Warning!
Beware of sending money to Mel Horn, formerly of Raw Performance K9 who has also operated under elevage Des Griffes Du Dragon Noir and whose mother is operating elevage de la Pommeraie des Loups
for the purchase of a dog!
Before you send money to Melissa Horn (aka Mel Horn, aka Raw Performance K9, aka elevage Des Griffes Du Dragon Noir and whose mother is going by the names of Mary Bouchez, Mary Horn and elevage de la Pommeraie des Loups), you need to read our story. We agreed to purchase a dog from Ms. Horn after being given a price on the dog along with a shipping quote for a direct flight to Seattle WA. 26 days after we initiated the wire transfer to pay for the dog, we were finally sent a shipping invoice for a significantly higher price than we had been told. When we told her that we were not willing or able to pay the higher shipping price and to please refund our money, Ms. Horn ceased all communication with us and, to this day, has not refunded any of our money nor sent us a dog.
What follows is all of the email communication and attachments that were exchanged between us.
On 12/29/2015 11:33 AM, Mel Horn wrote:
Hello Kelly,
Juno possesses an outstanding pedigree and is ideal for a working or sporting dog breeding program. She is the ideal size and morphology for the breed standard and is social with all other dogs, male or female, and of any breed. Juno has had no training apart from some bite work when she was a puppy. She is a blank canvas. I am selling her because I bought her back from her owner (I am her breeder) due to the owner's divorce and new living situation. She was first pick of my 2014 litter. He had done nothing with her since he bought her from me but she is only 13 months old and should be able to catch up on lost time easily. I am selling her for the amount I put out to get her back. If she is not sold by the time she is about 15 months old I will have her confirmed and keep her for my own program. Last years litter (Juno's sibblings) produced solid workers. 5 brothers are now certified in US police departments and 2 are certified explosives k9s in south africa. They are so happy that they are shipping out another from this litter. 2 sisters are also with the PD and another has close to obtaining her French Ring Brevet at 13 months!
I am asking for 1800 euros plus shipping. I ship dogs regularly to the US from Paris with no problems. Please let me know if you are interested. If so, please provide me with your full name, mailing address for Juno's documents, phone number for the airlines to call and confirm, and your email address so I can send you my payment info and an invoice.
Thank you.
Cordially / Cordialement,
Melissa Horn
European Imports (France)
Raw Performance K9
Field Office: +33 (0)7 82 37 94 15
No. SIRET: 528609167 00010
On 12/30/2015 8:48 AM, Schafers Weg Working Shepherd Dogs wrote:
Hello Melissa,
I apologize for the delay in responding to you. We have been very busy with the holidays. Can you get us a price quote on shipping from Paris to Seattle, Washington?
Thank you!
Best regards,
Kelley
On 12/30/2015 11:47 AM, Mel Horn wrote:
Paris to Washington for a size 4 crate (included) is 1290 euros.
Happy Holidays!
-Melissa
On 12/31/2015 7:26 AM, Schafers Weg Working Shepherd Dogs wrote:
Hello Melissa,
Thank you for the information. We would like to purchase Juno. The only way we can do it right now is if we wire the money to you for Juno and pay the shipping on a credit card to the shipping company. We are waiting for a dog to sell, but the family has not paid for her yet so we do not have quite enough in cash for both Juno and shipping. If that works for you, I will send you the information you need.
Best regards,
Kelley Lewis
On 12/31/2015 11:51 AM, Mel Horn wrote:
Kelly,
This is fine. I can hold her for up to a month if you are able to pay a small kenneling fee for her food (65 USD). I can send you an invoice for my part, and the shipping (air cargo fee and crate) can be paid when she is ready to leave. If this is agreeable to you, I will need the following info to invoice you:
Full Name
Mailing Address (for her documents)
Phone Number (for the airlines to reach you)
I will send you an invoice with bank wiring information attached for you to proceed with payment. I will need you to furnish me with a photocopy of the wire transfer receipt from your bank within one week of receipt of invoice for me to hold her for you. I will confirm receipt of payment with you once it has cleared the bank.
Thank you,
Cordially / Cordialement,
Melissa Horn
European Imports (France)
Raw Performance K9
Field Office: +33 (0)7 82 37 94 15
No. SIRET: 528609167 00010
On 12/31/2015 5:57 PM, Schafers Weg Working Shepherd Dogs wrote:
Hello Melissa,
Thank you for the generous offer. Since we would like to get Juno here as soon as possible to start working with her in IPO, it would be better for us to just pay the shipping on a credit card now. I can either call the shipping company with a card number or they can call us to set up payment. If you will be providing the crate, you can add the fee for the crate onto what we send you for Juno.
Our bank will be closed because of the New Year holiday, but I can send you the money for Juno on Monday.
Kelley Lewis
11125 N Bruss Rd
Rathdrum, Idaho 83858
(208) 687-4304
Please let me know if you have any questions or need any other information.
Best regards,
Kelley
On 1/1/2016 3:45 AM, Mel Horn wrote:
Kelly,
Attached is the invoice w/ wire instructions included. The Transport company will be in touch with you for payment, and to furnish you with the shipping details (shipping date, airway bill info, etc.) We ship our dogs on direct flights only to ensure the dogs safety and well-being. The quote given by STLC for the dog’s direct flight to your nearest Intl Airport, crate included, is 1090 euros (currently 1185USD). Shipping must be paid to the agent before drop-off date. You will also receive a call from the airline to confirm your presence to pick the dog up at cargo.
Please note that the invoice is valid until the 8th of January only. I will need a copy of the bank’s transfer receipt to hold her for you. I will confirm payment with you once the funds have cleared the bank.
Things should go smoothly from here.
Thank you, and Happy New Year!
-Mel
On 1/1/2016 7:12 AM, Schafers Weg Working Shepherd Dogs wrote:
Hello Mel,
That will be fine and we will get money transferred on Monday. Our city and state are not correct on the invoice and there is a phone number on the invoice that is not ours.
Our city is Rathdrum
Our state is Idaho
Our phone number is (208) 687-4304. The other number listed is not ours.
Thank you!
Best regards,
Kelley
On 1/1/2016 7:48 AM, Mel Horn wrote:
I apologize for the errors. Here is the corrected Invoice for your records.
-
Mel
On 1/2/2016 12:22 PM, Schafers Weg Working Shepherd Dogs wrote:
Hello Melissa,
I have started the money transfer to your account through Transferwise. It is much cheaper than going through the bank. The money is estimated to be in your account on Tuesday, January 5. I will forward you the confirmation emails when I get them.
Best regards,
Kelley
On 1/4/2016 11:21 AM, TransferWise Support wrote:
Hi Kelley,
All done! €2,000 should arrive by Jan 5
The rate was 1 USD = 0.9208 EUR, and the fee charged was $21.72.
We have also notified your recipient via email ***@rawperformancek9.com
You can view the status of your transfer online.
Your receipt for this transfer is available here.
On 1/5/2016 2:27 PM, Schafers Weg Working Shepherd Dogs wrote:
Hello Mel,
I just checked with Transferwise and they have the money transfer listed as completed. Did you receive the money in your account? Thank you.
Best regards,
Kelley
On 1/6/2016 4:03 AM, Mel Horn wrote:
Kelley,
Payment has been received. I am proceeding with the shipping phase. I am contacting STLC for shipping to Washington and they will be in touch with you for payment. Airline will also be contacting you for your availability.
On 1/6/2016 7:10 AM, Schafers Weg Working Shepherd Dogs wrote:
Hello Mel,
I will need my husband's name on the shipping documents. He will be the one picking Juno up in Seattle. His name is Craig Lewis.
Thank you,
Kelley
On 1/9/2016 3:49 PM, Schafers Weg Working Shepherd Dogs wrote:
Hello Mel,
We have not heard anything from STLC or the airline about shipping. Do you have any updates on when Juno might be shipping to Seattle? Thank you.
...Kelley
On 1/10/2016 7:58 AM, Mel Horn wrote:
Kelley, I am currently preparing Juno’s veterinary visit and documentation for shipping. I will let you know when arrangements have been made and you can make payment for her shipping. I am going as fast as possible.
On 1/10/2016 8:08 AM, Schafers Weg Working Shepherd Dogs wrote:
No problem. I just wanted to see where we were at so we could be prepared. The drive to Seattle is 6 hours each way, so it will take some advance planning on our part to get her picked up. Thank you!
...Kelley
On 1/10/2016 9:53 AM, Mel Horn wrote:
Its also not a direct flight. A direct flight for her would be Vancouver.
On 1/11/2016 7:01 AM, Schafers Weg Working Shepherd Dogs wrote:
Yes, all the dogs come through Vancouver into Seattle. Unfortunately, we do not have a passport to go into Canada, so we must pick up in Seattle.
...Kelley
On 1/16/2016 7:19 AM, Schafers Weg Working Shepherd Dogs wrote:
Hello Melissa,
We need to know what is happening with Juno. I see you unfriended us on Facebook, so now I am concerned about why it is taking so long to get her shipped out. If you are not sending her out by this coming week, please just send our money back. We have purchased several dogs from Europe in the past and have never had it take this long to get shipping arrangements made.
Best regards,
Kelley
On 1/16/2016 7:55 AM, Mel Horn wrote:
Ma’am,
I do not recall unfriending anyone on social media. I don’t take the time to do that unless someone is becoming a problem. Where Juno is concerned, she is meant to ship out next week with three other dogs to the US. Upon confirmation from my shipper, with my Ok to go, they will contact you for payment and after payment is made you will be called by the airline for confirmation of pick-up. The delay is due to her passport and health check needing to be updated. She is up to date on her Rabies, but it is coming to term, and US customs requires dogs to have over 30 days left of vaccines in the passport for entry. As well, we normally have multiple dogs to send bi-monthly via professional shipper (because we are FAR from Paris) which costs us about 500 euros per trip whether for one dog or multiple dogs, and we wait until a certain number of dogs are ready before shipping otherwise we’d have to charge you for her trip to Paris all by herself (a hefty expense), rather than her piggybacking. She would have left last week had her vaccine been more recent. So we needed to get her all new shots, etc. She received them yesterday morning. Juno is already paid for (funds have been sent to her previous owner) and it is not our policy to refund dogs due to a change of mind last minute since fees are already being racked up on our end (food, vaccines, etc). I suggest we follow through with the purchase as planned. There has been no wrong doing on our end, only a slight delay. I thank you for your patience.
Cordially,
Mel Horn
On 1/16/2016 8:16 AM, Schafers Weg Working Shepherd Dogs wrote:
Hello,
We have never changed our mind and have all intentions of following through with the purchase if the dog is going to be shipped soon. We would have appreciated being told up front that she was not ready to ship and there would be a delay before we made payment. As I said, I became concerned when I saw that we had been unfriended on Facebook as well as Juno still being listed for sale on working-dog.
We look forward to hearing from the shipper this coming week. If there is any change in plans, please let us know immediately.
Best regards,
Kelley
On 1/19/2016 5:34 PM, Mel Horn wrote:
Here is the proposal made by the airlines to ship Juno to Seattle (since it is not a direct flight):
She would be dropped off at the airport at 5:30am on the 26th of January. She will sit in her crate and wait until 6pm to be boarded on a flight to Frankfurt Germany where she will arrive 7:10pm and sit and wait to be boarded on the next flight to Seattle at 10:45am the following day where she will finally arrive in Seattle at 11:50am the 27th of January (time difference). In my opinion, this is going to be a very stressful trip for the dog, where she will be kept in her crate for over 48 hours without being let out to walk or to relieve herself. She will not be fed, either, and airports are not known for being that great with administering water to animals, either. This is why I always insist on direct flights for dogs. Is there NO other major international airport you would be willing to pick her up at? Shipping her to Seattle can be done if you insist, but I’m hoping we can do better. I am currently insisting the agent find something better because to me this is just unacceptable.
On 1/19/2016 6:52 PM, Schafers Weg Working Shepherd Dogs wrote:
I agree that it is an unacceptable amount of time for a dog to be crated and not fed.
We can only pick up at a port of entry since we need to get customs clearance. Seattle is the closest at 6 hours from us. And it is much longer if the mountain pass is closed due to the winter weather. Portland, Oregon is also a port of entry that we could pick up at which is 7 hours away. The others are on the west coast are in California and that is way too far for us to travel (20+ hours each way).
There is a non-stop flight through Delta airlines from Charles de Gaulle airport into Seattle. Flight 33. Is this an option?
There is also a 13 hour flight through Lufthansa from CDG to Seattle. This is not non-stop, so the layover may not be long enough.
...Kelley
On 1/24/2016 7:56 AM, Schafers Weg Working Shepherd Dogs wrote:
Any news on flights for Juno?
On 1/24/2016 9:18 AM, Melissa Horn wrote:
I am locking in a lufthansa flight that will take her out and feed her while she is on layover.
On 1/25/2016 5:08 PM, Mel Horn wrote:
Good evening Ms. Lewis,
Below you will find the flight info for Juno to Seattle. Attached is the invoice with wire instructions for the shipping. Please pay the shipping to the agent before the departure date. I apologize for the delay.
AirWayBill #: 020-4504 7951
Arrival: Feb.3rd in Seattle at 11:50am
On 1/25/2016 5:15 PM, Mel Horn wrote:
I apologize, I just realized that my agent has made another mistake. I am officially changing agents because this has never happened before and now it’s becoming a thing with them. It is the size of the crate. She needs to issue the correct size or the dog will never be accepted on that flight. I will have her make the correction ASAP and send you the correct invoice first thing in the morning. I sincerely apologize for this HUGE inconvenience.
On 1/26/2016 6:27 PM, Schafers Weg Working Shepherd Dogs wrote:
Hello,
We have not received a new invoice for shipping from the agent. As the shipping invoice is right now, it is 430 euros more than the 1090 euros we were originally quoted per your email below sent on January 1st. After the additional $350 fee we need to pay to a customs broker to have Juno cleared through customs, that puts the price of shipping at more than the cost of the dog. We are not willing to pay that much for shipping. Please let us know if there was some error in the invoice we were sent that would correct this difference.
Best regards,
Kelley
On 1/27/2016 11:36 AM, Mel Horn wrote:
Kelley,
Here is the correct invoice. I apologize for the delay. The agent had to switch to Lufthansa’s flight to Seattle to get acceptable shipping conditions for Juno’s 2 day trip. Another option would be for you or someone on your behalf to fly out to retrieve Juno from Paris. It is the method many people use to ship their dogs, since it is much less expensive. Let me know what you decide to do.
Cordially
On 1/27/2016 2:30 PM, Schafers Weg Working Shepherd Dogs wrote:
Hello,
Unfortunately, neither my husband nor myself have a passport, so we are unable to fly there ourselves. I checked just in case we could find someone else to fly there and there are no flights over the next couple of weeks for under $2100. So, that will not be an option. We are just not willing or able to pay an extra 540 euros for shipping costs, so it looks like we will not be able to purchase Juno. It is unfortunate since we were really looking forward to getting her. I have included the information you will need to refund our money through a wire transfer. Please let me know if you need any other information.
Best regards,
Kelley
On 1/30/2016 10:15 AM, Schafers Weg Working Shepherd Dogs wrote:
Hello,
Can you please tell us the status of our refund? Thank you.
Best regards,
Kelley
End of communication
