I just wanted to let everyone know what Red Legends Bordeaux has done to me.

I had orginally met Cathy online after speaking to her about purchasing a male puppy for show and breeding. I placed a $500 deposit on a male puppy. All I can say is she talked a good game. She sounded like a prestigious kennel. NOT THE CASE. IF YOU SAW HOW SHE AND HER DOGS LIVED...YOU WOULD THINK TWICE. Her dogs live in crates 24/7. Her "kennel" is a 2 car garage with (last time I was there) 26 crates lined all along the garage. No water in the crates. The dogs are let out 2 to 3 times a day for 10 minutes to eliminate and put back in the crate. They do not have much human interaction. Her children (youngest is 14 I believe) are not allowed in the kennels to let the dogs out...only a few dogs can go out together, otherwise they fight...which is not uncommon for caged dogs...and you can't expect 20 plus dogs to all get along. So, when they are let out for that short time, they have to eliminate and get their water. Sometimes, the farmer next door has a calf that dies, and she feeds that to her dogs, the whole animal in the field for the dogs to shred. NOT where I want to get a puppy. So prior to this knowledge....I purchased a puppy from her and had a deposit on a male.....

After weeks of emails telling me this litter was phenominal and I needed to get in on this litter, I purchased a puppy. I paid $3300 for a show dog. See, with Red Legends, if you tell her you want a pet, she sells them for $2000-$2500, when you tell her it's for show....it automatically goes to $3300 and up. It doesn't matter if the dog is good looking or structurally correct...what matters is the almighty buck!

When I got the female puppy off the plane, I was very disappointed. The dog was not show quality. First and foremost, her ears looked like pitbull ears on the top of her head. She was VERY skittish. She was cute...but all puppies are cute....but she was not a quality bordeaux. She also told me that both parents passed their health testing....a lie....which is the only reason I spent $3300 for a puppy.

She told me to give her some time, she will turn out. I agreed to some time. At 6 months, we went to a show in Syracuse NY. A large show with 2 of the puppy's siblings. Cathy was there as well. When the 2 female puppies went into the ring, the judge withheld first place and told us she never wanted to see these 2 in the ring again. Cathy was there for that comment. Cathy said they were going through a "wonky" stage at that time and to reevaluate at a year old. I waited. A few more shows and very derogative judge comments and I told Cathy she was not show quality. She agreed with me and told me this whole litter was crazy. She told me to sell her and she would replace her. I gave her first right of refusal like her contract states. She told me she couldn't take her back, but advised me to sell her. It broke my heart. I am very attached to my pets, but I couldn't keep her...hubby said no. He said I couldn't get another dog unless I sold Froggie. So I found a nice couple for Froggie. Rick and Audrey fell in love with Froggie when they met her. I told them her price was $2000. They agreed. I also advised them that Cathy said the warranty would transfer with her. He asked if he could speak with Cathy. I gave him the number and after his conversation with Cathy, he told me Cathy told him to pay me $1500 for Froggie. Cathy told Rick to send her the remaining $500. She told him the $500 was for the extension of the warranty. Rick knew what I was going through with Cathy and decided against the warranty since she was not standing behind the dog with me. So I ended up losing $500 right off the top.

Now in the meantime, I was still waiting for my male puppy. She had not yet produced it. We were talking about studs and I told her I had a particular stud in mind. She checked him out online and decided he would be a good match to the female. She then told me if I wanted that stud, she didn't have the funds for the stud fee, but if I paid the stud fee, the breeding could happen. I told her if I paid the stud fee, I get pick of the litter. She agreed. I sent the money to Italy. It was $1500. The breeding never happened, the dog in Italy died unfortunately in an earthquake. The Italian breeder sent her the refund. So I was still waiting after over 16 months for my male. I asked her for a refund of the $1500 so I could buy a male elsewhere. She told me to use the $1500 I got from the sale of Froggie for the stud fee and she would ship me a new puppy to replace the female (Froggie). I agreed to that and waited for my replacement puppy.

So, I had heard she had a couple of litters and asked where I stood on the list for my replacement. She told me I didn't. She said you sold Froggie, you got $1500, that's it. I was surprised since I had been waiting for my new puppy. So I said to her, "you used that money for the reimbursement of the stud fee you owed me", she said, "Yes". I was dumbfounded. Scenario: I sold a dog I owned and she used that money to pay her debt to me, yet now, she decides she's not going to send me a puppy???? Again...need to say this to wrap my head around it....I sold a dog I OWNED and she used it to pay HER DEBT and refuses to send me the $1500 now. It's ridiculous!! She also said she thought Rick was in with me and we were going to breed Froggie.

So then she says to spay her, show her proof of spay and she will replace. I did. She retracted again.

In the interim, this woman also decided to file a false report with the ASPCA stating I have 7 skinny horses, my dogs are thin, and she doesn't know if my kids have food in their tummies. I was floored. First of all, I am an approved rescue home for neglected horses. I had 6 horses, not 7. One was thin, but he had just come in and was under vet care. He is still fairly thin, but he's in renal failure...he's 30 and he's dying. He's still eating, sleeping and happy, so he's not ready to be put to sleep. He will tell me when it's time. The poor thing was starving to death when I rescued him. He's gained 200 lbs, but won't gain anything more. Anyway, so the ASPCA gave me the information on the complainant since it was a false complaint. It was Cathy. She is trying to get out of having to pay me the $3300.

Then she says she wants me to show proof of heart or hip issue. She walked and trotted off with a bad limp...but during the spay, the dog almost died under anesthesia, so hips were out of the question as you have to anesthetize her. Because she is so skittish, the vet said in order to do an EKG on her heart, they would have to sedate her. Her new owners do not want to put her under anesthesia. I can't blame them. So we again had a discussion and she told me to do an auscultation and if her heart came back bad, she would reimburse me. I paid for the auscultation by a board certified cardiologist, and she has a level 2 heart murmur, which definitely disqualifies her for breeding.

I sent her the paperwork from the cardiologist, and she again refused. After a heated discussion, she texted me "Fine, I will send you the money but you have to wait until my litter is due which is November 10th". I waited patiently. The puppies were born on September 4th which meant they went home around Oct 30, 2010. I have sent her a few emails, texts, called her (cell phone disconnected, home phone no machine, emails returned) and I finally got in touch with her yesterday November 7, 2010. She told me to go "explicit" myself and hung up on me.

I have no choice but to take her to court. I have to warn you all, honestly, she is a puppy mill with no scrupples. She has pumped out more than 200 puppies in 10 years. She is breeding a bunch right now. She doesn't care about the breed. She cares about the money. It's just a source of income for her. Her dogs are not vaccinated against k9 disease and her entire kennel has had kennel cough several times in the last year. Several dogs have died because of this, one of which was a beautiful bulldog she got from a past client. She takes sick dogs to shows and spreads disease to top it off.

She has 4 horses as well. Her 4 horses have no shelter all winter, no even good trees...same in summer (she has one shoddy shelter that's 8x8 and is falling down), no water except a urine/poop filled pooling of water that sits stagnant on her property. And in the winter, her horses just eat snow for water. It's not proper water for her horses. Winter snow, once it's dried out, has no water in it. Its horrible.

I am turning her in to the ASPCA for the deplorable conditions that these animals live in. I hope everyone reads this and sees what a horrible situation this woman puts forth. I am a breeder of Bordeauxs. I show my dogues. My dogs live in my home, under my feet. The sleep in my room as well as with my girls. My dogs have earned their CGC (Canine Good Citizen) and we are working on some nursing homes to bring them into for therapy dogs. Dogs need humans....they don't need a cage in a garage. They need to be with you...especially this breed. They are very very devoted to their families. Jewish families used to get them during WWII to protect them during Hitler's reign. That's how much people mean to these dogs.

Please think twice before buying a dog from her. She offers a contract but doesn't stand behind it. Her contract for hips only guarantees severe crippling hip dysplasia. A puppy who has that before 18 months would be almost crippled at birth. It would never make it out into the general population.

I will keep you all updated and if anyone wants to see the copies of the emails she has sent me, I would be glad to send them to you.

I know she and her little deciples will try and discredit me, but I will prove it with emails, texts, and the court documents when I get them back. I am a good breeder, reputable, and stand behind my dogs. I have been breeding for 6 years, and I have only produced 28 puppies. I have had a couple of puppies with issues...one of which was bred to her dog...and 2 puppies from that sire...2 different breeders, unrelated dams have come down with the same disease. The owners will receive another puppy puppy from me when they are ready. The other puppy was from my first breeding. He had underdeveloped kidneys, a birth defect. When he died, I gave them another puppy, no questions asked. I don't want what was done to me, to be done to someone else. Yes, I have a contract. It has a 2 year guarantee and a lifetime of breeder support. I don't just sell you a dog and send you on your way...you become part of the family. I do carry a $500 non refundable deposit as is normal among breeders.

I hope you all can see what I am going through and realize, this is not the person you want to get a dog from.