We purchased a 9-month-old Bichon from Gary and Dawn in December 2025. This is easily the most exciting thing we have done for our family, primarily our children. Sadly, it has also become one of my biggest regrets. Do yourself a favor and use extreme caution when dealing with them.
1. We were told she was part of their "Stay N Train" program. She was not trained in the slightest. She is not potty trained. She does not understand basic commands. She is not leash trained. It was clear she had never been walked in her life. She was already 9 months old at that point.
2. Gary and Dawn said she was fully vaccinated. This was not true. She was not fully vaccinated or even close. We had to get her vaccinations caught up immediately.
3. She had never seen a vet. When we took her to the vet, they required a stool sample and to our surprise, she came back with a Giardia diagnosis. If you've ever had an animal with Giardia, you know how difficult it is to get rid of. If you don't know about Giardia, consider yourself very fortunate. It is a parasite common in puppy mills. Our vet even said they most likely gave her to us with Giardia because that was the most likely way she would have been infected. It took WEEKS of our life disinfecting, cleaning, rounds of antibiotics, loose stools, repeated stool samples to the vet to ensure our dog cleared the parasite. Absolute nightmare.
4. She had never been groomed properly and was matted.
5. I mentioned to Gary and Dawn that we traveled up north very frequently, which is a 3-hour trip. They told us their dogs traveled to California with them and did great, with no issues. She gets severe motion sickness in the car and vomits every time, without fail. I have had to request nausea medication from our vet.
6. Potty training is the biggest issue. We take her out all day long. She may or may not go potty outside; however, she will routinely urinate and defecate in the house. One of the reasons we decided on this particular dog was specifically because we were told she was potty trained. Keep in mind that we have a crawling baby in the home.
7. We hired a personal trainer to help us with some of the problems. He believed she was due to go into heat any day. Our vet also agreed, and we had to schedule a surgery to get her spayed immediately.
8. We were told she would be 10-12 lbs. full-grown. When we received her, she was already 15.5 lbs., even with a parasite infection. I had already ordered a car seat and other items for that size, which was completely inaccurate. Many items were too small and had to be returned and reordered.
There are so many other issues, but I have to believe most of these existed before she was turned over to us, and Gary and Dawn chose to sell her when they did. In my experience, they are not completely truthful and omit necessary information from their buyers. A dog is a major decision and potential buyers should be completely aware of any and all issues for the sake of the dog and the families who take them into their home with high hopes.
