returned her to the breeder and was shocked when the breeder told her she need to pay big money to get the dog back.
“Klover was crying, and she said, ‘You have a couple of days to give me $15,000 or you won’t see Klover anymore.’ So, I’m crying, panicking.,” she said.
She contacted police to file a complaint against the breeder to get her dog back and was told it is a civil matter, a contractual dispute.
Landrum contacted a lawyer.
“As soon as I contacted a lawyer, she stopped responding, I haven’t heard from her anymore until she sent a letter saying Klover will still be entered into this agreement of breeding five times,” she said.
MORE CHANNEL 2 INVESTIGATES
Landrum sued the owner of Mini Goldendoodles of Georgia, Christina Cho, alleging the breeder violated terms of the guardian contract.
Her attorney, Darryl Cohen told Channel 2, the allegations are straightforward.
“The allegations are that Ms. Cho took the dog back when she wasn’t supposed to, refuses to give it back to the rightful owner of the dog and we want the dog back,” Cohen said.
The breeder filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit- denying Landrum’s claims.
“It’s just very hard. it’s like how can you take someone’s child away and just for money to breed them over and over,” Landrum said.
Regan dropped by the address of Mini Goldendoodles of Georgia in Suwanee to try to get the breeder side of the story, but no one answered.
Channel 2 also left phone messages that were not responded to.
Animal right’s advocate Claudine Wilkins warns dog lovers should be wary about becoming a guardian, and signing a costly contract, that would tie up ownership of a dog for years.
“You have an attachment build when you have a pet and suddenly you have this animal back to someone else and you can’t visit while it’s being bred. You can’t visit it while it’s whelping its puppies,” Wilkins said.
Landrum said Klover cried when the breeder took her away.
“That’s how I know she knows I’m her mom and she knows I love her,” she said.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2024 Cox Media Group
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
