Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/02/2025

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  In March 2024, we purchased a puppy from Awesome Paws of Missouri. We were assured this was a "premium apricot toy poodle" and paid $1800. As the dog grew, it became clear that she is not a premium apricot toy poodle, but appears more like a mini golden doodle and is more than double the height and weight of a toy poodle. Furthermore, our daughter is allergic to this dog, when she had no reaction to our previous purebred poodle.
  Awesome Paws of Missouri has refused to grant us any recompense, responding that she cannot guarantee the size or characteristics of the puppies she sells. This is preposterous, as by selling "premium toy poodles" she is by definition guaranteeing that the dogs she sells are within breed standards. We are hoping you can help us with this situation. We would be happy to provide additional information if needed. Thank you!

  Business Response

  Date: 06/02/2025

  BBB,

  The ******* family purchased ***** and were entirely pleased with the puppy.  We've never received a phone call, text or mail indicating any problems had occured concerning weight gain, size or allergies to a daughter.  The *******'s have had the dog for over a year and never contacted us about any such problems.  My attorney has sent them all the documents I'm providing, which proves, without a shadow of a doubt, that *****'s parents are indeed purebred Toy Poodles.  We go the extra mile and DNA test our dogs before breeding to ensure the authenticity of the breed. (DNA certificates are attached).  ***** is a purebred poodle and not a Goldendoodle.  We cannot guarantee coat color or size of an adult dog as there are many factors out of our control.  Environmental, hormonal, amount of food being fed by owner and stressers can have an impact on the dog. 

  We hope this clears this matter up and if any other documentation is needed, please feel free to contact me.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/06/2025

  
  
  Complaint: ********
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Perhaps **** ****** has forgotten, but we did indeed contact her by phone with our concerns over *****'s large size several months after bringing her home.
  The dog's size and our daughter's allergies have developed over the past year. We have recently confirmed her adult size at her annual check up with the vet. Un-poodlelike characteristics aside, ***** was advertised as a toy. When we purchased her, we had a reasonable expectation of her ultimate size range, and never expected her to grow to more than double the breed standard. 
  We have all of the documentation **** ****** mentioned, and that is precisely our point. The simple fact is, we paid $1800 for a toy poodle, and at 14 inches tall and nearly 14 pounds, ***** is most certainly not a toy poodle. We are asking Awesome Paws to acknowledge this fact, and even if this is the first time it has ever happened, we feel that we should receive at least a partial refund because we did not get what we paid for.
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  ******* *******

  Business Response

  Date: 06/09/2025

  I have provided all documents proving the authenticity of the parent dogs as well as the litter.  It seems that the only concern for this person is the money and I feel terrible for the puppy.  If he doesn’t believe the puppy is a purebred Poodle, I would request that he have a licensed veterinarian perform an Embark DNA test on the puppy.  This will also validate my case.  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/14/2025

  **** ****** of Awesome Paws of Missouri appears to be unwilling to resolve this complaint. She has responded with nothing but excuses and has made no attempt to make it right. She is refusing to even acknowledge the fact that the dog we purchased from her in good faith is more than twice the size of the toy poodle promised. She is taking advantage of the fact that by the time our family realized that our puppy was not what was agreed upon, our family was already very attached to her. While we love our dog, we are disappointed that she is not the toy size we paid for and planned for, and we are shocked and outraged at the way Awesome Paws of Missouri conducts business. We appreciate the BBB's efforts to resolve this issue, but we do not see a likely resolution here. We would like to request that this complaint be closed without resolution. At the very least, other families should be warned about this unscrupulous breeder. Thank you.