Last week I purchased what I thought was a pure bred Coton de Tulear from a legitimate breeder. I read through some of the posts in this forum about good breeders, but all the criteria was a little too much for me to consider. Anyway, I traveled about an hour to the breeder's home. The first thing I noticed was how the breeder and her two visiting friends were dressed. I asked if they were members of a religious sect, and she told me that they were Mennonites. She went on to explain they were similar to the Amish, but a little more modern. I liked one of the two Coton puppies she retrieved from another room in the house, and she then showed me the puppies' two parents, who were in an outside pen with about ten other dogs. She told me one of the parents was local and the other was obtained out of state. I was ready to pay the $700 cash I brought with me because that was the advertised price I saw on her web site, but she informed me she had lowered the price to $600. The paperwork (including the contract) she brought out indicated the Coton puppies' parents were ACA (American Canine Association) registered, had received some shots and had been declared healthy by some local vet.
Later that same day I brought my new puppy to a previously scheduled visit with a local Banfield vet. She informed me that the puppy probably was not a pure bred Coton (not AKC registered) and that the Mennonites had a reputation for running puppy mills. This came as a complete surprise to me. When I got home I googled puppy mills and Mennonites, and sure enough my vet was telling me the truth. Still, I'd like to think that the breeder for my Coton puppy was not running a puppy mill. She told me she and her husband were only breeding for a couple of years. Nothing on the breeder's property looked like a puppy mill like I'd seen on tv documentaries. My new puppy sure looks like a Coton, and I plan to have him neutered, so I don't care if he meets AKC standards. My vet said he has a slight overbite, but otherwise seems healthy. Some time in the future I may get a genetic test done to find out if my puppy is actually a pure bred Coton, but for now when people ask, I tell them the puppy is a Coton. I hope I didn't inadvertently buy my puppy from a puppy mill, but even puppy mill puppies need good homes.
Later that same day I brought my new puppy to a previously scheduled visit with a local Banfield vet. She informed me that the puppy probably was not a pure bred Coton (not AKC registered) and that the Mennonites had a reputation for running puppy mills. This came as a complete surprise to me. When I got home I googled puppy mills and Mennonites, and sure enough my vet was telling me the truth. Still, I'd like to think that the breeder for my Coton puppy was not running a puppy mill. She told me she and her husband were only breeding for a couple of years. Nothing on the breeder's property looked like a puppy mill like I'd seen on tv documentaries. My new puppy sure looks like a Coton, and I plan to have him neutered, so I don't care if he meets AKC standards. My vet said he has a slight overbite, but otherwise seems healthy. Some time in the future I may get a genetic test done to find out if my puppy is actually a pure bred Coton, but for now when people ask, I tell them the puppy is a Coton. I hope I didn't inadvertently buy my puppy from a puppy mill, but even puppy mill puppies need good homes.
) for limited registration.) or with papers from the single breed registry. ACA is like CKC and other puppy mill registries, no one reputable would use them. 
