Welcome...

This is the story of our Miniature Dachshund, Scrabble, and our terrible experience with Keystone Kennel!



This site is dedicated to Itty Bits, my husband's childhood Dachshund, to our Scrabble, who brings us immeasurable joy, and to all Dachshunds everywhere!


My name is Rita and I live in Suwanee, GA. My husband, Steve, and I proudly belong to Scrabble.

All of my dogs prior to the purchase of Scrabble have been rescues. My husband's only dog was a Miniature Dachshund named Itty Bits. I knew I wanted to surprise him with another.

Once we'd decided that we were ready for a puppy, I began my search for a breeder on the internet.

Unfortunately, I had no one to guide me to a reputable breeder. In truth, I really didn't think that I would have anything to worry about. In my mind if you were paying big bucks for a dog, what should there be to worry about? Stupid, huh?


On October 16th 2004, I came upon a website and within a few minutes, found the puppy I knew we wanted. Even though Keystone Kennel, [owned by Patti McCarty]sold us a sick puppy, she cleverly has a decent website. The kennel and website are nothing alike.

You can see the site at: www.keystonekennelusa.com

You can see actual photos taken at Keystone Kennels that the owner, Patti McCarty, does not want anyone to see:
Keystone Kennel's Ugly Secret


Their kennel is located in Cherokee County, GA. They had puppies galore to choose from!


***Having this many dogs and puppies is not considered a good sign according to the reputable breeders that truly concentrate on "perfecting" the breed...but I didn't know this at the time! Keystone has since downsized the amount of puppies they display on their site. When I bought Scrabble there were approximately 50 - 60 puppies available on their website! ***




I called the breeder that day and asked if the puppy that held my interest was still available. She said yes, and I told her that I was on my way to purchase him. I arrived at Keystone Kennel a couple of hours later and within an hour after my arrival; I was on my way home with our new puppy! I was so excited! My husband was at his office that afternoon and didn't know I was on my way home with this wonderful little surprise; needless to say he was thrilled at the sight of this sweet little red puppy.



Later that evening, we began to notice that our new puppy had very little energy, he had no interest in food or water and as the evening progressed much later into the night, there was blood in his urine and stool. Less than 12 hours after bringing home our puppy we found ourselves in the Emergency Vet's office. We had a very sick puppy and they had to care for him overnight.



We were back at the animal hospital first thing the next morning and the prognosis wasn't too good. Our new puppy, Scrabble, was near death. He was suffering from dehydration, a massive urinary tract infection, was very anemic, loaded with parasites and had blood in his stool and urine. He didn't even weigh a full pound. For the next ten days it would take constant vet care including a transfusion from our Vet's Rottweiler to save Scrabble's life. Our vet bills soared to over a $1000 in those first ten days. Saving our Scrabble was our priority.



In the early hours of Scrabble's ordeal I began to try and contact the breeder. When I was able to finally reach her, I was told that their 3 day health guarantee states that I could return our Scrabble for another puppy of equal value.



We argued about Scrabble's health and she said to me that she was not responsible for what may have happened after I took Scrabble home. All she knew was that he was in good health when I bought him. She also had the gall to point out that I had signed her (in my opinion "worthless") guarantee that states that I purchased a puppy that appeared to be in good health and that I should not have bought him if he looked ill to me. Can you imagine? How was I supposed to know that this tiny little puppy was so ill? I'm not a breeder, nor am I a vet or vet tech! But I am smart enough to know that it is impossible for a puppy to develop all the health problems that Scrabble had in less that 12 hours. I was furious.



Patti McCarty has been in this breeding business for a VERY long time and told me at that time that she had 13 years of experience as a Veterinarian Technician. She went so far as to insist that our puppy had been examined by her Vet just days before our purchase and he had been in excellent health. Interestingly, when our Vet called her Vet they had no record of them seeing not only our puppy but any puppies from his litter or his parents.



During the early days of Scrabble's ordeal, I mentioned to Patti the extent of the Vet bills and she told me that the charges were exorbitant and that we should bring Scrabble back to her Vet, where she gets a much better deal. Of course, this is the same Vet that she claimed had given him a clean bill of health just a few days earlier. Not a particularly credible offer. And as for exchanging him, this was simply not an option. To quote a friend, "he was not a defective tee shirt that could easily be exchanged", he was our baby and we would do all we could to ensure that he would be a healthy and happy puppy.



Our frustrations with Patti began to mount. Besides her intransigence regarding reimbursement for some of the vet bills she began to stonewall us on getting Scrabbles AKC registration papers. Excuse after excuse piled up and I began to do some research. I contacted the Department of Agriculture in GA and asked that they send me all public records and documents on Keystone Kennel.



On February 28th 2005, we received close to 200 pages of reports! Needless to say, the complaints and problems overwhelmed us. Scrabble was on the road to healing but we were amazed to find out that there were others with similar problems that seemed to go unresolved. I am sure that there are more complaints dated after August 2004 which I do not have. However, the Better Business Bureau of Cherokee County does have 13 unresolved complaints registered with them in the last 36 months (Keystone is not a member of the BBB).



It was only after I created a web page telling Scrabble's Story to the internet world and her finding The HotDog Blog community of Dachshund lovers did Patti start to get the message. The negative publicity was causing her a problem and she offered to pay half of our Vet bills if I would take the bad stuff about our experience with Keystone off of our website.

Apparently, Patti refuses to change her ways.


In late June, I learned that Patti had moved again. Losing her lease for the second or third time in less than five years resulted in her leaving approximately 200 miniature dachshunds in a friend's field with no shelter from the elements. The high temperatures at this time were in the 90's with tremendous afternoon thunderstorms. How can someone responsible for hundreds of little dogs not take care of basic business responsibilities like making sure they have a safe place to stay??? How do you not have a plan available to move a large kennel like this when you don't own the property that you lease? Yet it happens time and time again.


To see these reports, please go to Scrabble's official website: www.IttyBittyDachshunds.com


Keystone Kennel's owner, Patti McCarty is currently under investigation, though it seems to me, especially after reading all of the reports that they have managed to get away with so much. I mean come on! It took almost 2 years for us to get our puppy's papers!



Why is a breeder with so many complaints against them still allowed to breed and sell puppies? In all my contact with Patti McCarty I have never been able to get an honest answer. I was treated terribly by Patti and I would never recommend her as a breeder! There are so many questions that just gone unanswered and most of all, I am so upset about the obvious poor treatment these dogs get (though you would never suspect such just by looking at their website). This kennel is run by Patti and her husband, Ian. They simply have way too many dogs and I don't believe that this number of dogs can get all the proper care and socializing they require from just two people.



I know the laws have got to change. Georgia's animal protection laws, in my humble opinion, are too weak. In the meantime, businesses like this and the people that run them must be challenged for answers. There has to be a voice for these wonderful little dogs that cannot speak for themselves.


Dogs are man's best friend...when will we be their's?




"Like time, the love and loyalty of a Dachshund are never-ending..." ~Rita Edwards 2004