We purchased a female puppy from VON RUELMANN ROTTWEILERS in April 1999. This was from a litter sired by CH. Othello Vom Hause Neubrand with Quielle Van Het Falconsnest as the dam.
We were told that the first pick of the litter was $3,000.00 and we decided to purchase this puppy. We spoke in great length about what we wanted out of this dog. Bob Bolognesi assured us this would be a show and breeding quality dog, in fact Mr. Bolognesi's words were "Top Quality Show Dog". We were left to make a decision, we selected a pup and at that time I mentioned to Susie that the eyes were light, and she said " they will darken up" I know that when puppies are little the eyes change, however a breeder knows his lines and what they produce, we should have been warned light eyes might be a problem. We should have had that information before purchasing the dog.
Tarene at 8 months (our first correspondence in regards to the color of
her eyes-apparently it wasn't clear enough what color they were.)
As you can see from the posted picture of Von Ruelmann's Tarene, this is far from what we were told we would get.
Tarene at 13 months (it has become clear to us at this point that her eyes
will not change.)
The eyes on this dog alone will cost her any placing in the show and of course she should never be bred. We have posted her pedigree so every one can be aware of what can come from this pair. A written critique from Mr. R.E. Beckwith a licensed AKC judge is posted, she received a P rating which is Poor (no certificate). We also have posted a letter from Mrs. M Robertson who is a licensed AKC and CAC judge. Mrs Robertson took the time to go over this dog and evaluate her. We felt more opinions would be needed. We also have a copy of an e-mail from a licensed FCI rottweiler specialty judge from The Netherlands, we e-mailed her a picture of Von Ruelmann's Tarene, this is what she said " I have seen the picture of your female rottweiler, by e-mail. For as I could see on an e-mail picture the colour of her eyes are very light. According to my colourset she will have a number 5 for her eyes that means that I as a FCI-judge should have to disqualifie this female rottweiler because of her eyes". This e-mail is also posted.
Subject: rottweilerbitch
Date: Thu, 9 Dec 1999 23:06:43 +0100
From:"hetje"@.com
To: mak@nwlink.com
Dear Janene,
Sorry for waiting you so long but I was very bussy.
I have seen the picture of your female Rottweiler,by E-mail.
For as I could see on an e-mail picture the colour of her eyes
are very light.
According to my colourset she will have a number 5 for her eyes
that means that I as a FCI-judge should have to disqualifie this
female Rottweiler because of her eyes. Even when her eyes should
become a little darker in future,what I think will never
happen,with this colour she will never have an excellent on a
show.
I hope this wil be enough to know for you, i hope everything
with you, the family and the dogs are ok.
give my special love to Donar,
Love,Hetje Lashley
Bob Bolognesi's contract is posted and all the e-mail he sent us regarding this issue. You will notice in one e-mail a statement that I found extremely amusing and I quote "The conditions of my contract are very clear. What color are the eyes? Do you have an eye chart it is very important for a breeder to have one". I don't have an eye color chart, however I don't breed anything with yellow eyes that requires a chart to determine if they are disqualifying. According to the standard yellow eyes are disqualifying. I breed for dark brown eyes.
Subject: Re: tarene
Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 13:46:30 EST
From: Euro1rotts@aol.com
To: mak@nwlink.com
Mike
The conditions of my contract are very clear. What color are the eyes? Do you
have an eye chart it is very important for a breeder to have one.You said
the dog is not of breeding or show quality Why? What are the disqualifing
faults? Please list them for me.Was the dog disqualified by an FCI judge or
in the AKC show ring. Mike i can tell you now before we go further here that
i am going to follow my contract that you signed and agreed to refer to page
3 of your contract please send me proof of the disqualification .
Bob
Von Ruelmann Rottweilers Inc.
Subject: Re: tarene
Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 21:20:27 EST
From: Euro1rotts@aol.com
To: mak@nwlink.com
Mystic Acres Kennels
First of all you sent a copy of a picture that I cannot see anything in.
Secondly please read page 3 of my contract very closely. A current FCI
licenced judge must disqualify the dog or it must be disqualified in an AKC
show not an IABKC show with an AKC judge I do not recognize them in my
contract.I am not making it difficult for you I am only following my
contract that you signed and agreed to.
Bob
Subject: Re: tarene
Date: Wed, 10 Nov 1999 01:01:12 EST
From: Euro1rotts@aol.com
To: mak@nwlink.com
If this puppy has such light eyes it should be no problem for it to be
disqualified. I thinki my contract is very clear disqualified by the AKC
show ring or by an
FCI licenced judge at a show since a judge can only disqualify a dog he is
judging. I don't see the problem enter the dog in an AKC show or enter him in
a show with a
current licenced FCI judge judging and provide me with proof of the puppie's
disqualification.and we will replace the puppy as per the conditions of my
contract.
Bob
Subject: Re: (no subject)
Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2000 11:24:21 EST
From: Euro1rotts@aol.com
To: mak@nwlink.com
At this moment I would like you to keep this puppy for a little bit longer we
would like to give her every chance to turn out it is very possible for the
eye color to darken considerable with age that has been my experience if a
replacement is called for you can be assured that we will replace her. This
is my decision at this moment and is not open to discussion or debate.If 6
months from now this dogs eye color has not improved and is not snowball a
replacement will be given as per my contract.
Bob
Subject: Re: Tarene
Date: Mon, 6 Mar 2000 14:09:37 EST
From: Euro1rotts@aol.com
To: mak@nwlink.com
Response to your email
Points of Fact
1) You purchased Tarene with a BAD CHECK( INSUFICENT FUNDS ) Of which we have
copies of and should have been a red flag to us about your ethics and
business practices from the beginning.
2)Your puppy received the rating of P in a show which is not
disqualifing.Which I have a copy of.The critique indicates on it shy and
skiddish which also indicates your abuse of the puppy and lack of
socialization. Read pg 2 of your contract.?????
3) Tosk was Vrated at a national show with an FCI judge and then shown by
you 2 days after getting the dog with a rating of V( Excellent) and entered
under a different name other than his.????? No agreement was ever made with
you to give you a refund on him but we did anyway and within a matter of a
few days.All of which we have documents to support.
4) Personally If I had known your background with AKC we would never have
done any business with you to begin with.
YOU ARE NOT ENTITLED TO A REPLACEMENT AND WE HAVE DOCUMENTS TO SUPPORT IT !!!!
Furthermore any slander or libelous statements directed at us or our kennel
over the internet or anywhere else will result in legal action taken by us
against you. Your last email was fowarded to our attorney We will be watching
your site closely.
Bob Bolognesi
Von Ruelmann Rottweilers Inc.
We also contacted Mr. Bolognesi to find us an outstanding specimen of the breed, male imported from Europe. He sent us several pictures and some very impressive price tags, $22,000 to $29,000 dollars, the problem was, if the dog got here and we didn't like him, too bad. Bolognesi would try to resell the dog for us, at a cost to us I am sure. Then he sent us a picture of a male that seemed impressive. We were told that we could get this dog for $12,000.00 and he was a top winner in Europe according to B. Bolognesi. We agreed to have the dog sent to us with the stipulation that if we didn't like the dog or if he had faults we would send him back. That was agreed upon. We were under the impression the dog was in Europe and was being shown. That was not the case, the dog was in California. Had we known this, we would have gone to see the dog prior to purchase. The dog arrived and he was certainly not what we expected. We had and AKC judge go over the dog and these are some of the faults, he had a PINK MOUTH, and he moved very poorly coming and going (egg beater type), his head was a little small. He was an ok dog but not worthy of a $12,000.00 price tag in our opinion. We did get our money back and were informed by Mr. Bolognesi that he couldn't find us a dog if we didn't like this one. We were unreal in what we wanted for that price.
We did get a dog, we went to Holland and brought home our wonderful boy Max, and our upcoming star Xultan. We saw a truly wonderful male dog from Falconsnest kennels that was VERY impressive and we would have loved to have, but we decided to wait for another time. We would have purchased this dog but we had already purchased two males. We however are looking forward to our next visit with Falconsnest kennels.
We feel it is important to let people be aware of what is happening out there in the dog world. If there is a breeder not doing his or her job, let the world know about it. Rottweilers are having enough trouble with adverse reputations they don't deserve, so let's get these breeders to stand behind what they breed. Things happen, we all know that, but stand behind your breedings and make things right.
