Initially meeting the Penwells was a pleasant experience. I knew one person who would board her dog there occasionally and had heard they just had a litter of German Shepherd puppies (something me and my husband at the time were really looking forward to purchasing). Upon meeting them, we were told that we would not be able to meet two of the puppies as they had both been extremely sick. At first thought, we didn't think much of it. Puppies have a weak immune system, and they get sick. We never found it odd and we were extremely impressed with how obedient the sire of the litter was. We purchased a puppy from the litter (a female) for a hefty price of $1200 as we were told that these dogs had a wonderful, healthy blood line of "working dogs". Over time, we got really close with not only the Penwells but also other people who purchased the siblings. Suddenly, the sire of the litter passed away. We were never informed of why, and didn't feel the need to ask right away (as that's insensitive) but we were told that it was nothing to worry about, "nothing genetic". Eventually, my husband and I split up and he kept our dog. They still had a pup left (mind you, this is a year after their birth) and I wanted to purchase her badly. When I came to pick her up, she was left in a kennel most of the time. I still didn't think much of it as crate training was always a positive experience for me and past pups. But....this was much different. I would find out in the coming months that much more was wrong. My dog would constantly mess in her kennel (and I was told by others that she spent much of her first year cooped up so much in that kennel that she had no choice but to mess in it). She wasn't house broken at all, and couldn't understand the concept of NOT messing in her own "safe space". This was no ordinary mess either, my dog had a very very very bad digestive problem. I spent hundreds of dollars paying for top quality dog foods, taking trips to the vet for testing, and MONTHS (specifically 7 months) coming home to liquid diarrhea everywhere until I FINALLY found a food that settled well with her. I reached out to the others who adopted out the siblings...so far every single one of them (4 others to be exact) have had the same issues with their dogs (which to me is worrisome). I noticed that most of the people who purchased out my dog's siblings also no longer had a connection with this company, so I asked why. I found out that a few dogs had died in their care from neglect (which had me wondering if that's why all of these other events occurred...sick puppies, dead sire). Aside from that, one of my friends who purchased one of the sick puppies (after he got better of course) spent a good amount of money getting her dogs hips x-rayed only to find out that he is predisposed and likely to get hip dysplasia. And now, yet another finding. During a routine exam, my vet found a pretty large mineral deposit in my dog's eye. She told me it was nothing to worry about for now, but that it was a genetic irregularity that may lead to corneal degeneration. So much for "healthy" bloodlines. I will give the Penwells credit in their friendliness and openness, and that they allowed me to do a payment plan as my purchase was honestly for a therapeutic reason after my divorce. Our relationship ended when I requested to have my dogs "pedigree" that I was promised would be mailed to me (which had taken them quite some time to mail) and exacerbated my hesitation in believing I purchased a well-rounded, healthy dog. They pestered me for the last $100 payment before mailing it (which is strange because most people would require proof and documentation up front before making a $1200 investment). They reacted very poorly to my request (even going as far as blocking me on Facebook)! They did send me paperwork, but never explained how to fill it out so it's collecting dust in my home somewhere. They have great training classes but use prong collars (which I am not against if used properly). I had a bad training experience one instance with their technique of stepping down on my dogs prong collar (clearly causing her audible pain) while giving the command until she did it (which she never did). Honestly, REALLY do your research before you pay as much money as all of us did only to find out our furbabies are predisposed to so many unhealthy and awful conditions. Don't let friendliness fool you. Check the facility out as thoroughly as you can and ask questions. My dog was their first litter, so maybe they'll clean up a little and change their "breeding" techniques for the better of the dogs AND the people taking care of them. It's shameful to feel so betrayed when I had a lot of hope for what I initially thought was a "gem" in Clovis. They proved me sorely wrong in that aspect. read more
