We have updated the Verifiable Facts note section of the page. Thanks! F *****VERIFIABLE FACTS about Griffin Shepherd Kennels (GSK)***** . . Although GSK recently received a kennel license through the town of Hanson, they operated for 3 years in Hyannis without one. GSK holds no business license, nor is it a legitimate business registered through the state of MA. GSK has no Tax ID number either at the State or Federal level. GSK has been fined multiple times for building on protected wetlands in Hyannis and has refused, to date, to remove fencing of protected land. GSK still claims ownership/control of this property and is therefore still responsible. GSK HAS PENDING COMPLAINTS from the Town of Barnstable, the Attorney General’s Office of Consumer Affairs, as well as many other agencies GSK has provided no proof of liability insurance. Barnstable Animal Control has received multiple complaints of dogs barking, loose dogs, aggressive dogs, and pungent smell of feces and urine coming from the property - GSK is accused of harassing neighbors who complained in Hyannis. * * * * * * * * * * GSK ENGAGES IN POOR BREEDING PRACTICES: Dogs are not health checked/OFA certified before breeding. Dogs are not cleared by a Cardiologist, not any genetic diseases known to the breed tested for. Several Dams were bred in their first heat (as early as 8 months) and were bred back to back in heat cycles. Hannah was 10 months old when she was bred- too early for OFA on her hips. She was born 11-08-2012 and had her first litter 11-29-2013. Savannah was 8 months old when she was bred- too early for OFA on her hips. She was born 11-7-2011, had her first litter 9-21-2012. Her other litters were: 2/15/2013 – where she produced a puppy with Subaortic Stenosis, a genetic condition 9/25/2013 6/3/2014 Harmony has had 4 back to back litters, and produced a puppy that is a DM carrier. Her litters were: 4/11/12 11/29/12 5/6/13 11/20/13 Although Griffin (the lead sire) has been recently x-rayed for hips/joints, it was done after he was used to sire multiple (minimum of 17) litters. Jake, from Griffin, is now going to be used to sire litters without any testing done at all. (We believe Jake has already sired litters that have not been made public) Known genetic diseases such as DM, HD etc are not tested for as he claims. Claims breeding dogs and puppies are “health certified” with no actual testing done or documented in any known tracking database. At least one of the pups Griffin sired was tested with positive results for being a DM carrier. GSK has stated plans to line breed the dogs, and has made public breeding schedules that show brother/sister and father/daughter parings for breeding. GSK has multiple breeding dogs with the same name, some AKC registered and some not of the same name, and does not separate puppies of known litters. He sold one puppy with registration papers, then after the puppy was returned with a life-threatening heart defect claimed it was a puppy from a “stray” that had whelped at the same time, AFTER providing the buyer with AKC registration paperwork. Griffin Shepherd Kennels has not demonstrated a clear established method to ensure dogs are kept separate, or control which dogs are breeding together. * * * * * * * * * * GSK SOLD PUPPY INFO: Sick puppies have been returned, some have died. Just a few examples with documentation by the owners already available (we know of 14 pups total affected) ___1 puppy returned for severe genetic heart disorder presumed dead. ___1 died at 8 months old due to severe genetic heart disorder. ___1 puppy returned for severe kidney issues. ___1 puppy tested by the new owner was found positive for DM as a carrier. Several first-hand accounts and vet records provided show puppies severely underweight/small for their ages (3-5lbs at 8 weeks). Vet records also confirm puppies were infested with fleas and parasites at the time of the visit. Buyers report diseases such as Coccidia, Giardia, as well as severe infestations Tape and Round worms. Some buyers received no vet records, vaccinations records, or registration papers after purchase. GSK does not vaccinate for anything other than rabies, which is required by state law, including known diseases such as Parvovirus and Distemper, nor are puppies appropriately dewormed. * * * * * * * * * * GSKs BAD BUSINESS PRACTICES: Provides a very one sided contract to buyer, some buyers got NO contract. Non-refundable deposits are taken 3 years in advance with no contract, no mating pair determined, and no planned breeding made available. Has withheld papers from buyers, or used their dogs papers as leverage to get them to sign a non-disclosure agreement before releasing the paperwork to the new owners – See Notes section. Buyers who returned puppies were promised full refunds but have never received any repayment. Has operated unlicensed businesses under 3 different names,( Guys Labradors, Griffin Shepherd Kennels, and Good Shepherd Training), in less than 2 years. None of these past businesses were registered with the state as a legitimate business, or any tax ID numbers. There are active/pending complaints filed with the Massachusetts Attorney Generals office. According to the AGs office Mr. DeOliviera has blocked all of his numbers so they can not contact him by phone. Suits have and are being filed in small claims courts. Mr. DeOliviera has blamed buyers for his animal’s poor health and has gone so far as to post their addresses and personal information on his Facebook page without their consent. Has multiple “business partners’ such as Deb Crowley (Bad Breeder of Rockland) massachusettscriminaldefenseattorneyblog/2011/08/five-arrested-in-rockland-mass.html and Eva Sonia Berg who still has warrants for her arrest for animal cruelty. https://wcca.wicourts.gov/caseDetails.do;jsessionid=EDCBB7968BFADA199CE18DBEDF934A2B.render6?caseNo=2013CM000094&countyNo=68&cacheId=0FF12926BAA952481F096DEAD77174F6&recordCount=6&offset=1&mode=details&submit=View+Case+Details These are the type of people he associates with, and considers not only his mentors but also his partners. Has repeatedly ridiculed and blocked injured buyers from contacting him. Once they are blocked from commenting, he and his inner circle publicly shame and lie about any buyers who dare speak out about their experiences. Promised to reimburse multiple buyers but has yet to repay them for their purchase price for sick puppies. Some have waited well over a year with no resolution. To date owes injured buyers over $17,000 that has yet to be repaid. Has received sick pups back from buyers, and then resold the pups without reimbursing the initial buyer, and without disclosing the health issues to the secondary buyer. No veterinary care was provided for the sick pups prior to being resold; health records were withheld from the secondary buyer after they found out their pup had been returned due to health issues previously. Has been raided by local police and animal control officers at least once. Has also had MSPCA called against him. * * * * * * * * * * GSKs POOR FEEDING PRACTICES: Dogs have been fed fresh road kill as well as the goats he raises on the property. This can lead to internal parasites especially when not vaccinated. Unprocessed meat/carcasses containing all forms of parasites have been fed to pups as young as 5 weeks old. Although GSK claims to raw feed using a “whole prey model”, most whole prey model raw advocates do not agree with throwing a full animal, without processing and decontaminating the meat prior to feeding. Whole carcasses are fed where the dogs have defecated and urinated, without cleaning/decontaminating the area prior to feeding, which introduces more bacteria that can cause extreme health issues. Feeding whole carcasses causes some to get more than they need, while other dogs are left to scavenge in a pack setting. This prohibits all dogs from receiving a balanced diet, and could explain why some dogs appear healthy while others are extremely thin. * The dog community is fine with raw feeding when done properly. Please freeze meat for at least 4 weeks to make sure it is free of parasites before feeding it. * * * * * * * * * * GSKs POOR GENERAL CARE OF THE DOGS: Allows dogs to fight, and has put new mothers in with a large pack to get beaten up. Allows Griffin to attack younger dogs unchecked for publicity. Brings other females into whelping rooms where moms with new pups are housed, creating stress on the pups and mothers. Allows other animals such as cats, strange dogs to invade a whelping mothers space. Also, puts very young puppies in a pack setting causing stress to the pups and mother. Claims his dogs all live in the house as family but has multiple pictures of stacked crates in the home in Hyannis, many without even the barrier on the bottom for safety, and multiple dogs housed in one crate. Videos available of the Labradors he bred previously also show dogs kept in unsafe conditions, in crates without a safety barrier or any type of bedding in a cold unfinished basement. No food or water was available in any crates shown in the videos. * * * * * * * * * * GSKs FACEBOOK PAGE: Facebook is where GSK does their advertising to sell the puppies bred and to sell other dogs from other breeder under the guise of Rescue and Adoption. He purposely misrepresents his breeding enterprise as a rescue enterprise to garner more clients and followers. GSK will not answer questions and removes any negative questions/comments. Anyone disagreeing with him or asking legitimate questions is viciously attacked before being blocked and banned. Pulled Facebook page down immediately after raid by local law officials, including Animal Control. Put page back up after removing any condemning posts/videos/pics - nearly all posts made in the year 2012 were removed. GSK uses their page and Mr. DeOliviera’s personal page to bash people who have paid as much as $3000 for a sick pup. Mr. DeOliviera has blamed buyers for the puppy’s poor health on his Facebook page and has gone so far as to post their addresses and other personal info. He has engaged his followers to harass disgruntled buyers and people who criticize his practices. He has also engaged his “followers” to harass legitimate breeders who provide industry standards that he does not follow. * * * * * * * * * * GSK TRAINING CLAIMS: There are many training videos on YouTube. Close observation show many electronic devices being used such as electric collars and bark collars. Many videos show the dogs with their ears down and their tails between their legs as they are obeying. Although GSK has claimed not to use these devices in his advertising, they are clear to see in most videos. Videos show dogs yelping suddenly if they show interest in anything. He has claimed publicly to use prong collars are very young pups prior to 8 weeks old as an early training tool. Claims to be a certified Service Dog trainer but fails to show any certification. GSK is not associated with any known GSD groups, titling groups, or show groups. Mr. DeOliviera has never studied under anyone with proven methods and results. Claims to be a trainer/breeder of German Shepherds for 8+ years (some places he claims 8 yrs experience but in several news articles he has claimed more than 10 years) even though he is only 23 and has only had the breed for approximately 2-3 years. * * * * * * * * * * GSKs OTHER MISC. FACTS: Originally claimed to be born in Brazil when, in fact, he was born in the USA – personal accounts show him attending school in the U.S. for the majority of his childhood. gskennels/about-us. Has “rescued” dogs to use for breeding or to turn a profit - and paid substantial amounts for those rescues from known breeders. Has obtained animals under false pretenses on craigslist, claiming to give them a good home when in fact they are used as food for the pack. Although homesteading is a growing movement, acquiring animals under false pretenses and lying about it shows a lack of ethical behavior. Claims to have a 3 year waiting list but advertises puppies for sale constantly on various dog sites, as well as sits such as Craigslist and other unrelated animal sites.
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 17:34:49 +0000
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