StoryofDante

Outlaw de Legeane

This is the story of a beautiful, happy puppy named Dante. In 2004, I purchased Dante from a well known kennel in Holland. I had purchased a female thru this same breeder although she was not bred by him. I was, and am, 100% happy with the female I bought thru him. She is a complete joy. So I felt confident that I would again be sent a wonderful puppy. And I was. Now, people who know me know that I don't generally like male dogs. But from the moment Dante stepped out of his crate after that very long trip from Europe, he stole my heart. He was everything I had dreamed of and I could envision a successful show career, beautiful babies and years of happiness. How little did I know.

Dante was your typical DDB baby, clumsy, endearing, funny, playful, bull in the china shop kinda dog. He slept on my bed until there was no room for us both so I moved a sofa into my room and that's where he slept. Many a night I was awaken by his slipping off the couch and crashing to the floor. And there were also below zero nights I had to crack a window to let out his less than fragrant emissions! Dante grew into an incredibly handsome young male. He moved across country with me from Pennsylvania to Colorado, impressing everyone he met with his gentleness and sweetness. Life was good....

One late summer evening after work while out in the yard playing with the dogs I noticed that Dante was behaving strangely...almost stumbling, disoriented...just not acting himself. The next morning he was not any better, not any worse, but I called the vet and made a 11:00 am appointment. While on the phone with the receptionist, my husband came running in telling me to come quick. Dante was in his crate having breakfast when all of the sudden he began seizing.

I immediately called the vet back and told them I was coming in right away. We got him into the back of the van and rushed the 15 minutes to the vet. They got him on IV's, pulled blood and began testing. While waiting, he had another seizure. Then another. The vet advised us to take him to CSU teaching hospital...one of the best vet schools in the country. The catheter was left in and I was given Valium to give should he have a seizure on the way. It was a 3 hours trip but I made it in 2. My husband cradled him in his arms the whole way.He did seize on the way so I pulled over to the side of the Interstate and gave him the Valium. It made little impact. When I got to the hospital, he was able to walk but just. I swear I had a different dog. He looked like he had lost 20 pounds.

After the consultation we decided to leave him in the care of the hospital to do every test possible to determine the cause of the seizures and the course of treatment. I returned home and began taking paint, dirt, plant samples. I took everything to the hospital to be tested. They did brain scans, spinal taps, head to toe x-rays, bloodwork, more scans, more bloodwork. After a week Dante came home with the diagnosis of idiopathic epilepsy (genetic). The worse possible thing. I was devastated. All my hopes and dreams...his life...everything had changed in 30 seconds.

The decision was made to medicate him with Potassium Bromide and Phenobarbital in an effort to control his seizures. It worked.....for a while. His seizures occurred about once a month and they were short in duration but at 15 months of age, Dante had a seizure from which he never came out of. With a body temp of 108 and a continuing seizure, the decision was made to humanely euthanize him. It was totally devastating but he was at peace.

The day after Dante had his first seizure that summer morning, I called his breeder in Holland. Both he and his wife were terribly saddened by the events. In follow up phone calls I kept them abreast of his condition and the final outcome of his diagnosis. I was assured that a replacement puppy was owed to me and that one would be sent with the next litter. Since I was told that, I have made several phone calls, too many e-mails to count were sent but each time I spoke to him I was told "the bitch didn't take.....or there was just one puppy", things to that effect. As for the e-mails, I have not received one reply.

There is absolutely NOTHING about Dante that I was not happy with. I asked for and received a wonderful puppy. I paid a show quality price in addition to almost $1000. to ship him plus the more than $4000. to the vet hospital and the $400. visit to the local vet when he first seized. In all, I am in debt almost $7000. I've not asked for, nor do I expect to be reimbursed for his hospital expenses. All I've asked for is a puppy just as nice as Dante to pick up the pieces with and continue on. It has been 2 years....more than long enough for the breeder to do that.

I don't write this to slander Dante's breeder in any way but perhaps after reading Dante's story he will be compelled to stand by his word and reputation.

Since the first draft of this story, I have spoken to Dante's breeder twice. It appears that because of statements told to him by 2 individuals that purchased a DDB puppy from me several years ago, he said that he is undecided whether or not he will replace Dante. I am having trouble with this because A: my business transaction with them several years ago has NOTHING to do with him, his breeding, his kennel...NOTHING. My business with them occurred long before I even knew of his existence. B: He apparently has been in contact with these individuals for some time now but has NEVER contacted me to inquire as to the truth of their statements. C: He is basing his decision whether or not to replace Dante based on what these 2 individuals tell him. In other words, he does not plan on replacing Dante and he does not have the balls to come right out and say it.

In a nutshell, the story is I bred a bitch to a male. We had 11 puppies. Several of them developed HD or ED or both.

My contract is for replacement only for puppies purchased as show prospects. I bought a bitch from a man in Holland via contact with Dante's breeder. I bought Dante with plans to show him, do his health checks then breed him to the bitch from Holland. Dante developed his problems therefore I have had no male to breed her to. So I have not replaced those puppies that I bred. Do I intend to? To the ones sold as show prospects, yes. To the other, NO! Why? First, because it was sold as a pet only. Second, because when she bought her puppy, she did not have payment in full but since there was a Specialty going on in my area and she had a friend showing in the Specialty coming back to her hometown, the puppy could be transported without shipping. So she sent me partial payment with 3 postdated checks and GUARANTEED that they would be good. When I deposited the second check, it came back STOP PAYMENT. Why? When I asked her she said that she had talked to other breeders and in their opinion I was asking too much for my puppies ($1200) so she did not feel obligated to pay. Then her puppy developed health issues and she used that as a further excuse. Had she completed payment for that puppy I would have considered reimbursing her somehow but since she never paid for the dog, I do not feel obligated to. The other puppies that were sold as show prospects WILL be replaced. The only reason that has not happened before now is because I have not had a male to breed my bitches to.

So that's it. The whole sordid story. You gotta love the way people hide behind the safety of a computer and because of a distance of thousands of miles, they make decisions based on half truths and out right lies.

Do I like the dogs that Dante's breeder produces? Yes. Would I like a replacement for Dante? Yes. Do I think I will get one? No. Would I recommend him as someone to buy from? No. I had (and I stress HAD) a great deal of respect for Dante's breeder. After it became known that I had bought Dante, several people approached me with misgivings.....many negative rumors were flying around however since he had always been honest with me, I defended him and remained confident in his ethics and honesty. I am sorry to say that I was wrong. In my phone conversation with him today, January 5, 2007, he has repeated that he is waiting on e-mails from those individuals and based on that he will make his decision whether or not to replace Dante. I still fail to see how one influences the other but I believe he is stonewalling. I believe he has no intention of honoring his word. I hope I am wrong.

UPDATE: Jan Dystra of de Legeane kennels in Holland has NO intentions of standing behind his breeding. Dante, my poor sweet boy that had grand mal seizures and had to be humanely euthanized came from de Legeane kennels. Despite Jan initial assurances that he would replace Dante, he has decided not to for his own reasons. I no longer consider Jan an ethical breeder as I once did.