This guy's name is Daniel Salaaf.

I look at it this way. We learn to read dogs. You can read people, too. In the initial transactional phase, when people are first meeting and getting to know one another, a certain amount of posturing goes on (same as dogs, right?)... People give you their "calling card", and tell you a lot about themselves, even without realizing it. This is a good time to read the signals and decide if you want to waste time on someone. When someone hands me a calling card that says, "Joe Blow.. Who always gets his way, and doesn't mind pushing you around to get it", then I am going to consciously avoid that person from then on.

I have a funny story to illustrate this point...

Back when I was raising my dogs, I had an ad in Dog World. I was contacted by one guy who lived right in my own town, not two miles away. He sent me a letter of inquiry, and the "letter" was really a photocopy of a letter.. He had apparently made several of these, and bulk mailed them out to GSD breeders who he was interested to buy a puppy from.

The letter was brief, and impersonal, but to the point. He basically said what he was looking for, and that if anyone burned him, that he was going to sue them, etc. and yadda, yadda. I laughed and put the letter in file, just to make sure I never forgot this A-hole and never to make the mistake of selling him a puppy. Time passed, and I almost forgot about it. Then, I got a phone call...

It was this same guy, and he said that he looked again at my ad and that he realized by my phone number that I was in the same area as he was. He asked why I never contacted him. I asked him to think back and try to remember what he said in that letter. He thought about it a minute, and then I asked him if HE would reply to such a letter (Mind you, he was a businessman, in fact, I knew his business and had patronized it, before!)... He replied (sheepishly) that he would not have replied to it, either. So, I told him, "Congratulations! Now no one you sent that letter to is going to sell you a puppy!" LOL

I rarely had a problem with people when I was raising my dogs, because I did go over backwards to prevent problems and to provide a remedy when there was one

Don't know why this blasted word processing program keeps cutting off messages, but anyway, you get the point. If anyone is to be "avoided like the plague", it's the ones who tip you off that they are going to be trouble makers, down the road.

You try your best to avoid problems and to solve them when they do come up, but some people are implacable, irrational and irresponsible. They do something stupid to screw up the dog or puppy, and then they want the breeder to refund the purchase price AND pay the vet bills!

Examples of stupid things buyers do: How about letting the dog drink from a puddle in a parking lot, containing ethylene glycol, and then calling you out at 10 PM at night to have you look at the dying dog, so they can get an opinion without paying a veterinarian ?... How about picking up a puppy by all four legs (feet) and hanging it upside down, repeatedly, then crying to you when it comes up with hip dysplasia? ,,,  How about NOT getting the parvo vaccination (as they were told to do, implicitly and repeatedly), and generally neglecting the pup, then when the pup gets sick, calling out animal control on you so that they visit SEVEN times, looking for something to bust you on? All of this going on, while the stupid buyer promises you that they are going to get your kennel shut down! Yes, all of these things have happened to me, and more..

Unfortunately, the courts tend to side with the plaintiff, because the "animal rights" propaganda has done such a good job of making breeders out to be all greedy and unethical. Prosecutors even take up for plaintiffs against breeders, based on "consumer protection" and "humane" laws. These cases can be quite unfair and the breeder can be railroaded in a "political" "media trials" in which huge, wealthy animal rights organizations try to influence prosecutors and manipulate the outcome behind the scenes.. They do this by means of lobbyists, who may be able to influence the state attorney general (and the entire criminal justice system downward), and by means of soliciting letter-writing campaigns from activists who work for them.

I'm sure that the general public probably has NO idea how difficult this dog thing is to do, and how much dog people bleed to follow it. It's a way of life which is greatly misunderstood, lately, and not in a good way. Quite a few dog people have been unfairly hurt and taken advantage of.  I used to have a lot of sympathy for buyers, and enjoyed making them happy, but I have become rather suspicious of buyers. I won't deal with them anymore, and this experience has reaffirmed my opinions.

How about picking up a puppy by all four legs (feet) and hanging it upside down, repeatedly, then crying to you when it comes up with hip dysplasia?

WHAAAAAA??????

OMG.

We should really start a thread called, "Buyer horror stories"!

There was a guy who used to be pretty big in the DDR dogs. He owned some famous dogs. He also had enough of it after awhile, and he folded his tent and slipped away into the night, rather suddenly. He told me an unbelievable story, and I will relay it without disclosing his name or info.

He was contacted by a sheriff somewhere in a southern state, who wanted a "mean" dog. Dog Guy imported quite a few dogs and some for clients, but never unstable or uncontrollable dogs. He told the sheriff this, that he would never intentionally import or sell a vicious dog. But, the sheriff wasn't satisfied. He really wanted a tough dog. The dog guy again refused to accomodate him. Time went on, and the sheriff kept calling, wanting a dog. Dog Guy seriously didn't want to deal with him at all, but as luck would have it, he did import a dog for another client who was too tough for that client. The people in Germany didn't want the dog back, so he thought maybe he could send the dog to the sheriff. $3,500 was wired to him, and pretty soon, this dog was on a plane to the deep south.A little while longer, the sheriff calls up and complains. He says the dog isn't tough enough, that he wanted a dog to put on prisoners in their cells to chew them up. Dog won't do the job he wanted him for, and he wants his money back.

Dog Guy says, "No problem".. Send me the dog and I'll refund the money. The sheriff says, "No.. You don't understand. I want to keep the dog. I just want you to refund my money."  Dog Guy says, "No way!" Sheriff says, "Bet me!.. If you don't refund the money, I'll swear out a complaint against you and have you extradited to my state and my jail. When I get you here in my jail, I'm going to beat your ass so hard, you'll wish you were never born!"

Dog Guy doesn't believe this is even possible, and laughs it off. But, sure enough, Sheriff is good for his word! Next thing you know, Dog Guy is arrested and in jail, waiting to be extradited to another state, where he is no doubt going to get the ass kicking of his life! You can imagine the panic and dread!

He must have had someone pitching for him, because in the eleventh hour, Dog Guy is pardoned by the governor of his own state, and released.. This could have had a very bad ending. VERY bad! People who are beaten in prisons sometimes have to wear diapers for the rest of their life, and can't tie their own shoes or even know their own name.

I was on friendly terms with Dog Guy and he thanked me for being nice to him, when there were so many toxic people in our small community. Not the first person to tell me this, by the way, and not the only breed. But, my point is that I noticed a change in this guy after all of this went down. He was very nervous after that, and it was not long before he disappeared from the dog scene.

In "the old days", if someone felt that they were wronged in a business deal, they would take you to court and you'd settle things between you. You'd bring your evidences, receipts, contracts and so on, and you'd get a chance to present your case, and fair treatment. It's still that way, but it can get a whole lot more complicated than that, too. Be careful in the wading pool that you don't get up to your neck in deep water. Mostly it has to do with who you're dealing with. I prefer to deal with people who give me the good signals, that they are friendly, normal people who will work with me if there's a problem. That's not always easy to see, but you can avoid a lot of trouble if you can screen out potential trouble-makers. At the first hint of a threat, I disengage, and yes, I refund... because it's not worth the hassle!

But, it&#3

Whoops.. Another truncated message. I guess there's a limit on them because they're all going into a database?

Yes, Okie Amazon.. You heard it right. This idiot was hanging the puppy upside down by all four paws.. sort of like some people might playfully do with an infant. Not good for infants, either, and you don't see that sort of thing much anymore.. people tossing their babies up in the air and such..

If I had know they were doing this, I would have absolutely stopped it, but I had no idea. I didn't find out until later, when they came to me crying that the puppy was dysplastic. I asked them how they first realized that there was a problem, and apparently this is how they found out. The pup cried in pain when they did this stunt the last time!

Holy Moses! People are so freakin' ignorant! But, look who gets the blame!!!! Ignorance is bad, but these people don't want any responsibility for their own ignorant actions.

There are so many stupid things that people did, I really cannot remember them all.. Maybe I just don't WANT to remember them all. Another thing comes to mind, that one guy told me he knew how to diagnose acalaysia (mega aesophagus) in a puppy. He said he would withhold food and water until the pup was desperately hungry, then give him a BIG bowl of dry dog food. If the pup choked on it, he had mega aesophagus! Brilliant! Why didn't I think of this!!!??? Except of course that it a perfectly IDIOTIC idea!!!!

This reply is a bit off OT, but the simple fact is that you have people like that in all types of business, not just the dog world.   There are dishonest buyers and sellers, not only of things, but also animals, services, etc.

My husband and I used to operate a feed mill, and we dealt with a few people like that.  They'd order a custom feed, pay for it, then come back a few days later, complaining that they found mice in it, or that they found metal, or who knows what, then start threatening legal action or regulatory action if we didn't refund their money.  We didn't have mice in our feed, and we knew it, nor did we ever get metal in it.  Our feed products had an excellent reputation, and our mill was extremely clean.  One such irritated customer told someone else about their displeasure, and that person had us investigated by the FDA, claiming we added meat to our cattle feeds, which is a big no-no.  Of course, they shipped in a team of inspectors, tore apart our mill taking samples, dug through our records, and chased off customers with rudeness.  In the end, they dismissed the complaint, since there was no meat being put in any of our feeds, and complimented on how clean the place was, but one simple jerk caused a lot of headache and hassle.  And all because they decided that what they got wasn't good enough!

We are no longer in the feed business, and for that I'm grateful.  I liked dealing with our customers, at least the good ones, but those sour apples, the ones you can sense when they get anywhere near, made dealing with the public unnecessarily demanding.  There are those people who go through life with a chip on their shoulder, figuring the world owes them whatever they want and if they don't get it, they'll just sue.  Sadly, those types are usually the ones who win.

The only way to avoid these is to learn to read people, just like our dogs do, and follow your gut when you instinctively don't like someone.  Chances are, there's a good reason you don't.

Crys

Thanks for sharing that, Crys
 
I'm sorry something like that happened to you, and it must have been hell. You are just lucky that the FDA people were ethical and professional and honest. There are some enforcement people and prosecutors (not necessarily in any particular agency), who will plant evidence or tamper with evidence, and subborn perjury from witnesses. Some will hide evidence which might exonerate you. You are lucky that you didn't have anything like this happen.

That said, the fact that so many businesses run on razor thin profit margins can make for your downfall when any unfortunate thing like this happens. Lots of small family businesses are being ruined in this manner. I guess the corporate entities can often afford to deal with it, or maybe they pay their lobbyists or contribute to a campaign fund and problems go away.

I know.. My intended retirement business was destroyed in this manner. And so, my retirement funds have dwindled to nothing, while I look for other ways to survive. LOTS of people going through this, or looking at that final result, and it all comes down to the same thing.. greed and corruption. It takes lots of different forms, but it's always the same result, the little guy gets screwed. Any wonder that our US economy and way of life is in the toilet?

Over the last several years I have spoken to Judy numerous times and exchanged all kinds of information about dogs, dog food, training etc.  She is very good natured and cordial.  I know she loves her dogs and spends almost all of her time taking care of them.

Very often, she answers her cell phone walking dogs and puppies. 

Sometimes I have spoken to her while she is training some of her younger dogs about house manners etc.

I do intend to visit Arizona Black Shepherds in the not too distant future.  Pharaoh is 1 1/2 years old now and when he is fully trained, I will want a second dog.  Judy is one of the very few breeders that I be talking to and visiting, to get my second dog at the right time..

What comes around, goes around, it all catches up with you in he end....

Well, that's a good saying, about going around and coming around. Things do work out that way, a lot of times. On the other hand, evil men like Stalin and Pol Pot can live well and die peacefully in their own beds at an old age. In reality, there is nothing "fair" about life, no justice, and a lot of innocent, harmless people get screwed, while evil, malevolent people are rewarded. It's hard to explain this. Some people say it is evidence to them that there is "no God". I don't look at it that way. I look at it from a Christian viewpoint. I know that I am a sinner. We are all "sinners", or failed creatures.. imperfect, and subject to the imperfections of others, human nature, etc. We really don't "deserve" anything, and we do the best we can with what we have in life. Sin has less to do with stuff we've done, and more to do with the conditions we are born into when we come into the world...not necessarily specific conditions, but collective, as well. In a sense, you might say that the concept of "sin" is comparable to the saying, "Shit happens"?
If we are in a good place with God, we have regard for others, and love for fellow man.. We try not to create harm and pain. We try to help and share, because we understand that all of us are worthwhile and important. All of us matter.
Jesus is the redeemer..
"The Devil", on the other hand, is called "The Accuser". Something to think about when we go accusing others?
Apologies to those who are of other beliefs. I am not proselytizing. I don't even go to church or belong to a denomination. This is just a workaround that I've made on Christian principles, and helps with my own point of view, and it helps me to deal with disappointment, jealousy, anger, etc. It helps me to be more accepting and forgiving, or at least understanding. That helps ME, and that's a good enough reason for me. If it helps others, that is also nice!
If I were an angry person, I'd have plenty of scores to settle, but thankfully, it takes a lot to get me mad and I have a pretty good belief system to maintain some balance and sanity in a crazy world.
Besides.. Staying pissed off is a lot of work. There are usually better ways to spend that same energy.
You know what? I've been on this darned list for hours, now. I've got to go get something useful done.