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Wicks Silver Labs - Promised a "replacement" puppy in January, still waiting!

  • by   Apr 16, 2012
  • Review #: 312444
CompanyWicks Silver Labs
Product / ServiceSilver Lab Puppies
Location Saginaw, Michigan
Category Hospitals, Clinics and Medical Centers, Doctors
Views128
 

We bought a puppy from Wicks Silver Labs in December 2011.Our puppy began losing her fur after being home for only 5 days.

She was diagnosed with a genetic disorder, color dilution alopecia, in January 2012. Our puppy's genetic disorder is covered under the health warranty we were given in December 2011. Mr Wickliffe has since precluded "alpache" (alopecia) as a covered condition. Mr.

Wickliffe, owner of Wicks Silver Labs, agreed to replace our puppy in January. He stated that he didn't know when he would be having another litter arriving and would have to let us know. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Wickliffe told us we "voided" our warranty.

Mr. Wickliffe has yet to give us an explanation as to how we allegedly "voided" our warranty. We have made multiple request to Mr. Wickliffe for an explanation regarding the warranty.

In March Mr. Wickliffe informed us via email that he would have no further communication with us on the advice of his "attorney". He stated we would be hearing from his attorney "soon" We have yet to hear from his "attorney" or Mr. Wickliffe!

Now Mr. Wickliffe has two litters available from which to provide us with a "replacement" puppy from. Mr. Wickliffe had a litter arrive March 24 and April 3.

He professes to only have "1-2" litters a year, just an occasional breeder. He also had a litter advertised on his website born Feb 22. In our opinion, Mr!. Wickliffe knew full well when he would be having future litters available when he promised us a new puppy but couldn't tell us when one would be available/.

In our opinion, Mr'. Wickliffe sells puppies with a health warranty that he has no intentions of honoring if need be.. He is not concerned about the quality of the puppies he sells or the people who unwittingly buy from him?. He is ONLY concerned about making his money, a $1000 per pup with an additional $250 for breeding rights|.

In our opinion Wicks Silver Labs is a Puppy Mill;.

Unfortunately, Ohio does not have very effective legislation regarding dog breeding or breeders/.In our opinion, we were SCAMMED. 384ccff

 
 
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Kate Kate
Apr 12  from Butler, Pennsylvania
We didn't buy our Jade from Wicks but another breeder in Kansas. She is almost 3 now. Sadly this Silver also has Color Dilution Alopecia. We had our vet do a punch biopsy when we got her spade ( we knew we couldn't breed her for whatever was wrong with her coat). Report came back from Penn State to confirm the CDA. She has no fur on her one side about 5 inches across and the same on the other about 4 inches. She has dry skin and is prone to skin infections. My husband doesn't hunt with her too much expense treating skin infections. She wears a coat in the winter. We did get our money back no problem. We sent a formal letter and accompanied it with a copy of the lab report. I do think this is a problem in dogs with the color dilute gene. Fawn and blue dobermans as well as others are prone. I've checked this breeders website and I don't see Jades Mother in his breeding program so he may have had others as well affected.
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gottaken2 gottaken2
Apr 22  from Monroe, Michigan
Wicks Silver Labs does not use dogs from other "breeders" in there "breeding program". They have 6 females to 1 male. And they breed the *** out of those poor females. They are no more than another Puppy mill operation. They know that there dogs carry the CDA gene, that gets passed on to their puppies, and they keep pumping out litters every time one of their females goes into heat. Sadly I thought after Mr. Wickliffe passed away, that this puppymill would be out of business. Mr. Wickliffe's life partner, Dustin is continuing to run this scamming puppy mill. If you want a bald, partially bald and/or a dog with skin lesions, this is the puppy mill for you. Anyone who is looking for a well bred, strong, healthy dog, don't buy a silver lab and definitely don't by a dog from Wicks Silver Labs. :(
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Gottaken2 Gottaken2
Jul 28, 2012 
Thanks for your input. We agree that "silver labs" should not be bred and would not recommend anyone to purchase one. You are correct, we do not want a replacement puppy from Wicks Silver Labs. Whenever we are out in public with her, people ask us what kind of dog she is. This gives us a great opportunity to educate people about the health issues and reasons they should not buy a silver lab.
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Kate Kate
Apr 12  from Butler, Pennsylvania
We also take the opportunity to tell anyone that will listen about Jade and her Coat condition. Our kennel we use when we vacation knows about it and have also let others know about the risk of these diluted colors from a variety of breeds. All we can do is pass,the word. Always document everything and never get a replacement puppy. Money back only. Spread the word as much as you can! If you keep one person from not choosing a silver lab at a much higher cost, I might add. Then your making progress.
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ColorDilutionAlopecia ColorDilutionAlopecia
Jul 23, 2012 
Unfortunately, Our opinion is that silver labs should not be bred at all for their color. They are wonderful dogs, but their recessive, color-dilute gene leaves them susceptible an breeders know th owners will be attached to their pet before symptoms begin to show (usually 6 months to a year). You do not want a replacement from this breeder!!! If you need a treatment resource or your pup, you can go to Color Dilution Alopecia page on Facebook.
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dermtech dermtech
Jul 23, 2012 
Really, FYI to any prospective buyers. A "rare silver lab" is really a dilute chocolate. A recessive gene causes their haircoat to be a silvery brown. Color dilution alopecia is very common in this color labrador. Do yourself a favor, spend less money on a better bred lab of a "normal color".
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Gottaken2 Gottaken2
Jun 06, 2012 
There is now a 3rd person who has posted that they have a silver lab from Mr. Wickliffe and it has alopecia as well. I am wondering how many more people who bought puppies from Mr. Wickliffe have dogs with alopecia.? The 3rd owner's comment is posted under " Wicks Silver Labs sold me a genetically defective dog" (posted by "Dana".
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Gottaken2 Gottaken2
May 08, 2012 
In our health warranty /contract, alopecia was not even mentioned as an excluded condition. Mr. Wickliffe added the alopecia exclusion after we and another buyer informed him that our dogs had this genetic condition. How very convenient. Would not recommended this breeder.
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Deadgumbit Deadgumbit
May 03, 2012 
Puppies are not objects like appliances. They are living, breathing beings. This kind of selling stuff like this for puppies or kittens needs to be outlawed. Adoption only.
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sterler sterler
May 03, 2012 
BTW, I'm not sure if this is new or not, but I checked out the Wick's website and in their warranty information they state that alopecia is not covered under their warranty. Big warning sign, if the breeder has a clause to specific genetic disorders that they won't cover under warranty, you can almost be assured that it runs in their line.
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sterler sterler
May 01, 2012 
I guess I didn't make my point clear.

You have one of his puppies and it has a long term health problem. Most likely it runs in his line. If he would give you another puppy, it could potentially have the same problem as your first puppy. My suggestion would be to have monetary compensation only and not get another puppy frm this breeder. I'm not sure how the puppy lemon law works in Michigan, but in Pennsylvania the breeder has the right to have the original puppy returned to them when the replacement puppy is given to the buyer. The breeder can then do whatever he/she deems appropriate with the returned puppy.(including euthanasia if the puppy is considered unsellable)
I do understand your frustration, but even if the breeder does give you a new puppy that hopefully is healthy, you still have a dog at home that will need continued veterinary care. And, possibly you get a second puppy from the breeder with the same problem.
No one said you did anything wrong, I'm just saying that maybe you should just try to get monetary compensation from him and look elsewhere for a healthy puppy.
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Gottaken2 Gottaken2
Apr 30, 2012 
Mr. Wickliffe has sold 4 puppies from his 2 current litters. He has not contacted us regarding arrangements to receive our replacement puppy, as he has promised us verbally and in writing. We are still waiting. Does his "health warranty" really mean anything or is it just to give the buyer a false sense of security? He states he only breeds "1-2 litters a year", so we are concerned that we will have to wait until 2013. Mr. Wickliffe will have several more litters of "rare silver/charcoal labs" this year but, we will not be provided with a new pup as he has promised.

The aforementioned is the sole opinion of the writer(s). Each buyer will have to research this breeder and come to their own conclusion as to whether this breeder is someone they want to purchase a puppy from.

Greetings from Hilton Head, SC.
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Gottaken2 Gottaken2
Apr 22, 2012 
That was weird! Why did it post the same thing three times?
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Gottaken2 Gottaken2
Apr 22, 2012 
We have never had any intentions of breeding our dog or any other dog we may own.

We can appreciate your comment about letting go. However we are not sure why you would say we "have" to wash our hands or just let go.? When you purchase a dog it is a 12+ year commitment. If you bought a car and it was a lemon would there be a point that you would walk away or wash your hands of it and just keep making the car payments. No you would see it through until you are given the car you paid for (either by repair or replacement). We will see this through to the end, whatever that may be. We have done nothing wrong. Mr. Wickliffe is in breach of his contract. He got his money and we SHOULD have gotten a healthy puppy. Mr. Wickliffe has three options regarding this case, he can either provide us with a partial refund, he can provide us with a replacement puppy, or he can see us in court.
Reply
sterler sterler
Apr 21, 2012 
If I were you I'd either ask for monetary compensation or wash your hands of this whole thing. I hope you weren't planning on breeding the dog you purchased. Even if he does give you another dog, you should realize that it may be a carrier of the same genetic disorder your current puppy has. Should you decide to breed it, it will likely pass it on to offspring and you will be the one dealing with unhappy new owners.
I understand your frustration, but sometimes you just have to let things go.
Reply
Gottaken2 Gottaken2
Apr 21, 2012 
FYI to any prospective buyers: "rare silver labs" are not silver in color. In actuality,they have a mousy brown color to their coat. Our puppy does not have a "silver" colored coat. Don't be fooled by the photos of the puppies advertised for sale on Mr. Wickliffe's website (Wickssilverlabs), they appear to be color "enhanced" to accentuate the gray color. Buyer beware.

The aforementioned is the expressed opinion of the writer.
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