Don't buy a puppy from this horrible evil breeder. I was looking for a Springer Spaniel to replace…read moreone that I had previously had who died at age 6 from cancer. One day our beloved Lily was fine, the next day she was dead from non-hodgkins lymphoma. My teenage children and I were traumatized to say the least and our hearts were shattered beyond words. Lily was the center of our universe. Fast forward 3 years later to January of 2023, I decided to adopt a male Springer as my son gave me a female Husky he could no longer take care of due to his work schedule and she was lonely. I found Downs Lake Kennel and told Bev what had happened to our last Springer and how it destroyed me and my children. She promised up and down that her dogs were all healthy. There was a 4 month old boy who looked traumatized from being kept in Bev's rolling cage on wheels. He had two brothers in the cage on top of him that she just rolled around the living room while they all stood in their own feces. Her house was disgusting and smelled awful. I watched about 14 little eight week old puppies along with the 3 four month old boys be put outside on a freezing cold patio at different times in the middle of January struggling to get near the food tray to even get some food. Some puppies got more food than the littler ones. Against my better judgment as I had a very bad feeling, I adopted the one 4 month old boy locked in a cage by himself who had this look of "save me." He first pawed me the through the cage and one look at his sweet face I knew that I could not in good conscience leave him there. I brought him home and named him Bodhi. He was instantly best friends with my female Husky. Within one week, Bodhi had horrible diarrhea. I took him to the vet. Bodhi had giardia and ear mites. I had my cat and Husky tested for both parasites and they were both negative. This clearly came from Bev's digusting home where I also picked up a case of ring worm on my leg by the way! (Bev also said there was free pet insurance through AKC for 30 days starting when I adopted Bodhi. This was a lie too. The free AKC insurance was not available in the state of Washington. Bev claims to be an experienced breeder so how could she not know this?) I complained to Bev about the giardia and ear mites and the vet bills and she just offered to take the dog back. She denied that any of her dogs had been sick. Bodhi and I imprinted on each other immediately along with Bodhi and my female Husky and there was NO world where I would ever give Bodhi back to her. For a so-called seasoned dog breeder, she should know better than to think someone is going to just give up a dog they have bonded with. Bodhi took weeks to not freak out about not getting enough food until he finally realized there was plenty of food to eat and it would always be available. He also had extreme anxiety about being anywhere he could not see me. Thankfully, I work from home. It also took several baths to get the stink of Bev's house off of him too. I even had to throw away my shoes that I wore through her house. Then, at around 5 months old, while Bodhi was sleeping on my chest like a cat (did I mention the extreme anxiety he has?), he yawned and there was a huge mass of tissue covering one of his teeth. I took him the vet immediately where they had to put him under anesthesia to biopsy the mass. The biopsy came back as cancer. I cannot put into words how traumatizing the news of my 5 month old puppy having mouth cancer was after what happed to my last Springer. Devastating and traumatizing doesn't even cover it. I ended up having to take Bodhi to an oral surgery specialist in Coeur d'Alene. They had to remove 3 of his teeth and part of his jaw bone under the teeth to remove all the cancer. The surgery itself was over $4500. Plus, all the previous vet visits, biopsies, two labs to confirm the cancer, testing of my other animals for giardia and ear mites it all cost me over $7k to save this poor dog's life who was only 6 months old at this point. When I texted Bev that Bodhi had mouth cancer, she didn't even respond. This evil woman has no business breeding dogs. Bodhi still has horrible anxiety and he is 2 1/2 now. He pretty much barks and whines the entire time on our walks, which I thought he would outgrow, but hasn't. Sometimes I wonder if he is in-bred. He has to be constantly chewing on something, even sheets.This proved very difficult to manage when his mouth was cut open from his surgery and he couldn't have anything other than soft food for awhile. He also has a very sensitive stomach and the food is over $300 per month. I love Bodhi more than my own life, but it's been a lot to deal with. I was told the cancer should not return, but that are no guarantees. I try to make every day the best I can for him not knowing how long I'll have him for. Again, I would not buy a puppy from Bev. Consider yourself warned.

Loved the experience of working with Downs Lake Kennels to add to our family. Very happy with this…read morelittle girl. Smart, healthy, beautiful. Bev was very helpful along the way, even after she came home. Definitely recommend to anyone looking for a Springer.