Breeder responds to BBB allegations

AUSTIN (KXAN) - A local Maltipoo breeder said Tuesday that complaints against her business were unfounded, and that people who say she's slow to respond are not telling the truth.

On Monday, the Better Business Bureau of Austin gave Amanda's Puppies an "F" rating after a handful of complaints from owners who said their new puppies were sick or had died just days after the owners get them home - and that owner Amanda Schnell didn't get back to them in time to take responsibility for the puppies.

The website Maltipoopup.com sells Maltese/Poodle mix puppies for as much as $950.

The BBB says that when the owners try to contact Amanda about her 4-day return policy on the puppies, she is slow to respond. Other buyers say the company mislabeled the breed of the puppies sold.

Schnell said Tuesday that there have been complaints about four of her puppies, but she has never been able to move forward with any of the complaints because the owners have never returned the dogs for her to verify that they came from her.

"I said (to the BBB) if I never received the puppy back, I can’t do anything about it. Alive, or dead," Schnell said. "I have to make sure that it came from me, so I have to receive the puppy back. None of them returned their dog, so I can’t say one way or another. Return the product and we’ll talk. Otherwise, I've got nothing to go on."

She pointed BBB inspectors to her contract on her site, which states the four-day policy. As for consumers saying she wouldn't get back to them within the four days, she said, "There's no way that happens."

"My phone’s always answered, and if they call when I’m working (at her day job) between 8 and 5, I return calls at 5:30 p.m.," she said. "They can also text or email, and the text and the email are returned within 10 minutes."

Schnell said she only sells a few dozen litters each year, as a hobby, outside of her full time job.