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I do not know where to begin. So I will start here. My name is Shane and my wife's name was Beverly. But she passed away 4 months ago.
I purchase my beloved wife, Bev what I thought was a nice Papillon male puppy for what was going to be her last birthday. I spent $1800.00 for the little guy. He was cute after we bathed him. He came filthy to us and smelt like urine. He also had feces on him which he had bloody diarrhea badly. It was all over his crate. I just thought that he was stressed but that was not so. He came with Garardi which can destroy the puppy if not treated is what my vet said. So we treated him for 10 days the first time and 7 days the second time because it came back. My vet also discovered that he had mange and round worms. We had not owned a dog for quite some time. But Bev wanted to have a little Papillon. How do you deny someone their last wishes. The money I would have gladly paid over and over for a healthy puppy for my beloved wife.
I can not say that I have much good to say about her nor much use for her after what happened.
My beloved Bev died knowing that this little guy was sick too. What a sad state of mind she put us through. I tried to reach her many times to discuss this with her and emailed her several times too. Not once did I get a response from her until about a week after Bev died. She had no remorse then either nor would she replace the sick puppy. It did ruin the puppy's digest tract to holding down food. He is so skinny and my vet said that he probably will always be that way. We finely got him cured over the mange. Margie said that it was not due to anything she did that he got the mange and Garardi from us and on his flight to us. She would not refund our money nor reimburse any part of the vet bills. My vet disagreed about what she said. My vet said that the puppy already had Garardi when he came and the mange too due to the stage that he was at. This I could not believe to what I was hearing. What kind of person would do this? Especially to a dying beloved Bev.
Please Please anyone that reads my letter I hope that you do not buy a puppy from Margie Riccomini you are asking for disappointment and sorrow that is unreal.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Please visit [redacted] to get a little more information. This same report was posted in march over there. There seems to be something more going on here.
Did you mean Giardia?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giardia_lamblia
It's also know as "Beaver Fever" and the Giardia cysts are often found in streams and ponds where the water is not fit for human consumption. Therefore, I highly doubt that the puppy contracted it on an airplane. That breeder/kennel owner was a lying ###. Also, his inability to absorb food nutrients and gain weight was due to the Giardia. The parasites attach themseleves to the small intestine and start reproducing and colonizing. The digestive tract is then so severely infected that the body cannot properly digest the incoming food. It comes out as bile or watery, bloody diarrhea. Very unpleasant and painful :( There are loads more symptoms that your buddy had just from the Giardia.
I am very sorry for your terrible loss, Shane. Hopefully, never mind what religion says what, you will find eternal hapiness with her in the spirit world, when it is your time.
Shane,
This is such a sad story and I hope that this woman, Margie has replaced the puppy for you so that you can have some closure to your wife's wish for a papillon and that a healthy one has been placed with you.
I am familiar with Margie. She is not the warmest woman in the world and I own one of her dogs. The puppy was a runt and she is fine, but I can see Margie behaving the way you described her if things are not going her way.
At the very least, she should give you another dog and pay your vet bills after hurting you after your loss. Margie should be ashamed since she eulogizes her deceased husband on her website and one would think that she would share that pain at some level and do what is right.
Stick to your guns with her Shane. Get another dog and force her to pay the vet bills. The puppy didn't get sick during the flight and even if he did, the right thing is for her to make this right with you whatever it takes.
Shame on you Margie.
i am sorry this happened to you.
I had a really bad experience with Margie, send the puppie back, she wanted to send me another one with a hole in the fontanel which happens with small dogs sometimes. I called Cornel Veterinary University and they told me that they should never ship such a puppy by plane. All this happened in 2008 and could not get over it. I was so disgusted with her, she did not refund the money, just the plane. Anyway i saw the same puppy that i had first back on the website. That's what they do, sell it again, and get double the money.
Mine also came in a old carrier, smelly and dirty puppy, i was hard broken to put it back on the plane. It was not socialized, was frightened, snapped a couple of times at people. Typical puppy mill puppy.
I now have a healthy Papillon that i visited a few times before taking it home, met his parents, he is an angel, so outgoing and friendly.
I thank you all for your posts. I feel very relieved that I felt the need to dig deeper after Margie Riccomini from Monarch Kennels would not answer my requests for references from breeding or business associations that I could contact. I also repeatedly requested a picture of the puppy which would show the entire puppy instead of the ones shown on her site which were a head shot, and then two body shots that did not show the head face-on. All I wanted to do was to make sure I was buying the puppy that I thought I was. She kept saying the pic's posted were her most recent and then just not responding to my request for more. She kept pushing the contract and asking for it to be signed in her e-mail responses, but kept leaving out the answers to my repeated questions. She shows no references to any associations on her website which was also highly suspect. I know people can get really excited about such cute pictures and want to rush to make sure they get the puppy before someone else - I know I was! But I hope that anyone looking to buy a dog unseen over the internet, especially from another state considering the legal blocks when something goes wrong, will dig a little deeper. I felt that since her prices were higher and she kept boasting about the champions that are siring these dogs, that they were the best quality. She would do nothing more than send a picture of the two parents, even though I asked her for papers on the parents and the puppy. She seemed insulted and stopped answering my e-mails the more I asked for evidence to prove her claims. I thought I couldn't wait six months for the local breeder here in my state to have a litter, buy now I am so thankful that I will be able to buy a dog from an open and honest breeder, where I can drop in anytime I want to see the conditions and parents and spend time with the puppy before taking one home. I'm sure I will save, many times over, the price of the dog just by making sure I'm purchasing from a reputable breeder - not even considering the emotional pain. I also found reports on other websites such as [redacted].com. Whew! I feel like I dodged a lifetime of bullets!
She sent me a sick puppy 5 years ago. Not the pedigree we discussed and definitely not her breeding, Just a little girl that had been passed around from one breeder to another in her circle of friends. Of course her reply was send her back. Send a sick puppy back to a woman that doesn't care? Very sad. My girl died last week at age 5 due to genetic issues. Never trust this woman or believe anything she says.
I purchased a Newfoundland that was breed there. NEVER AGAIN! My poor pup is 14 months old now and is immune compromised for the rest of her life due to poor breeding and vaccines given at way too young an age in combinations and doses that are against the American veterinary practice recommendations. All because they wanted to get her out as quickly as possible to make a buck. I've now spent thousands of dollars on vet bills in an attempt to give my girl the life she deserves. It's so heartbreaking seeing my puppy suffer though, knowing that it was just because someone wanted to profit. I love my puppy to death and I wouldnt trade her for anything, but this has definitely been a learning experience for me and I will be screening breeders next time very carefully.
I would be very careful believing these stories about Margie she has an awesome reputation. Her paps and cavaliers have won many show awards. She doesn't breed Newfoundlands so can't trust that one for sure.
I wish that these reviews were available when we bought out papillon puppy, Rosie, from Margie back in 2008. My husband and I paid $1500 for what we thought was a healthy, happy papillon puppy. What we received was an incredibly skittish pup that has clearly been locked away in a crate and neglected. The dog had no socialization with people or other dogs. The dog clearly had never seen a toy before as she had no idea what to do with a ball, a king or any type of plush toy. But the icing on the cake was when we discovered the dog had two rows of teeth, like a shark. She was never given anything to chew to work out her baby teeth. The adult teeth grew in behind them. Rosie is now 9 years old and thankfully healthy aside from dental disease. Her persistent dental issues have costs us thousands of dollars over the years, as she requires dental cleanings every six months. Even with the dental cleanings, and nightly teeth brushing, many of her teeth have had to be removed as the disease affects the integrity of the jaw and gums. It saddens me to think that someone like Margie, who clearly has no vested interest in animal welfare is allowed to continue to breed and keep animals that rely on her for care. Please, if you are reading this and are looking for a papillon puppy, do not buy one from this woman.
I have a Rosie from Monarch also - Monarch's Ragtime Rosie - she turned 16 on Valentine's Day in 2021!
We purchased a boy in 2000. He was healthy happy and intelligent. He was a finished champion with a 5 point major. I showed him myself and trained him, he got his CGC with little work on my part. He died just a month ago at age 18. We will miss him forever and thank Margie for him. I am sad to say that she didn't help me with another female we purchased from her in 2002. A woman that wanted a "free" papillon was giving me a VERY hard time trying to take her away from me in 2008. I begged Margie to tell the woman I couldn't let her go to a new house, but the "woman" told Margie I was abusive and dirty. I had let the "woman" take Willow for a few days on what I called a vacation. She refused to let me have her back and Margie thought that was just fine. My heart was broken. I tried to be nice, never again!
I purchased a beautiful tri-colored cavalier from Margie 16 years ago and just had to put my angel down a few days ago. Carmen was a great dog and outlived her life expectancy. I am sad that such negative things are being said about Margie. I found her to be a decent and reputable breeder. I also purchased a Blenheim Cavalier from Margie and he lived to be 13 before he was put down and he was the love of my life. A great dog. Everyone's experience is different. I personally don't get any pleasure from making terrible comments about a woman who raised 13 children and sold me the two best dogs of my life. Thank you Margie. God Bless you and your beautiful family.
I have 22 years in all-breed rescue & 20+ years in AKC ethical breeding, member of clubs, etc. I bought a Papillon puppy from Monarch/Margie in 2002. My Pap lived 11+ years, all of which were healthy except for issue typical of toy breeds.
My perspective is the majority of the complaints above are written by pet people who have zero or little experience in dogs or dog breeding.
After 42+ years in dogs, here's my experience speaking:
1. Giardia is common in puppies, less common in adult dogs, not uncommon in "nervous" dogs of any age. Yes, this is a parasite and normally, good immune systems defeat this parasite. Young pups are still developing their immune system & vulnerable to this illness while young. Also, stress depresses the immune system, making it more vulnerable than normal. So a stressed puppy (e.g., a puppy being relocated is very stressful to the pup) is certainly very at risk for giardia (any breed). Any vet who tells you otherwise isn't a very experienced vet.
2. Like Giardia, it's common for puppies to have worms, esp round-worms. Typically in pups, this happens because the worms are transferred through the dam's breastmilk. This is so very common to all breeds, it's the reason breeders de-worm Dam & pups several times - and even then, it's tough to get the Dam or pup completely worm-free. Fecal exams are always inconclusive, always. Positive fecal exams mean the observer can see worm presence in the fecal matter. Negative fecal exams mean only the observer didn't see any worm presence although there still could be. Worms populate at high rate, so it's not uncommon to see a lot of worms present in fecal matter of a pup that hasn't been de-wormed in a couple of weeks. However, on the flip side, if a pup or its Dam hasn't been de-wormed, you'd see a huge swollen belly (full of worms) and I've encountered this in rescue literally thousands of times. So if the pup's belly size was "normal", having worms found in the fecal matter is not unusual in a pup and can be easily managed through inexpensive, over-the-counter meds (although a few sessions/rounds of the meds may be needed). This is also why ethical dog owners de-worm their dogs regularly (twice/year).
3. When pups are shipped via air, it's incredibly, incredibly stressful on the pup. Also, like the babies they are, young pups need to poop/pee often. So the pup arriving in a crate with urine & poop is the norm - and if your pup arrived w/out that, your pup was above the norm. Add in the typical puppy parasite factor and you've potentially got a very messy puppy upon arrival.
4. Like human babies, puppies need to be taught good manners. When the pup is separated from the pack at a young age, this goes against their ingrained nature and is an incredibly stressful event for them. We consider it normal. They consider it akin to being left alone in the wild forest untrained & unprotected from predators. Even the best of breeders cannot deliver a well-trained puppy at a very young age. This is entirely the responsibility of the pup's new family. Of course, this is not to say the breeder shouldn't have begun such training. I'm saying that training may not be readily noticeable to a pet person.
5. When you research your breeder, one of the first requisites about understanding the nature of the breeder you are buying from is to research and understand their relationship with the larger breed community. Good/ethical breeders belong to and participate in a larger dog-people community: always. If you buy from a breeder that doesn't participate in a larger dog-people community, then you're buying from someone who breeds irresponsibly and lacks breed knowledge - no matter what they tell you. You cannot breed ethically and responsibly and not integrate with others doing likewise. Once upon a time, I was more adamant about club membership. Today, my view is that club memberships are highly political and not indicative of good ethics. I know of many dog club members who have managed dogs and/or dog-people relationships with severe lack of ethics. However, ethical/responsible breeders will network with other ethical/responsible breeders regardless of club affiliation. Look for those relationships & you'll likely connect w/an ethical/responsible breeder. Also look to see how transparent that breeder is about dogs they've placed in other homes - that's a high indicator of how the breeder will treat you & the health of the dog you'll get.
6. When I purchased my Papillon from Margie, I thought she was a 'show breeder' and didn't follow-up to see what her affiliations actually were to other breeders/clubs. That was my fault. Regardless, I got a lovely female Papillon that had worms (typical of pups, as I said above) and who lived 11+ years with me as a wonderful companion. Would I buy again from Margie? Probably not - and because I embrace the value of my research (or lack thereof) as my own responsibility in the purchase process.
If you don't do your research well, don't blame the breeder for getting a sickly puppy. Blame yourself for your irresponsible purchase.
After you do your research to buy from a breeder, be committed to accept your own responsibility in the purchase.
Karma will take care of unethical breeders, although it often takes longer than I'd prefer.
Love your Papillon and do a better purchase process if you get another in future.
Did you mean: Did you mean: Did you mean: i bought a Papillon from Margie Riccomini in 2008. i am responsible to ever bought one for her. She uses her webpage with a story about her family to make you have pittie, all her children could be hers but why put them other site, her husband died, but you don't use that to buy a puppy, it'sinappropriate,no breeder does that, maybe puppy mill breeders.The puppy you see is not a guarantee that this is the puppy you buy, easy to make a picture with a puppy on your lap when you dont even the markings. mine is a sad story, she said that she was sending one from another breeder, and when it arrived it was all dirty and the kennel too. My vet was not there because of the weekend, i felt a big hole in the fontanel wich small d
For a puppie to fly. I called Cornell university. Anyway her kennel is not on googlr eath not even nearby. I will leave it at that, never got my mony back and did not want another one from her.
Dominique