At the risk of being flamed for my idiocy (yes, I admit it, I am too trusting and was overly eager to get a pup)...
I've contacted several breeders in our area and gotten no response. Was flabbergasted by the people selling theirCKC registered pups (aka unregisterable) for $1,200. No pedigree, no family history, nothing mentioned about testing...just very happy pet owners.
I found a listing for an AKC registered litter, champion lines, emailed on it, and got a response back that seemed legit enough to go visit the pup. Pup was exactly what I was looking for, and less than the non-papered pups. Still expensive, but still within range I would expect.from a show quality purebred.

During the visit I was busy checking out the pup physically and socially, as well as keeping my 4 year old in line and asking questions at the same time . Met mom and dad, dad was absolutely gorgeous. Paid my deposit, snapped a picture of my sweetie holding the pup, and made thelong drive back home.
Dogs were well taken care of, house was clean, everything looked good, we talked about puppy registration process and they wrote me a receipt for my deposit. I left feeling very good about everything.
Here is where its starting to unravel... I am very trusting and didn't ask to.see the actual registration papers. My receipt states "non-refundable deposit, $500, 1 female husky". Among a few other things. My mother (was an AKC breeder for 20+ years) took one look ay the receipt and chewed me out. So I text the breeder asking for the sire/dam's registered names/numbers and the litter registration number. I wanted to.pull up the parent's pedigrees on the.AKC website. He avoided giving me the sire/dam's info, and said they register the puppies and give us the papers. I then had to explain that the breeder registers the litter and gives us registration papers with all that info on it and it is our responsibility to actually register.the individual puppy. We even talked about that while I was there...
I'm hoping that they are just clueless and new to breeding or misunderstanding my request, and not deliberately hiding something- like a parent isn't registered and they're fraudulently advertising these pups as AKC registered.

Now, having confessed my stupidity, does anyone have advice on what to do in case these people have indeed duped me? I still owe them money on the pup, but I will NOT pay that much money for an unregisterable pup. They already have my $500 deposit check and cashed it last week.
I desperately want to believe the best in everyone. But I'm starting to get jittery about this. Pup comes home on Jan 25/26.

You said you were looking for a pup that had Champion Lines. I'm assuming that means that the parents are show dogs and have titles. Do you remember their show names? What's the Kennel name? Have you looked that up on AKC?

Biggest thing to me is, if they breed champion dogs, they'd know how the registration process works and wouldn't be "new" to breeding... All the show breeders I talked to before ending up adopting Rogue 100% knew what I meant when I said I want the dam and sire's info to look up the pedigree.

Did you sign a contract? Regardless, I don't think there is anything you can do to MAKE them lower the price for something you didn't double check. They could very easily and legally say "pay up the extra for the dog or be out $500 and leave."

Like I said, you can get a lawyer, and file a suit to the ends of either getting the dog for $500, or getting the $500 back, and no dog. I knew two Frenchies, Whistlestops Starbuck, and Starbucks Blazing Ring of Fire, both whom were won in lawsuits over registration issues.

Otherwise, you gotta do your homework, or you end up with something you don't want.

Doesn't mean it won't be a great pet, and I'm always standing by for a new female

Are you sure they didn't mean that they still need to register the litter and will give you the papers when you pick up the pup? (aannnd, that's the extent of my optimism) Either way it sounds shady that they wouldn't give you the info on the parents. I had a friend who looked at some pups (not husky - they were havanese) advertised as AKC. It turned out that the parents were indeed AKC, but the dam was on a limited registration and under contract not to be bred.... so that BYB had no plans to register the litter. I wonder if there is something like that going on in this case.
Do you have a copy of the advertisement? If so, you *might* have a leg to stand on. I would contact an attorney for advice. However, it might wind up costing more than than the $500 deposit.

I was specifically looking for AKC registerable. They advertised as having champion lines (which probably means a single champion somewhere 4 branches back).
No contract, but the receipt says "balance of $500". She never had me sign the.receipt.
They aren't a kennel, and they haven't told me the show names yet. I'm still trying to get that information. The wife thinks the sire is Lord Maverick, but doesnt know what the dam's full name is.
They just moved here from Cali and the husband is Navy, so they are on Navy housing until they find a different place. I didn't know they weren't a kennel until I drove up. But my mom bred out of her house (albeit she was a licensed kennel and had outdoor facilities as well), so I gave them the benefit of the doubt. :/

I'd look up to see if they have a website that lists their dogs.

On the registering thing - I know lots of breeders who register their puppies/litters themselves and that's so nothing on the registration can be changed. I also know many breeders who will withhold papers for pet puppies until proof of spay/neuter to protect their dogs and their kennel. There's not anything "wrong" with that.

Not giving the sire/dam's names up is pretty weird. I'd be a little wary of that. If it was me and I couldn't see the pedigree's behind these puppies and they weren't giving the names to look up I'd walk away from them. They're not any one I want to deal with.

$500 as a deposit seems a bit steep to me as well. O.o

Having a kennel name just means that this is what the breeder calls their line. It doesn't mean they have actually "kennels" or lots of dogs. Any show breeder will have a kennel prefix attached to their dogs to help distinguish their dogs from other kennel's dogs in registration. And any (good) show breeder will usually ask that their kennel name be used in the registration of the dog (be it pet or show).

Megan (mheath) got a pet quality dog from Karnovanda. His name is Karnovanda's Darth Cato. Even though pet quality - she still had to use the prefix.

I stay away from people who advertise "champion bloodlines" as a selling point because it's a huge selling point for BYB's and gives them a reason to sell their puppies for more money.

I can get a good, healthy pet quality puppy from an excellent breeder for 600-800 and a show prospect for 1000. Sometimes 1200 depending on your area and the breeders. (that's only for Siberians).

I could go to a poor breeder with not health tested dogs and little to no background on the parents or dogs in the immediate pedigree starting at 800 and only going up.

To put things in perspective.

I wouldn't have gone to a breeder posting on ebay classifieds. lol but that's me.

I agree, without seeing the pedigrees or being told what the reg'd names of the sire and dam (any breeder SHOULD know this information and have it readily available) "champion bloodlines" really means nothing. You could be dealing with someone that is hinging their entire breeding on a CH from over 7 generations ago. Unless it's in the immediate 1-2 generations it bares no weight on the current structure or quality of the puppy produced today. Also, any quality breeder is going to have a contract lining out the stipulations of ownership, registration (limited/full), intentions, and if for whatever reason arises surrender of the puppy you purchase.

Unfortunately it does sound like these people have taken you for a ride. I'd seek legal guidance at this point to see what options you have.

I wonder how they can be so sure of the eye color, since they are still quite young (judging by the picture)

I don't think there is any legal ground to stand on if no contract was signed?

Newspaper ads, craigslist, ebay classifieds are not the typical place you are going to find quality breeders either. Being in WA there are so many quality options here! Paragon, Maskarade, Rybrook, just to name a few. For future reference our parent club the Siberian Husky Club Of America has a list of current breeders in good standing with the SHCA listed by state. http://shca.org/shcahp4f.htm

At this point I am ready to cut my losses and move on (with a solid lesson learned) if there are no papers.
She Wrote out a receipt with my name/address on it, remaining balance... And initialed it . I did not sign it.

I'm just guessing but I'm sure some sort of fraud could possibly apply. These pups are clearly advertized as CH lines, and if she's getting the run around about the paperwork it's a good likely hood she's not getting what was advertized nor what she paid for.

If one CH can even be proven in the pedigree - that's not something to stand on. Like I said - I know lots of breeders who register the pups before placing them.

IF the dogs are registered with something other than the AKC then that would be something to go after. Or if the dogs aren't even registered at all.

Karissa - if it were me in your shoes I would cut my loses. You could -try- to get your deposit back. Spin a tale about how something came up and you can no longer get a puppy at this time or something. If not I would just walk away. Like Lani said - there are a fair amount of great breeders in that neck of the woods and she could probably help you much more in looking for them or getting into contact with them.

ebayclassifieds is where I found my breeder and I realize now it was a shady deal, lesson learned on my part. $500 is a steep price, I only paid $500 for Karli in full and got full AKC registration. Are you planning on showing your pup, is that why you want registration? There was a lady in Spokane that I talked to when I was looking, but she only had male pups at the time and I was looking for a girl. Kind of wish I had waited for her litter but I can't complain about Karli one bit. My breeder registered the litter and gave me the papers to register Karli when I picked her up.

To be honest, I would also cut my losses if I were you. It doesn't sound like she has what she was advertising (false advertisement) and you don't need to put up with that.

I want the option of showing, yes. My mom showed growing up, and I miss it. Would like to go to one show, if only to prove to myself that I don't wanna do it. ;p
I'm hoping they're just clueless and everything goes fine.

I realized they weren't a good breeder, maybe just people starting out. I was impatient, and was lectured by my mother on how ridiculously hard it is to get a pup from a real and reputable breeder. Apparently the people in the breed she was working with were super snobby.
I will update when I know more on what's going on...or not going on.

Karissa,

We all make mistakes and can be impatient, but you have a few very good breeders in your area. Paragon, for one. However, you will find yourself hard pressed to find a reputable breeder who will release show and breeding rights until you have developed a relationship with them. If you end up with this puppy, you will love it. It's hard to say no to a cute face. But, if you do your research and find a good breeder you may find that they will help you in your ventures and you may end up with a healthier animal. That's the most important thing, health, if you ask me.

maybe the navy would be interested in what they are doing while living in navy housing??

maybe threaten to tell someone what they are doing (if they are in fact messing around with you) and see if that makes a difference.............. just my$ .02 and if they are messing with you and lying , and dont give your $$ back or whatever you want, do tell someone in the navy about them.

also, you could always go to small claims court and give that a try without hiring a lawyer - if you dont get a refund.......... good luck, keep us posted.

it seems as if I see alot of husky puppy scams going on lately......and after Hallmark came out with Jingles the Husky this x-mas, there are bound to be puppies bought for kids for x-mas, and in shelters by spring or summer, not being what the parents thought they would be...........

Just an FYI, it's not allowed to breed dogs when in military housing... There's always leverage.

Good point...

As a Naval officer, I'd be pretty upset if I found out one of my sailors was breeding dogs while in base housing. I'm not 100% on the regs, but you have their names and a good place to start would be the housing office. Are they at NS Bremerton, Bangor, or Everett? I'd also be looking into notifying their commanding officer. You might not even have to go to small claims, the CO can order them to refund your money.

Depending on where they're stationed, you could call Forest City manangement (which handles housing in Hawaii and out here in WA) and let them know about what's going on in the house. They'd get a comply or evict notice pretty quickly. I would let them know that you know the base housing rules and see if they can get you the paperwork and info you want.