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the latest (ad)ventures of Richard Swafford


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Just noticed that Richard Swafford is branching out. In addition to his puppy-selling business, he is now selling pregnant bitches and breeding pairs ( http://www.allaroundbordercollies.com/females4sale.html ), and also "gladly accepts and appreciates donations" in his alternate identity as Border Collie Rescue of Middle Tennessee ( http://www.bordercollierescueofmiddletennessee.com/ ), all at the same location.

 

ETA: Oops, I see there was already a thread on Border Collie Rescue of Middle Tennessee several weeks ago that I must have missed. Maybe we should post one every three months for the sake of newcomers. Note, newcomers, this is not an endorsement. It is the furthest thing from an endorsement.

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While we're having our puke-fest, I submit this blurb from the "success stories" part of the website:

 

We got "Tootsie"/Two-toes... from you back in January! And I thought you might like to see what a gorgeous dog she has turned into!!! I'm so in love with that girl!!!! Her paw doesn't really stop her from doing anything! She has a few "fearful" issues over some weird things... or new things... still... but we work with her all the time. She is very obedient and wanting to please... and we couldn't be happier!!

 

I doubt this "adopter" of a "rescue" puppy with a deformity realizes that Swafford bred this pup himself. I am fairly certain it is the same young female he showed me last November, brushing off her deformity as no big deal all while stating he'd cut me a deal on her price and reminding me of the exact mileage to the closest ATM. :rolleyes: And don't get me started on how he apparently thinks antifreeze jugs are appropriate dog toys since he uses them for impromptu games of fetch. :D

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Allow me to join the puking fest also. That is horrible. I missed the earlier thread too.

 

Several venues, including AKC, will not allow a deaf dog to compete

Actually it is fine for deaf dogs to compete in muliple organizations, so it is possible. And if trained properly, safe for them to do so. I know several deaf dogs that compete at the elite level and love what they do. Of course this is NOT defending that person.

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And the worst part is that is is scum sucking pigs (no offense to pigs) like this that are the reason people push for breeder legislation and breeding limits.

I loathe how him and Mary Ann Harrison of Wildrose or Cherokee Rose or American Beauty (whatever is this week's variation) wrap themselves in the Flag.

 

Eileen, what can you share about the International Border Collie Association? If someone like Harrison can be a "proud lifetime member" does this give an indication of the overall integrity of the organization?

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I think this guy made/formed that group

 

And the worst part is that is is scum sucking pigs (no offense to pigs) like this that are the reason people push for breeder legislation and breeding limits.

I loathe how him and Mary Ann Harrison of Wildrose or Cherokee Rose or American Beauty (whatever is this week's variation) wrap themselves in the Flag.

 

Eileen, what can you share about the International Border Collie Association? If someone like Harrison can be a "proud lifetime member" does this give an indication of the overall integrity of the organization?

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Diane, I certainly cannot speak to all the dogs on the "rescue" part of the site being ones Swafford has produced, but I strongly suspect most of them are. Some of the pics listed as rescues there look extremely similar to ones that have previously appeared on the breeder part of his site. Also, as I mentioned above, he showed me a female puppy that he had produced and that was missing toes and then, a couple of months later, "adopted" a female puppy missing toes out as a "rescue." That situation, specifically, seems too close to be a coincidence. When I visited his operation, it was in response to an ad he'd placed for "free" BCs, and he gave me a big story about how he was a rescuer who helped out people who could no longer keep their dogs. However, all the dogs he steered me toward were ones he had produced, with starting prices around $400.

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That is horrible. Who does that? You don't just raise all these females so you can breed them to random other dogs. And why does he have so many available, and so many available that he is trying to sell bred! Breeding is a really big decision. And I doubt any responsible breeders would want a dog from him. Sorry that shocked me, I wasn't expecting that when I clicked on the link. What a jerk.

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Ugh ugh ugh

 

I SELL and SHIP puppies every week ALL OVER THE USA.. It is much less stressful on the puppies to travel by truck than by plane. I provide the crates, newspaper, gloves, food and water for the drivers to take care of the pups. They generally only need their kennel paper changed.

 

I advertise in about 12 major newspapers and SHIP ANYWHERE that the buyer lives.

 

Ugh

 

RDM

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It is just too bad (I know the legal implications) that we can't have a "Do not get a dog from these "lower extremity orifices" sticky page.

I can only hope there is a special place in Hell waiting for these types of lowlifes.

I can't even put into words how disgusting I feel about people slime dwelling bacteria like him and the many others like him regardless of breed.

And I can't help but wonder that if by rescuing some of the unfortunate results of these peoples humanoid organisms we become enablers for them to continue their parasitic feeding on an unknowing public.

I know it is not the dog's fault that they were brought into the world by morons whose shoe size is greater than their collective IQ and the dog I am probably picking up Sunday could be a prime example, but what do we do?

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And I can't help but wonder that if by rescuing some of the unfortunate results of these peoples humanoid organisms we become enablers for them to continue their parasitic feeding on an unknowing public.

I know it is not the dog's fault that they were brought into the world by morons whose shoe size is greater than their collective IQ and the dog I am probably picking up Sunday could be a prime example, but what do we do?

 

What does that mean? Who is "rescuing" dogs directly from Mr. Swafford?

 

When a dog comes into my rescue, I don't admit it based on who bred it in the first place. I don't get the dogs from the breeders, I get them from their owners (or from shelters or from the street).

 

It would be nice if breeders took their dogs back, but it by no means is a regular occurrence, unfortunately. And it's not because they are puppymillers either. In fact, breeders from these very boards have in past discussions expressed annoyance at the notion that the pups they bring into this world should be considered their responsibility and are firm on the belief that the buyer is responsible, not them. Their responsibility ends when they sell the dog, allegedly. So taking back dogs is apparently not the sign of a reputable breeder.

 

It would be nice, also, if no one BOUGHT Swafford's dogs, as then he'd stop breeding them surely. I'd say his buyers are enabling him, not rescuers who get them second or third hand.

 

Or maybe I just misunderstood what you were saying?

 

Anyway, as experience has told us, when you tell newbies that they are buying their pretty merle agility puppies from discredited, disingenuous or despicable breeders they flounce out in a huff because they don't like what they are hearing. It's a miserable, depressing cycle.

 

RDM

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I think he meant he may be adopting a dog that came from this type of breeder originally- I may be wrong. But Gary the dog you pick up on Sunday will be perfect because your IQ is bigger than your shoe size and you love your dogs. I live in Missouri- so idiot breeders like this are everywhere. We have one large pet store chain and in a matter of weeks will have another selling "pedigreed puppies." It makes me want to throw rocks. I don't know what to do other than tell everyone I know why this is wrong, why you don't buy dogs from the paper, or the internet, or the side of the road. The problem I find is that most people don't get it. They just don't. They don't see the difference between buying and adopting in the first place, and even if they do, they don't "want a dog with problems." They think every breeder breeds because they love dogs. It's just a very difficult subject when so many people are so woefully uneducated, and so many others are out taking advantage of that.

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It is just too bad (I know the legal implications) that we can't have a "Do not get a dog from these "lower extremity orifices" sticky page.

 

Legal implications??? Isn't it illegal to mislead the public? We all know for a fact, the Shannon dog is NOT deaf because of the color of her ears (or lack of)!! She's deaf because the idiot bred two merles together!

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RDM,

Like AKB said. Sorry I worded it poorly.

J.Q. Public gets a dog from slimy breeder and it does not work out. Of course slimy breeder is not going to take the dog back, so J.Q. turns the dog over to the pound, a rescue, whatever and then having learned nothing goes on to next slimy breeder with different (or same) breed and repeats process.

Rescues handle his "trash" (speaking only metaphorically) and he keeps churning it out.

That is why I wish there was some way to force some sort of post transaction commitment or something on these slugs.

But there isn't so we keep on doing what we have been doing and continue to hope for the best for the dogs and a slow and insidious illness for the breeder.

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In fact, breeders from these very boards have in past discussions expressed annoyance at the notion that the pups they bring into this world should be considered their responsibility and are firm on the belief that the buyer is responsible, not them. Their responsibility ends when they sell the dog, allegedly.

 

You know, I understand what you're saying here, and in a sense you're right. Some breeders and others on these Boards, including me, have disagreed with the notion that the breeder is responsible for pups they've produced after they've sold them. I think it's an odd notion, and I can't think of another instance where responsibility is considered to remain with the seller after someone else has assumed ownership and control of the animal (or whatever).

 

But I can't remember anyone on these Boards ever saying that they would not take back a dog they'd bred, and many (including me) have said that we would in every case. I would do it not because it's supposedly the requirement of a responsible breeder, but because I wouldn't want to not do it, if you see what I mean -- I would not want to think of a pup I'd bred in a shelter, or a bad home, or homeless, or euthanized. Hell, I've taken back the pups of other breeders when they weren't in a position to do so.

 

Whether you agree or disagree on the responsibility of a breeder to take back all his/her pups when a buyer doesn't want them anymore, I think unwillingness to take back pups has nothing to do with what makes someone like Swafford a bad breeder, and I didn't understand Gary to be raising that issue at all. There are plenty of bad breeders who take back pups; they sell them again (perhaps at a discount), breed them, or kill them if they can't do either one.

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Actually for a real POS like Swafford, the worst thing that could happen to the poor dogs, apart from having been bred because of him in the first place, is to have them go back to the septic tank he calls his kennel.

I would not wish that on any animal.

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