TORONTO – Wendy Fox and her children say they feel cheated after a bulldog puppy they bought from a broker last October developed health problems.
“She went from playing around with the other dogs to laying on the floor and she was vomiting white phlegm,” said Fox.
The York, Ontario mother purchased the 12-week-old female bulldog named Charlie for $1400 from Canada Bulldogs.
The Fox family heard of the company through Kijiji, checked out its website and thought it looked good.
But a month later, the Fox family started to notice that Charlie was getting ill and a veterinarian confirmed she was diagnosed with an enlarged esophagus, narrow nostrils, a soft palette, and swollen lymph nodes on her legs.
Global News has learned they are not the only ones who say they have purchased unhealthy bulldogs from the same company.
A family in Calgary had a similar issue with their puppy they bought in December 2011.
Stacey, who did not want to reveal her last name, purchased their dog Georgia from Perfect Bulldog Puppies (PBP), a company affiliated with Canada Bulldogs, and noticed problems within four hours of bringing her home.
“She went pee about 40 times in the first four hours so I figured she had a bladder infection, and she had diarrhea really bad, her belly was really bloated,” she said.
Global News discovered that PBP, a business that currently no longer exists, was the same company as Canada Bulldogs and both are considered brokers, not breeders.
A quick search on the internet shows a picture of some unhappy owners, several upset over what they say were unknown hidden health conditions of the animals at the time of purchase.
“I was horrified, I don’t know if I’m naive but I didn’t think people would in good conscience breed any animals, knowing they had any genetic defects,” said Fox.
Former employee with Perfect Bulldog Puppies
A woman who used to work for Perfect Bulldog Puppies said the Fox family’s situation is not unique and claims some of the animals being sold were in fact sick.
“When I started to work in Toronto, that’s when I realized that they were all really sick and there were too many for him just breeding on his own,” explained the former employee who did not want to reveal her name.
She alleges the bulldogs were housed in a basement with no light with crates lined up one after another.
“The dogs are in a metre by a metre so it’s quite small and there’s five in each pen and they’re not allowed outside,” she said.
The Ontario SPCA however only received one complaint about the Richmond Hill address. They investigated but found nothing wrong and that the puppies had adequate food and shelter.
The former employee said the puppies’ parents were from Ukraine but was instructed to tell potential buyers they were from Montreal instead.
The woman alleges the owner has brokers in every province except Newfoundland and sold bulldogs from between $1400 to $2000 each.
“In my duration of time selling for him in Toronto…I probably sold about 50 puppies in four months and that’s only in Toronto,” she said.
Response from the owner of Canada Bulldogs
Global News contacted the owner of Canada Bulldogs by telephone, Dmitry Kaledin, who insists the dogs they sell are healthy.
“Not even once that happened…that we have not responded to the person that comes to us with a problem that fell into the guarantee,” Kaledin said.
The company policy states that bulldog owners are required to sign a health guarantee at the time of purchase.
“People are asking to pay the bills for the dogs that are sick regardless of whether it was sick of genetics or something and then obviously we say I’m sorry,” said Kaledin. “We have nothing to do with this problem. You bought a dog. It got sick. That is natural.”
Kaledin also explained why buyers are not allowed to see the puppies’ parents on site.
“We don’t have a puppy mill or place, certain particular place that we do all our breeding. We have a partnership with people that sell our puppies. Few around Canada…I wouldn’t go into a particular number.”
Kaledin also confirmed that he changed the name of PBP to Canada Bulldogs.
“We made the re-branding. I thought Canada Bulldogs sounds better in Canada. There is some correlation between the name and the country we’re proudly doing our business.”
Perfect Bulldog Puppies can be found on the Canadian Better Business Bureau’s website and has not received any complaints as they have not received accreditation.
The company needs to apply to the BBB to be accredited and they may not have done so.
The breeder is listed as operating from a residence in Richmond Hill, Ontario, a town just north of Toronto.
Bulldogs in high demand
According to the Canadian Kennel Club, the bulldog is one of the top 10 breeds in Canada.
But breeding experts say potential buyers sometimes misjudge the character of the seller due to the allure of owning one of these highly coveted pets.
“It’s not a breed that you can just jump into and take lightly, you have to do your homework, you have to do your research,” said Mark Berryman, president of the Bulldog Club of Central Canada.
In the Fox family’s case, Berryman explains it’s not normal for bulldogs to have the health issues such as Charlie’s, but it could still happen under certain conditions.
“If they both have poor genetic traits, if you breed mom and dad together, dog ‘X’ and dog ‘Y’ both have a common health issue, it is possible and likely that they will produce sick puppy ‘X’,” Berryman said.
Exercise caution when buying from brokers
The Ontario SPCA says it’s quite common to have brokers all across the province and even in Canada selling dogs on behalf of breeders. The key is to acknowledge the living conditions of the animals and to be vigilant about the character of the dealer.
“Can I see the parents of the pups, can I see where they get housed?” said agent Brad Dewar of the OSPCA. “If a breeder doesn’t want to show you those kinds of things it should spark a red flag.”
“If you feel sorry for the pup and you do purchase the pup, ultimately you are enabling this practice to continue and if you end up with one that is sick or ill, the responsibility falls on you now as the owner.”
As for the Fox family, they went public with their story with the hope that somehow this will lead to a change in the way dogs are bred and sold in Canada.
“I never heard of brokers before. I didn’t even realize that even happened,” said Fox. “I definitely wouldn’t have purchased from them if I had known what I know now,” said Fox.
For more information about the bulldog breed and advice to potential buyers, Global News has compiled a quick list of online resources below:
Tips from the OSPCA on purchasing dogs online
American Kennel Club – Bulldog Page
Americn Kennel Club – About Buying a Dog
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