Fox Creek Kennel

Edited/​updated 05÷09÷16:
My mother flew from FL to Raleigh, NC to get our Westie. The breeders were friendly and very responsive to every missive and question, and went so far as to meet my mother at the airport to exchange $$$ for puppy. All in all, it was a great buying experience.
Our Westie has a beautiful face and a family-​friendly, utterly delightful personality. She plays really well with other dogs that are willing to play but boy if a dog snaps or snarls at her then they’ve got an enemy for life – the darn thing never seems to forget who was mean to her! :)
Bred out of NOTA and ANDY with limited registration (meaning she is to be a *pet only* and not to be bred), she is a wonderful pet. She did not have «life threatening congenital defects​» in the first year as stipulated in the warranty but she sure started to have issues around 18 months.
*She has «PATELLA LUXATING BILATERAL” – worst on the left. Our vet indicates that this is a GENETIC PROBLEM.
*She also has an extremely thin coat – not at all like most Westies.
*Her allergies are pretty bad (common to Westies but supposedly not to the puppies from this breeder). She is and has always been on Hills Ideal Grain Free Lamb and Salmon dog food with no table scraps, but she has developed allergies that are so bad so as to make her so itchy and scratchy that she licked her lower legs BALD this past winter. [Edit 05÷09÷16: As noted by the breeder in their response, one cannot tell – ever – what will cause allergic reactions since environment and genetic flukes can have unforeseen results. Our dog is on allergy meds, which seem to help, and while I can not blame the breeder for things beyond their control I still felt that her allergies – because of their severity – should be noted here in the review]
Our Westie has always been seen by AAHA veterinarians and as of now (she is now 2 years 3 months) will need bilateral surgery on her patellas (kneecaps) this summer to prevent further damage – i.e. premature arthritis – to her hind quarters.
When problems began to arise, we notified the breeders multiple times [via email] but have had almost no replies from them. I guess once the year goes by, they could care less.
Sending our pet back to the breeder to be put down [EDIT 05÷09÷16: my POOR ASSUMPTION – apparently incorrect according to the breeder… my apologies. Breeders seem to take dogs back rather than issue refunds – this seems like a huge deterrent to customers filing complaints…] as a «defective» Westie is obviously not an option as she immediately became a beloved member of our family. BUT if you are paying top dollar for a top quality Westie – meaning you are paying for true-​to-​breed qualities with no skin issues and no other genetic problems – you definitely should [EDIT 05÷09÷16: may want to] consider shopping elsewhere.
EDIT 05÷09÷16:
The breeder heard that they received a negative Unilocal review, and sent us an email response. They said that email is not a «preferred method» of communication and that emails sometimes don’t even go through because their satellite service is flaky in their rural area. I totally understand flaky service, but if the norm is losing emails, please consider exploring IMAP settings as opposed to POP3 for email so that the email messages remain on the cloud server for whenever your satellite service does work.
In my own experience, I have learned to always put my complaints/​concerns (and the responses to said complaints) to vendors/​sellers *in writing.* I feel there is more clarity to the issue, and makes addressing the bullet points of complaint easier. On the flip side, it makes processing the response to the bullet points easier as well.
I’ve upped my review from a 1 star to a 2 star and toned down the volume of my discontent in the wording above for the mere reason that the breeder responded. They made some good points (noted above it my edits) and some suggestions that would have been helpful if received in a more timely manner – meaning when we first wanted to address them.
We will try the suggestions and update the review again if results are favorable.
Email may not be the «preferred method» of contact for this seller, but in this day and age of technology and the need to CYA, handling complaints in writing – as opposed to verbally over the phone – is a much better way to address the concerns of your customers.

Rude, condescending jerks. While the breeds that Foxcreek sells are desirable, there are more friendly kennels to deal with. If they treat their animals as they do humans I’m quite certain we can do better elsewhere.

I cant tell you what a thrill our 2 Westies from Foxcreek are, Frodo is 12 and Damien is 2 ½. We will be getting another from them soon.

My husband and I have two Bichon Frise. One is two and the other is one. I cannot express how satisfied we are with Bailey and Riley. Easy to train and well behaved. Don’t get me wrong you have to work with them but once they get it, they get it:). Great additions to our family. Foxcreek is an excellent place to purchase well breed dogs.

We bought a brindle Scottie from Fox Creek a few years ago. She is sweet as can be and healthy and active. Gorgeous markings when her back gets summer cut! Kinda bummed they would not let us see the parents, but oh well.

My husband and I are both actively looking for Bichons in the area for Christmas. When I called Joe from my cell, he quoted me $ 900 for the «last puppy left in the litter.» When my husband called from his cell phone, they quoted $ 1200 for the «last puppy left.» We just happened to overlap. We assumed it was just a misunderstanding so we agreed to the $ 1,200. Since we live 3 hours from Fox Creek, we requested a photo of the puppy to which they refused. We called a few times to request information– a health guarantee, shots, pedigree papers, etc. They never answered our phone calls and would call us back a day or two later at 8am while we were at work. We finally got them on the phone, they assured us she was a good puppy and we set up an appointment to drive to get her this morning at 10am. Last night my grandmother went into the ICU because the doctor doing her routine colonoscopy cut open her colon and she was suffering from massive internal bleeding. We spent all night in the ICU with her. I didn’t even think about our appointment. Joe phoned me at 10:15 this morning. I couldn’t take the call from inside the hospital, so I ran outside and called him right back. I apologized and started to explain that we couldn’t get to the bank and get down there b/​c of what happened and to ask if we could reschedule for Sunday. He cut me off, said «AND YOU’RE JUST NOW CALLING!?» in a very rude tone and then hung up on me. I called back– they of course didn’t answer, so I left a message to let them know what had happened and to tell them I was trying to reschedule for Sunday and went back in the hospital.
They have stabilized my grandmother. The emergency surgery to suture her colon was successful and she is now in recovery. I am back at work now and have yet to receive a phone call from Fox Creek Kennel.
My family and I have had several poodles over the years and I just decided to switch to Bichons. Of all the breeders I’ve ever purchased from or spoken to, Joe and Jessica from Fox Creek are the MOST UNPROFESSIONAL I have ever encountered. They may breed champion bloodlines, or claim to, but do you really want to support a business that operates this way? I don’t use the word «snooty» very often but it seems perfect for this occasion!