This is a puppy mill. As I got a Golden Retriever, over 6yrs old. I took her to my vet to be fixed. My vet told me she had so many cysts in her uterus. I was told this had been caused from over breeding. She only lived until she was a few months past 10 years. We are heartbroken. She never would bark. What did they do to her. We could tell she'd been mistreated. read more

Based on the conformation and aptitude of the "AKC-registered Golden Retriever" we purchased from this alleged breeder, and Carol Ramer's insistence that we could NOT meet the sire and dam ahead of time, I must conclude that she is actually retailing for Puppy Mills. Once I learned that we had made a deposit I wanted to see the puppies and operation in person, but it seems the Breeder was "always travelling to deliver puppies" but I believe she was actually picking up her inventory from whatever mill had product available at the time. I'd suspect that a suspiciously large number of puppies are registered as having been born to East Lane's Max Force Minimal Effort and East Lane's Georgia on my Mind and, if those dogs even exist at all, DNA would bring the lineage into question. I wish I had cancelled the purchase and sought a more reputable source. read more

So again I come back to write a review for Carol's East Lane Kennels! I have purchased my third labby puppy from Carol! His name is Marley and is such a wonderful baby boy! So friendly and was so easy to train! I now have 3 boys from Carol and couldn't be happier with them. They are the sweetest, smartest, most handsome dogs I have ever seen. My oldest, Gauge even walks with me slowly up our stairs to allow me to put my hand on his back to help me walk up! He also has trained my little Marley and is turning him into a wonderful dog too! I get compliments everywhere I go with all 3 of them and I still highly recommend east lane kennels to anyone in search of the perfect lab. As long as carol is breeding I will never go to anyone else to get my labs! I have also added a new picture with all 3 of my babies in it :) read more

East Lane Kennels - My 3 labby babies from Carol - Pet Stores Near Me - Mendota, Illinois

We lost our Abby. She survived east lane kennels and managed to live to the age of 15. We brought her to Buffalo NY not knowing if she would live. Because she was not a suitable bitch to mate, carol ramer left her to survive on her own. After a time her hair grew back, she gained weight and started to look like a Brittany. She has a long story and I would happily tell. She turned into the best dog. Stay away from the ramers. read more

I find it odd that my initial review from 2011 has been deleted, but other negative reviews dating further back remain. None the less - Diesel (our black lab) has been a tremendous dog ever since we got him from East Lane. He will turn 7 on 03/09/18, and continues to be a happy, healthy, and wonderful dog! We would definitely get another puppy from East Lane. Thank you Carol! read more

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It is interesting how the cycle of life brings old issues into the light even after so many years have transpired. I purchased my Bella from East Lane Kennel in April of 2009. I had waiting 15 long years to bring another Golden Retriever into my life after the passing of Brandy at the early age of 6 years. Bella was the joy of my life, and being a new mom I wanted her life to perfect. Around the age of 8 months old I noticed Bella limping a bit on her left side, I thought maybe she had clipped her leg on her pool during play. I took Bella to the vet who put her on some medication for inflammation to ease the discomfort and we had her rest for the next 10 days. Initially I thought Bella was fine after the treatment was over but then one day while walking her with my neighbor and her dogs my friend noticed Bella dragging her left leg. After a round of x-rays the vet called me into a small room to view the results. As I walked in without a word spoken I started a flow of tears that lasted the next 24 hours in my life. Both of Bella's hips were bad, with the socket on the left side barely having any bone to support the joint, it was hip dysplasia on both sides! I called Carol immediately, sent her a copy of the x-rays on disc, wrote, called again, and again. I was offered a replacement puppy, but she didn't have any immediately available, but oddly enough her site posted some for sale. I explained that if Bella had to be put down it would be done in the only home she had ever come to know and that I was exploring options. Carol at the time stated that Bella's father was owned by a vet she knew in her community and this was the first time she had used this male. The vet was out of town at the time so she could not speak to him directly at that moment. I asked her that after the conversation between the two of them took place with a review of the x-ray to get back to me, Carol never did. In fact looking back I was the one that initiated all the calling and emailing. Carol never called back to see how Bella was doing, how sad. I located a doctor in Lisle, IL who performed surgery on each of Bella's hip to the tune of $7000.00. The results were better than Doctor Scott Averill initially expected. He treated Bella with the dignity and loving care that every animal entrusted to a human is due. In my opinion he is a miracle worker. As a side note, a couple who knew of my plight offered to pay for the whole surgery as a gift to Bella and me. This couple had never met Bella, just knew of her. Unemployed, I emptied my bank account to give Bella life just as she gave me life when I decided to bring her home. So ironic those strangers to Bella had more emotion to Bella's plight then the person who brought her into the world. That was all in 2009. Fast forwarding to 2012, I am grateful I had the 4 initial months of Bella's recovery time home with her, and the following year to guide her through exercise to strengthen her weaken muscles. Bella will never have the stamina of a healthy dog her age, but she has a life worth living distributing all kinds of love to all my neighbors up and down our street as she takes her stroll each morning. Bella is a loving, beautiful dog with a temperament that shines from the inside out with radiance. I am not sure if that has anything to do with breeding or the love that was gifted to her as soon as she became part of my family. That is for you the reader to decide! In my mind at the time I convinced myself that breeders have to be emotional detached from their young puppies in order to survive in the business of breeding. Puppies come and go, they get sick, they die it could be a heart breaking roller coaster ride if you let it into your heart. I have no feelings towards Carol one way or another, just personal opinions from observations I made during our brief relationship that I keep tucked away in my heart. I close with this thought....words only carry meaning when the person's actions support the words they speak or put down in writing. My readers you be the authors of the final chapter of this bittersweet tale and come to your own personal conclusions. read more

DO NOT BUY FROM HER !!!! This is the WORSE form of puppy mill ever! Our Golden has more medical issues than any animal I have ever seen. When we first got him, he had what the Vet referred to as the worse case of worms ever! Multiple types of worms. Which attributed to anal gland disease that requires vet visits every 2 weeks. When Carol finally returned my husbands email, no call, she blamed the vet. Come to find out, no vet ever sees the puppies. She administers everything herself, Lord only knows where its purchased. Now 3 years later, my baby is diagnosed with hip dysplasia. on a scale of 1 to 10, vet said 7!! Do your homework on that, its genetic due to terrible breeding. Once all of this came to light, I have found 100's of complaints on the puppy mill and Carol Setchell Ramer. DO NOT BUY FROM HER read more

We were brokenhearted 10 years ago when our 3 year old Dino passed away. We reached out to Carol and got Cody, he is without a shadow of doubt the sweetest boy, you will ever meet. If you subtract the visit to the vet, because of the evil Skunk, he has been to the vet 10 times, every year for his annual checkups. This guy tolerates fosters that come in and out of house in a regular basis and is amazing. Dogs get sick, just like people, do you lash out at people when they get sick? Dino was from a very reputable breeder and I didn't get vile with them. Sometimes it's the luck of the draw. I'm happy to say Cody is 10, going strong and I wouldn't hesitate to give an excellent reference for Carol. read more

Just looked-up East Lane & Carol because we lost our second golden over the Summer & I know I'll miss not having a dog come next year (and I'm a bit of a planner). The Goldens we've been blessed with have come from here and I couldn't say which one I miss more because they were both great (and lead long, healthy, happy lives...14 and sadly, "only" 11). I felt the need to express how lucky and satisfied we have been with the Goldens from East Lane! Thanks! read more

We got our Piper (female Boston Terrier) from Carol at East Lane at the end of February, 2017. I don't know much about breeding dogs, but whatever Carol is doing, she is doing it RIGHT! Our little girl is friendly, smart, energetic, loving, and sassy.....everything a Boston should be! She is great with kids and adults alike! She adores her 'big brother' Stinson (our 5 year old Cocker Spaniel) and wants to do everything he does! They play together so well! Thank you, Carol! read more

After reading the reviews, I felt I needed to add my experience. We purchased two male golden retrievers from Carol. My husband surprised in 2005 with the cutest 12 week old puppy, which we named Jackson. We found out that his mom had another litter in 2006. We drove out to the farm to just 'see' where Jackson was born. Surprise! We came home with one of his half brothers. Jackson and Bridger are amazing dogs. They are part of our family and are amazing with children. They are 13 and 12 now. They have not had any major health issues, however they recently have been showing their age. We love these dogs and are thankful for their health and treasure these later years with them. read more

Carol has brought a beautiful Golden retriever into our lives. My husband and I along with our two children have bought a puppy from Carol and it was one of the greatest decisions of our lives! His name is Charlie and he doesn't have any health issues so far. He was checked by Carol's vet as well as ours at the Lincolnshire Animal hospital. At the beginning we were nervous because of the bad reviews but after we met Carol and purchased our charlie we were just shocked that people could've written them. Overall, East Lane Kennels breeds beautiful Goldens. He's currently ten months old and he'll turn one years old on December 16. Thank you Carol for our Family member! read more

I've never done any towing business with the Ramers, but I did purchase a puppy from them in 2005. I had never bought a dog before, and knowing what I know now I would STRONGLY advise against purchasing a puppy from them. Prior to the 2005 purchase, I had read that it was in a prospective dog owner's best interest to meet a puppy's parents before committing to a purchase. When I requested a meeting, Carol told me that she wasn't "running a zoo" and that she wouldn't accommodate it. I most definitely should have taken this as a red flag because I know now that reputable breeders will accommodate such a request but at the time I brushed it off. I eventually chose my puppy, brought him home, and fell in love with him. Two days later I took him to the vet for his first check up. At this check up, a heart murmur was discovered. I took him to a follow up visit at the University of Wisconsin's veterinary school where he was diagnosed with a congenital heart disease called subaortic stenosis and learned that this condition is the result of shoddy breeding. When I told Carol about his condition, she told me I could EXCHANGE my dog for a different one if I wanted to. Of COURSE I would never go for that--the mere suggestion was horrible, ludicrous, and insensitive. I advised Carol not to breed my dog's parents anymore, and I hope she followed through. To this day, I love my dog but he has some temperament issues that I feel may have been avoided had I been able to meet his parents. Furthermore, he has other health issues that may or may not have been inherited. In short, don't buy from this breeder. Better yet--ADOPT! read more

This is about Max, our beautiful silver toy poodle, born January 11, 2008. Shortly after we brought him home at four months old, he began having seizures. You explained that sometimes after a puppy receives his rabies shot, seizures can happen. You suggested that we return him and select another poodle which was out of the question as we already fell in love with him. For eight months, until he was one year old, we tried to help Max get through chronic seizures. We brought him to a neurologist and he told us that it was not uncommon for small pure bred pups to develop seizures. I remember him telling us that they can be born with a hole in their brain. We treated Max with prescribed drugs and for the next two years we had a happy, loving and very much loved pet. On July 25, 2011, Max began having seizures again. This time he did not bounce back. He had a variety of doses of Phenobarbital and potassium bromide. From July 25th till Saturday, September 3rd we hoped for the best. It was not meant to be - he had numerous seizures, severe and chronic head jerks, he walked into his water/food bowls and it didn't even look like he recognized us. On Saturday, September 3rd, our veterinarian put Max to sleep. He was 3+ years old. I'm sharing this because I know you breed as per "AKC standards" but I urge you to rethink your breeding policy. It's obvious that Max was doomed from the start and I wonder how many other puppies are going to unsuspecting "forever" families. Our hearts are broken. read more

Looking to get another Golden. We got Libby 5 years ago. She is perfect.

I purchased a Golden Retriever puppy from Carol on October 3, 2014. That was 5 days before Daisy turned 8 weeks. That should have been my first warning sign. Next, the puppy was sold out of an office with no parents on site. This should have been warnings 2 & 3. All of Daisies vet visits were fine. Then just before she turned 1 1/2yrs, Daisy started having persistent diarrhea. It turned out that my dear Daisy had inoperable kidney cancer. When I called and talked to Carol about it she claimed this was the first time anything like that has ever happened to any of her dogs and that she would make a note of it. Today, March 21, 2016 I tearfully put my Daisy to sleep. I just hope this will save many from this type of heartache. read more

I was looking up Carol's website to refer a friend who is looking for a dog, as I couldn't imagine recommending anyone but East Lane for a dog. I was a bit surprised reading the disparaging reviews. Our relationship with East Lane Kennels started in 1997 when we were looking for a dog. WIth a 15 month old daughter at home, my wife wanted to make sure it would be a friendly, family dog. She researched over a dozen kennels and we took the hour drive out to East Lane to see the dogs. That trip gave us our first golden, Woody. He was a great, healthy dog. Carol was wonderful. We had a family trip planned 2 weeks after we got him and Carol said 'Drop him off for the week and pick him up when you get back". How special is that? How caring is that? We couldnt have felt more comfortable with anyone but her. Woody gave us just shy of 13 wonderful years. A second daughter came along and was best friends with Woody for 12 of those. When it came time at the end of Woody's life with us, we didnt hesitate. We called Carol to see if she had any Golden puppies, which she had a new litter coming very soon. Its been 2 and a half years that we have had Willy. Once again, a truly perfect choice. I would highly recommend Carol and East Lane Kennel for a dog. The professionalism and love of the animals is unmatched. Any time we had a question or concern, she talked to us as if we were family. We are considering adding a friend for Willy and would not look anywhere but here. You're the best! read more

I agree - looked like a puppy mill and poor presentation of litter. Required to send a $100 deposit to view the pup. after visit when I got home asked for depsit refund and was refused. Parents were shabby and litter not well kept. Glad i went to another breeder for my lab pup read more

Be careful when considering this kennel. We bought a Golden Retriever puppy from here in 2015. Beginning as early as 4-5 months old she showed signs of hip dysplasia. She is very hesitant to use stairs and rarely is able to jump on couches/beds. She also limps very often and she even crawls sometimes rather than getting up to walk. As a pet owner, this is extremely saddening and disappointing. We should have taken the other reviews as a red flag before purchasing from this kennel. It is of course too late now as we have fallen in love with our puppy. Think twice before buying from this kennel. read more

It will be three years in July that I bought my little Toy Poodle, "Leroy Webster" from Carol. I took him in to the vets for his annual shots the other day and when I put him on the table the vet ran his hand down Leroy's back and said, WOW! - what a BEAUTIFUL little dog! And he is. As well as smart as a whip, well behaved, very healthy, full of personality, tiny, four good legs, beautiful coat and a face you could eat with a spoon. Wouldn't trade him for all the tea in China. Thank you, Carol, for letting me have Leroy. He's a joy. read more