Zaliamstaff DC Pherrens Star – a tale of a dog and my experiences with Zeta Jordan and Kelly Thorburn

This is my story about an Amstaff pup I purchased from a breeder as a show and working prospect that ended up displaying inappropriate aggression toward both humans and, to a lesser extent, dogs. It was his aggressive displays toward people that ended up being the serious concern. This is also the story of two breeders attempting to steal the dog and then engaging in an online smear campaign against me.

It’s a very long story, so I won’t go into all the details. (I’ve posted relevant videos toward the end of this post). While I do rescue, I have never been opposed to responsible, thoughtful breeding. One of the arguments for going to a responsible breeder is that responsible breeders select for health, conformation, and temperament, which should mean that a puppy buyer is less likely to get a dog with serious health or temperament issues. However, that may not actually be the case, anymore.

I have been involved with American Pit Bull Terriers and American Staffordshire Terriers for about 40 years. I grew up with show and weight pull dogs–ADBA and UKC. Then I went into rescue. I have fostered probably around a hundred Pit Bulls since the 90s. I had two wonderful dogs from breeders – one a UKC APBT and the other an AKC Amstaff that I showed to championship. He was also my ambassadog. Both grew old with me. Both have since passed away.

I also have a darling rescue Pit Bull. She’s over six years old now. I compete with her in obedience and nosework. It’s all for fun and out of a love for the breed. I don’t make a living off dogs, and I haven’t ever bred a litter. I did have my Amstaff collected to preserve the possibility of getting a pup from him down the line, but it’s still on ice, unused–a back up from a dwindling line and genetic material from a dog whose temperament I know and trust.

I do a great deal of breed advocacy work. A lot. News. Legislation. Documentaries. Books. I remember, back in 2004, when the lives of my own two dogs were at stake because some politicians wanted to be able to implement breed specific legislation. I fought that. Others fought, too. We made our voices heard. While it wasn’t a 100% complete victory, we stopped anything close to a breed ban from taking effect.

We saved a LOT of dogs by stopping that law. Maybe even yours.

Because of my experiences with the breed and BSL, I am very open with everyone about my position regarding human aggression in the breed. I do not tolerate inappropriate aggression toward people. So, when I was searching for a new show dog, I was clear about that. In fact, anyone who knows me in rescue knows I’m very up front about that. I will not place a dog in a pet home that I don’t trust with people. Too many things can go wrong, and often it’s small children or innocent bystanders who end up paying a terrible price.

The unexpected happens in life. One day in 2020, a large mass was discovered in my abdomen. I needed urgent surgery. My mom, sister, and one-and-a-half year old niece had to come stay with me. I was in the hospital for five days, and my mother, sister, and baby niece were at my house, taking care of my animals. They had to care for my rescue Pit Bull. I didn’t worry that my niece would end up mauled or dead. I knew my dog was solid. At most, my rescue gal might exuberantly knock my niece down. We’d be looking at some bumps and bruises. Not a hospital ICU. Not a news camera. Not a media story of “Pit Bull mauls toddler.”

That is just one of many reasons that I choose not to have a dog that demonstrates inappropriate aggression toward people. Unfortunately, I had two bad experiences, back to back, that have made me very concerned about the direction this breed is heading. We cannot stop the irresponsible backyard breeders from churning out aggressive or unstable dogs. But when so-called reputable show breeders start doing that, it’s a serious problem on top of an already serious problem.

About a year before my surgery, I had gone to a local breeder. It didn’t work out, but I’m not going to bash the breeder, because ultimately she did the right thing, and I think that was probably a fluke. The dog I purchased had neurological issues — serious neurological issues. There were many manifestations, and I consulted a veterinarian and took lots of videos. For example, he’d be sleeping soundly, and startle explosively. That was from day one, but the first few times, I chalked it up to he heard something, or maybe he’d strained something in play. It happened enough that I had him checked out for joint/pain issues. He got the all clear on that front. The startles got worse. He’d be sleeping soundly, the house would be quiet, and he’d explode out of sleep with a snarl and go after whatever was closest to him. Sometimes that was me. Other times it was my rescue dog.

There were other manifestations of neurological issues, such as an intense obsession with lights of any kind (a sunbeam on the floor or a light/shadow on the wall, for example). There was intense and explosive resource guarding. He had been the smallest of the litter. He had a problem suckling. Stuff happens, and it’s not always genetic. I have no idea what caused his issues. His sister died under anesthesia during her ear crop surgery, and when my pup came out of anesthesia, he had a terrible time. Who knows — maybe he suffered some neurological damage while under anesthesia. The truth is – I don’t know and I chose to give the breeder the benefit of the doubt. Like I said, things happen, even when people are completely responsible.

However, I documented his behaviors on video and sought veterinary advice–bloodwork, tests, etc. The vet diagnosed the behaviors as neurological in nature. I communicated with the breeder. Eventually, I asked to return him to her, per the contract.

This is copied from the message I sent her:

I would like to send him back to you. You can evaluate him and decide whether you want to try to place him in an experienced home that is willing to manage this behavior or euthanize him.

She had seen the videos, and she called me and told me that she could not place such a dog and that she’d just have to euthanize him. She thought his last days should be with me, in the home he’s known, and she asked that I euthanize him.

She was right – it would have been irresponsible to try to place him in another home and, if he was to be euthanized, he should spend his last days in the home he’d known most of his life. I agreed to her request, but that was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. She gave me the number of a veterinarian friend of hers that she trusted. I called that veterinarian and arranged for an in-home euthanasia. The breeder refunded half my money, even though she didn’t have to under the contract. I was out a thousand dollars (well $2,000 if you count the ear crop and the in home euthanasia), but worst, I was devastated.

After the terrible experience with ear crop procedures that my pup and his sister had (which is not typical, I know), I decided I didn’t want to crop a dog’s ears next time. Cropped dogs are pretty standard in the Amstaff show ring, so I knew it would be an uphill battle. I didn’t care. I had a moment of conscience and asked myself: which is more important–having a dog run around in a circle in a ring, look pretty, get the judge’s eye, and win a ribbon or NOT risking my puppy’s life and putting him through pain in his formative years for an entirely cosmetic procedure? For my own conscience, I decided the latter was more important.

I know the folks who crop dogs’ ears are going to jump all over me. I am NOT saying that a breeder who chooses to use a licensed veterinarian to perform an ear crop procedure is being cruel. I’m saying I don’t think it’s worth it to me. I don’t breed. I don’t need to tally up the wins to further my breeding program. I do it for the joy of it — the mutual joy me and my dog have going out and competing, and for that, I could not in good conscience crop another puppy’s ears. And, yes, I think the registries should start to reward uncropped ears. The Amstaff standard already says uncropped ears are “preferred,” but judges aren’t used to seeing an uncropped dog, and if the ears aren’t near perfect natural, a dog will have a harder time doing well in the show ring. For that reason, people crop–and, of course, there are those who just prefer that look.

So I started looking at breeders in countries where dogs had to have natural ears (because that helps select for good ears). I considered a pup from a woman who is a highly regarded trainer and breeder, but I also looked at other litters. I knew it was a risk going in, and it was certainly expensive. I didn’t want to have a dog shipped to me. I really wanted to be able to lay hands on a pup, see the parents. I figured maybe I’d find a good breeder who was familiar with natural ears and take my vacation to travel there.

Then, Covid hit. Etc. I ended up with a life-threatening scare and a huge operation during this time. I passed on a litter during my recovery, but once through the worst of it, I was finally ready to start searching for a pup.

I approached Zeta Jordan in New Zealand. I told her what I wanted. I was looking for a rock solid dog to be a breed ambassador. I told her I do a lot of public education work. I do dog safety presentations in schools. I give news interviews. I needed a solid dog. Temperament was key. I also wanted to show the dog – the only reason I went to a breeder. I didn’t want to breed, but I enjoy showing even though it’s a money pit. I like seeing the dogs, chatting with folks, and observing beautiful representations of the breed out there.

Anyway, long story short, we held lots of video chats. I specifically asked her about any aggression in her line, and she said her dogs never displayed any aggression of any kind toward people and that Doris had a stellar temperament. (Later, I found out she was aware of previous aggression in her line).

I asked for a lot of videos. Etc. All seemed great. I checked her out with some folks I know. I did ask for puppy references, and that was a tiny bit of a red flag. She did, in passing, mention an Australian couple she’d sent a dog to that had a falling out with her and ended up blocking her on social media. She asked that I keep her informed all the time and send lots of photos, etc. I agreed. I told her she’d no doubt be sick of hearing from me with how many photos/videos I’d send and that I would keep her updated. We haggled over the contract terms (hint: never sign a puppy contract without fully reading it and, yes, you should negotiate around unfair or overly one-sided terms. If someone is not willing to negotiate around an unfair term, walk away).

A couple of days before Pherren was sent here, the trainer she worked with said he had a little “tantrum” about having his nails done. I asked for more details. She basically said puppy tantrum, and she just worked through it with him, but I should do some work with him on nails.

I received Pherren on January 5th. Shortly after I got him, he gave me the same tantrum. I did a great deal of counterconditiong work with him on nails. Dremel sound – treats. Dremel sound -treats. The counter conditioning to the dremel mostly worked, even though he wasn’t highly food motivated.

However, from the moment he got to me, he was a little growly with other dogs. A 14 week old puppy. Growly. Okay, fine. Not what I wanted to see, and not at that age, but I understand terriers. I have had dog reactive dogs. I can deal. I was able to easily acclimate him to my dog and to a friend’s dog, and he played very nicely with them once acclimated.

However, it wasn’t just that he was a little growly with other dogs. He was growly with people, too. After, the initial puppy tantrum, he started displaying aggression to me. I sent a video to Zeta showing Pherren growling and snarling simply because I gently repositioned him on the couch.

I also had him examined by a veterinarian, and Pherren was aggressive during that visit, as well. He was so aggressive at the vet, that it took four people to hold him down for a simple blood draw, according to the vet tech. I asked for a copy of the vet notes (they misspelled his name when writing in the chart):

Below are copies of a couple Facebook messenger exchanges between myself and Zeta:

February 8, 2021, 8:17 AM

I know when it came here he mentioned that he was putting up a fuss for his mails and I’ve pretty much gotten him over that with lots of praise and treats and mostly doing it when he’s asleep and if he wakes up I just give him lots of praise. And I have noticed this concerning Behavior. It happened a few times and it also happened when he went to the vet on Saturday and they try to take blood from him. Is June doing anything like this? Has Doris ever done anything like this? I’m hoping this is just a puppy phase, but it does concern me. I wanted to get your input if you’ve have you seen this kind of thing before

Zeta sent February 8

To me that’s puppy defiance. Its like asking a teenager to do something and they refuse. June is starting to go through that. You are much better at dealing with it than I am! I don’t think he means harm at all

Zeta forwarded the video to the woman she asserted was a behaviorist, Helena. Helena, I found out, is a vet tech and does not have any certification as an animal behaviorist that I can find. She suggested I forcibly restrain Pherren. Below are copies of a few exchanges.

Helena:

Zeta showed me video. Has he had his vet check yet? I’d check him for pain.

You sent February 8

Yes, he had his vet check on Saturday. The vet said all looked well on his joints, teeth, etc. Checked his heart, no murmur detected (but he’s not a cardiologist – just nothing obvious). Took blood (that was when they had to seriously restrain him – and that’s not behavior I like to see from a dog) and fecal. I should get those tests back today. A nice $400. This has been going on since I got him (i.e., you mentioned the nails, and he did it a couple of times when I tried his nails – I got him over that for the most part, but now it’s translated into if I try to move him when he doesn’t want to be moved).

Zeta and I also had video chats and other messenger exchanges. She and her associate trainer put the blame on me and said I was being too soft with him, reinforcing the behavior by not continuing to restrain him, and that this was a dominance issue. They said I should be firmer and not back down. I disagreed and felt doing so could lead to my being bitten, but to satisfy her that this tactic would not resolve the behavior, I privately sent her an additional video.

This video showed Pherren on the couch, me approaching him and saying I’m “gonna lay you down” and then gently repositioning him. He snarls. I tell him to lay down and verbally correct him, continuing to hold him into the down position on the couch, as Zeta and Helena instructed. He briefly submits. I say “Goodboy.” He snarls again, then snaps at my arm. I grab his head and hold it on the couch cushion to avoid being bitten, and I verbally correct him. Of course, that only escalated the situation. I sent the video to Helena and Zeta to show them that I did exactly what they asked, and it was not effective, and it resulted in my almost getting bitten.

The only thing the vet had found was a round worm infestation. I hadn’t expected an almost 4 month old puppy to still have roundworms, but again, things happen. I told the breeder, she had his littermate tested and discovered the littermate also had roundworms.

I treated Pherren for the roundworms, and his appetite improved, though he never fully developed into a super high food motivation dog. He loved treats, but if there was something else really getting his attention, it was more difficult to redirect him with treats. He didn’t always finish his food. But most of the time, with yummy treats, he was reasonably trainable.

His aggression, however, escalated. There was an incident in public where he got so growly and hyperaroused by a puppy, that even after the puppy had left and was out of site, he continued to bark and growl in the direction the puppy had gone. I could not redirect him with food, etc., and he ended up redirecting toward a couple with a toddler walking in between them (he growled and lunged at them). He was far enough away and backed up on his equipment, so he presented no actual threat of making contact, but it obviously frightened them, and it did the breed no favors.

In my conversations with Zeta, I discovered that June (Pherren’s sister that Zeta had kept) was exhibiting “feisty” behavior and throwing tantrums. Also, at least two more of Pherren’s littermates have also displayed some level of unusual or aggressive behavior (shaking whenever anyone is near, leash reactive to other dogs):

Zeta also admitted during our conversations that she had another dog that acted aggressively with veterinarians and that there was only one veterinarian she could take the dog to see. There was also another dog that she’d placed that acted aggressively toward children, but she alleged that ultimately she was able to place the dog in a home and he ended up being okay around children.

Pherren’s behavior was observed by different people (family, friends, and my vet). Because of my recent, heart-wrenching experience with my previous pup, I reached out to someone who I thought was reasonably skilled and knowledgeable about the breed–Kelly Thorburn of Michl R Kennels and Dogs with KAT, who was working with Teresa Whitehead Howden of Intermountain Mannered Mutts at the time. She was a mutual friend of ours (in fact, I had previously considered getting a puppy from her but ultimately passed). Unfortunately, I’ve since found out other folks have had really bad experiences with Kelly (here’s one).

I paid Kelly for a consult. Kelly suggested I should send him to her for evaluation. I talked with Zeta about that. I had told Zeta that if his behavior escalated, I’d consider rehoming or euthanasia.

Ultimately, my view is something I’ve made public from day one. If a Pit Bull or Amstaff displays inappropriate aggression toward people such that the dog could present a serious danger to others (children, adults, it doesn’t matter), then the dog is best euthanized. By not doing so, we risk the safety of others and the lives of good dogs. If your Pit Bull mauls someone, and they ban Pit Bulls in my area, my dogs end up confiscated and killed. Just ask anyone who ever had their life affected by Breed specific legislation — anyone in Denver, Aurora, Ohio, Prince George County, or any number of other communities.

Just watch the documentary ‘Beyond the Myth.’

If you disagree with me, that’s okay. It’s your right to do so. There are a lot of rescues, trainers and self-proclaimed rehabilitators that take in dogs with serious human aggression issues and place them in pet homes. Like this one that placed a dog that ended up killing an elderly woman.

Anyway, Pherren went to Kelly for evaluation. Despite all the video evidence I accumulated, Kelly disagreed with me. She sent videos, snippets of success, and she and Zeta spoke a lot behind the scenes without including me. I disagreed with Kelly on a few things, but overall, I was admittedly puzzled that she wasn’t observing any of the same behaviors I had, and I was beginning to think maybe it was a weird puppy phase.

I started to really ponder options. How long should I continue to work with him and see how he matured? I’d just have to avoid taking him around my niece or other vulnerable people while I sorted it out (and hope nothing unexpected happened again). Kelly and Zeta made comments that perhaps I wasn’t a good match — I considered that, too. Maybe he was better in another home — perhaps a show home that didn’t want to use him as an ambassadog and that just wanted to finish him and then neuter him?

But I began to get some hints that things weren’t exactly as described. Kelly admitted that, yes, he did growl over another puppy a couple of times (which was not in and of itself all that concerning to me). Oh, he was being a little shit and she pinched his ear, he yelped, and stopped.

I started to press her for more details and ask for a bit more information. I found out she was using methods I disagreed with that were more coercive–ear pinches and stepping on the leash near his collar so that he’d have no choice but to lay down. That sort of thing. (Screenshots below):

I told her I don’t typically use those methods. I never used ear pinches, for example, and I haven’t used the step-on-leash technique in probably a decade. I remained cordial and matter-of-fact, but things nevertheless started to really go downhill.

Kelly responded:

“Perhaps this will help. I am done working with you Dawn. I think you’re a complete waste of my time….So from here on out I will only be contacting Zeta with regards to Pherren. It’s my strong recommendation that Pherren not go back to you but instead a new home be found for him.”

I replied,

“[If] Zeta doesn’t want him to go back to me, then I assume she’ll refund the money I paid her and we’ll call it a day. There’s a lot of things I could do here, but I’m not. Despite what you’ve decided about me, I don’t harbor you or Zeta any ill will. I don’t use the same techniques you do, such as ear pinches and stepping on the leash….”

Then, I messaged Kelly privately and asked her if she meant that she was stealing Pherren. Because, it really sounded like she intended to steal the dog I sent to her for an evaluation. She personally attacked me. Below, instead of copying and pasting, I’m just attaching screenshots of our exchange around this. It’s relevant, because about a couple of days later, she DID try to steal him.

Anyway, this goes on back and forth, and I could continue with very long screenshots. But, to cut to the chase, finally I said:

I’m very up front about the fact that, if he continues to display inappropriate aggression as he matures, that is an option I’ll consider. I will of course let Zeta know, and she may disagree with that assessment. I am willing to give her input on whatever ultimate decision is made and to consider her wishes if she wants to take him back or rehome him. But, ultimately, I’m not going to do something I think is wrong and keep a dog I think presents a danger just because someone else disagrees with my decision. But we are not at that decision point. Maybe you’ll end up observing the behavior and maybe you won’t, but it’s happened enough times to me and with the vet, that I don’t think it’s just isolated issues. AT any point, I’m not going to change your mind. If you don’t observe it, there’s nothing I’m going to say to convince you otherwise. And obviously you didn’t feel he acted inappropriately aggressive in those videos. Again, we’ll simply disagree on that. I went to you because I value your experience. Because of your experience, I’m totally willing to see how he matures. Ultimately, as I said, the buck stops with me. If Zeta wants to work something out with me, okay, I’m open to that. I’m reasonable. Again, I try not to get into fights with people. I make a choice to be honest and upfront, even when I know people will disagree with me, which is very different from the way a lot of other people operate. I’m signing on to another meeting, so I’ll be unavailable, but I just wanted to make sure you hadn’t had the intention of actually stealing him, because it kind of sounded that way to me – and I had hoped that’s not actually what you meant. It did concern me, however, so I wanted to clarify the intention behind your statement – and you clarified. Thank you.

She said I didn’t value her opinion. We had some more back and forth, and I told her I was a bit perplexed by her reaction. I had simply asked her to repeat the opposition reflex exercise she’d done where she applied a bit of downward pressure on his rear (a great way to teach the stand, she said), since that type of restraint or body touching was often one of his triggers. She had briefly done it earlier on her own, but then quickly switched to a treat when he resisted. I asked her to push it a little further and not switch tactics so quickly. The opposition reflex wouldn’t cause pain or discomfort, but it would be a minor annoyance, and he’d reacted earlier during something similar. When evaluating a dog, testing reactions to minor annoyances (such as at the vet, or being around a toddler) are fair game to assess behavior.

After that, for reasons I still don’t fully understand, instead of repeating the simple opposition reflex exercise, she sent a 12+ minute video using methods that I found personally abhorrent in what might have been a bizarrely unethical attempt to show me that he would not bite her. She pinched his paw and would not let him move it away until he yelped. She grabbed both ears and yanked. She worked on some sit opposition reflex, but half choked him in the process. About the only part that was truly relevant was trying to get him to lay down on the floor and use a bit of restraint–and that’s when he did growl at her.

At the end of what I consider to be a mini torture session, she says, “He’ll never be the same dog now.”

I will admit that I was incredibly upset after having watched the video. I took some time to settle my emotions and gather my thoughts before I replied. When I calmed down a bit, I preserved the video. Then, I responded.

I asked her not to use those methods. I told her:

at no time do I want you to intentionally cause Pherren physical pain, to pinch any part of his body enough to make him yelp, to choke him, or in any other way to use overly coercive or punitive measures.

You can imagine how that went over. Kelly personally attacked me and said a lot of terrible things. She claimed pinching his paw was part of the Volhard puppy aptitude test. That is not how that part of the test is done. I am familiar with the test. Decades ago, I spent two years as a trainer with a service dog program in San Diego where we learned about and used the test. The test, which is used on puppies around 7-8 weeks of age, calls for gently pressing the webbing of a puppy’s feet lightly between your index finger and thumb and gradually increasing pressure, stopping when the puppy pulls away or shows signs of discomfort. Squeezing an older puppy’s paw and refusing to allow the dog to pull the paw away until after you’ve inflicted so much pain that the puppy yelps is not part of the Volhard puppy aptitude test.

Because Kelly stated publicly on her page that she “did the pinch between the toes as done in the Volhard’s puppy aptitude test,” I’ve provided the portion of the video where she pinched his paw to show that statement is false, and she did not actually do the Volhard puppy aptitude test as described above and why I had concerns about how she was treating Pherren.

Kelly, by the way, in a messenger exchange and on Facebook gave me permission to share anything she’s said and to share the evaluation video. I’ve saved those comments, and I am taking her up on them to demonstrate her inconsistent statements.

In explaining the 12+ minute “evaluation” video, Kelly posted on Facebook that she had prepared Pherren for the test with practice runs (if that were true, it would pretty much negate the results of the evaluation, in my opinion). But, in the video itself, she expressly says she has NOT prepared him (at least not for all of the test items).

Her public Facebook post where she says she prepared him for the test and would never ask him to do those things without such preparation:

Snippets from the video where she says she has not done those things to him before:

Turning once again to our messenger exchange after I watched that disturbing video, I replied to Kelly’s personal attacks calmly and directly, focusing on her treatment of my dog.

Okay, again, I’m not going to get into personal attacks and I won’t reciprocate or take the bait, so you can continue to make personal attacks or we can move on. I choose not to play the “I’m a better dog person than you” game. I am focusing on what I’m seeing in the videos. I just need to be clear that I don’t want you doing anything overly coercive or punitive to Pherren. I asked you to do one thing, you ignored my specific request, and instead did something else. I’m really sorry that happened to Pherren. I don’t want him treated in that way again – so long as he’s legally my dog.

Kelly sent April 8 at 9:09 AM

I’m not attacking you, abusing Pharren or stealing him….So please don’t be telling me how badly you feel about the pinch. Zeta asked me for my address to have you send Pherren’s paperwork to for her. I might as well give it to you now so you can stick them in the mail today. Then everyone can move on with our lives.

That was weird. Why would she think I’d just sign over papers to her for free on a dog I’d spent over four thousand U.S. dollars to get?

Of course, I refused to send the papers. I hadn’t relinquished him. He was there for evaluation. Ironically, because I approached her and asked for her help.

You sent April 8 at 9:19 AM Zeta and I are still having discussions. At the moment, he’s legally my dog, and while he’s legally my dog, I’m directing you to not use coercive, pain-inducing, or punitive methods. … At no time, did I state I would euthanize him at six months of age….Don’t ever do that again or anything like it with him. Please. I hope it hasn’t given him any other issues but if he’s a solid dog, he’ll bounce back so long as those methods don’t continue to be used.

Kelly sent April 8 at 9:21 AM

Actually while he’s still your dog I’m going to hold off doing anything with him other than caring for him as I do my own dogs. He’s fed incredibly well, gets out to play and go for walks etc..

You sent April 8 at 9:22 AM

Thank you.

Suffice it to say, I was trying to figure out what to do. I was still trying to work with Zeta and figure out if I should give him some time to mature or whether Zeta wanted him back. If she did want him back, I asked for a partial refund.

I had serious qualms, though, about him being bred. So, in an attempt to resolve the matter completely, I also offered to let her have him, no refund at all, if she’d simply neuter him. She refused that compromise, too.

So, I told Kelly that I’d be there on the weekend to pick him up. It was a three hour drive. Six hours round trip.

That’s when Kelly back-peddled. Just a short time before, she said she was not stealing Pherren and acknowledged that he was my dog. She was well aware that he was my dog. Now, she refused to give him back to me.

Dawn, As you relinquished the dog Pherren to me on Zeta Jordon’s behalf I am unable to release him to anyone without her consent for me to do so.

Obviously, I never relinquished Pherren, and she knew that. Just a few exchanges before, she had acknowledged it. I explained to her that of course she knew I had never relinquished Pherren. He was legally my dog, and what she was doing essentially amounted to Grand Theft under California law.

She replied:

Dawn, I will no longer be replying to any communications from you unless it comes through Zeta. You go ahead and do what you feel you need to do. I’m not concerned because I have done nothing wrong and will not be intimidated by your threats/scare tactics and will retain legal counsel if necessary.

The whole thing was so bizarre, that I did a deeper Google search on her name. I already knew her on Facebook. I had thought highly of her. But it was so outrageous, I couldn’t believe there wasn’t something out there that would explain her strange behavior. That’s when I found a news article…near the bottom of the search results. Her own dog, Chrome, had mauled a child. Even after Chrome sent her nephew to the hospital with serious injuries, Kelly still refused to euthanize the dog. That told me that she and I had very different opinions about how to interpret dog behavior and what responsible dog ownership meant.

Since she was, in essence, stealing Pherren, I pursued the legal options she demanded from me. I contacted the sheriff. I submitted proof of ownership (I had the papers, the chip, videos, and copies of private messages). I submitted all of that to the officer. I spoke to the officer about whether she would impound him, and I said I preferred that as the last option. I would hate to have him in a shelter kennel, even if it was only for a couple of hours (as long as it would take me to take off work and drive up there). If the trainer would agree to let me pick him up, I’d let the matter drop and arrange time off work to pick him up as soon as possible. The officer went to the property, and fortunately Kelly backed down from outright theft. The officer told me I could go pick him up.

After law enforcement paid the trainer a visit, I got emails from the breeder. She didn’t want him back neutered, but she was willing to give a partial refund. But she wanted me to sign over all the papers up front first, without any money changing hands.

I refused. I no longer trusted her. I reiterated the options we had previously discussed before the attempted theft:

1. I keep him, see how me matured, and hope for the best.
2. She could have him back, free, but he needed to be neutered, and I’d need proof before transferring ownership.
3. She could have him back intact, but I wanted a partial refund of $1500 US dollars.

Finally, she picked option 3, but offered me a lower refund than I mentioned in our last discussion. I was not happy to give him back intact. I didn’t think he should be bred, so I wasn’t going to budge on that partial refund. I was hoping that would encourage her to agree to have him neutered. It didn’t.

As I mentioned, she stated she would agree to the third option, but she demanded that I transfer all the paperwork and chip to her first, before payment. Well, I’m no dummy. I said no. We finally agreed to an in-person exchange.

That’s how it ended. The trainer agreed to facilitate the exchange. I signed the papers over to Zeta, and she gave me a partial refund in cash. It was like a drug deal exchange -quick, and neither one of us wanted to talk much.

I was content to leave it at that and chalk it up to a lesson learned about the perils of trusting people. However, Zeta immediately went on social media and made negative comments about me. She tagged many people. Kelly commented, spreading more vitriol about me. I was blocked, so could not respond. I’m responding here. Teresa shared Zeta’s smear-campaign post on her Intermountain Mannered Mutts group (where I replied with a few brief sentences on the group directly to her post). I did not reciprocate the smear-campaign on Facebook. I try not to play those silly games.

In an effort to destroy my reputation, Zeta sent Kelly the private video I had taken, at her direction, when I verbally corrected Pherren and held his head down on the couch while he was snarling so that he could not whip around and bite me. Kelly posted only the last few seconds of that private video without my consent. The entire beginning and middle of the video had been cut out to simply show me holding a snarling Pherren’s head on the couch. (I will consider showing the beginning of that video privately to anyone who has seen the last few seconds that Kelly clipped and posted, with the understanding that it is not to be publicly shared, as doing so would likely get it into the hands of Pit Bull haters who could use it to unfairly claim that all Pit Bulls or Amstaffs are dangerous).

Pherren is not the first dog with serious issues that Zeta Jordan has bred. As a result of the public posts Kelly and Zeta published, I got messages from others–people I didn’t know–who had also had bad experiences with Zeta. One of these benevolent strangers gave me more information about an another of dog from Zeta who displayed aggression issues toward his owner and other dogs. She stated that dog “is dead now.

Some have asked me not to share details, and I am honoring their requests. One has given me full permission to share details. Greg is an owner from Australia that had a Zaliamstaff dog with serious aggression issues (Django, Zaliamstaff Storms A Brewing). Screenshots below. Django and Pherren have many dogs in common in their pedigrees (pedigree of Pherren’s mother, Doris).

Why am I writing this all out? Because I suspect Zeta or the trainer will end up breeding Pherren, and because Zeta, Kelly, Teresa and others are engaging in a concerted campaign of defamation and cyberbullying.

Here’s an example of how Zeta portrays reality:

Somehow, she thinks reasonable people will believe that I enjoy paying thousands of dollars to import show quality dogs so I can lose the money and euthanize the dog (do the math – I’m out over $2500 on Pherren, and that doesn’t include paperwork import/transfer fees, vet bills, etc.). It would have been easier to just put the money in a pile and set it on fire. Yes, I refused to sign over paperwork on a dog she demanded back, intact, that I paid her thousands of dollars for and that she attempted to steal back from me after I communicated and worked with her to try to come up with a mutually agreed upon course of action…. but I did agree to sign the papers over to her if she gave me some of the money back I’d paid her. If she didn’t want to give me a partial refund, I told her I’d give him to her FREE. She just had to agree to neuter him. Very simple. Very reasonable.

But she didn’t want him neutered. The fact that she doesn’t want him back neutered likely means she wants him to retain the ability to reproduce. If she thinks the behavior he demonstrated is acceptable for the breed and that it is something she should reproduce and sell to other people, then she is not, in my opinion, a responsible or ethical breeder.

Her distorted and inaccurate statements led to some doozy comments. Below are just some of the comments to her post, from people who actually have no idea what happened and have never met me or Pherren:

I want anyone who considers getting a puppy out of Pherren to at least be on notice that he displayed aggressive behavior.

I’m devastated that I have gotten two dogs from breeders that both had serious issues. But I’m not the only one. A friend of mine I met at a dog show had a dog from a breeder – a different breeder than either of the two I worked with – that was so aggressive she ended up sending the dog back. So, what the heck is going on?

I called a friend of mine in the breed and had a candid discussion. Is the breed going to hell? She made a good point. The lines are small and getting smaller. Inbreeding and intense line breeding is removing genetic diversity. Others have noticed this, as well. So, yeah, maybe the breed really IS starting to have a serious problem.

But I love this breed. I adore it. It’s why I’m in rescue. It’s why I love going to shows. And the one defining, wonderful thing about this breed that has made me love it so much is that these dogs love people, and they are rock solid around people. At least, they should be, especially when they come from educated and accomplished show/working breeders. They are loyal to their family members. They are forgiving. They are tolerant. They are big goofs. That’s the right temperament for this breed. We should not tolerate–and we sure as hell should not perpetuate through breeding–aggression toward people.

I considered posting videos of Pherren’s behavior so everyone could be their own judge, but initially decided it would do more harm to the breed than good. There are a lot of anti-Pit Bull groups out there that would love to use any such videos as ammunition against the breed. However, Kelly Thorburn and Zeta have already made this issue public and even posted a private video showing me holding a snarling Pherren’s head to avoid him biting me. Because they continue to post videos of him and represent him as a dog with a wonderful temperament, I’ve reconsidered and think it important for anyone considering him to at least see his problematic behaviors.

For any dog with aggression issues, it’s fairly easy to get video to show the dog not acting aggressive and use that to bolster one’s desired narrative. However, what someone portrays on social media often doesn’t present a complete picture. A search of public records have shown that the operator of the property where Pherren is currently residing in Lakehead, CA has been reported for serious dog bites more than once this year alone. She is Kelly’s good friend (Kelly has been staying on her property with Pherren) and has also made comments on social media about me and Pherren, bolstering the false narrative about Pherren’s behaviors.

However, records show that she has presented as adoptable dogs with serious aggression issues. Since January of 2021, she’s had at least two serious dog bite incidents from different dogs. The most recent dog bite was by Samson in April of 2021 during a “meet and greet.” Samson had a potential adopter at the time. The other one was by a dog named Bruno around January of 2021. According to the public record, Bruno was euthanized.

The behaviors Pherren has displayed are not normal for the breed. Of course, I can’t predict whether these behaviors will escalate as he matures or he will ever harm anyone (and we’ll likely never find out if he does, unless it makes the news). Nevertheless, I firmly believe he should, at the very least, be neutered. (So far, they refuse to neuter him). Dogs that display these behaviors should be removed from the breeding pool.

The videos below show some of the observed behaviors. I’ve censored these brief snippets to avoid them being copied and misused by people who want the breed banned.

For a longer video similar to the one above and to get more information on why I believe forcibly restraining an aggressive dog is not usually the right tactic, read my next blog post.

And, no, I’m not worried about being sued for defamation. I have evidence to back up every single fact I’ve laid out.

Zaliamstaff Pherrens Star. Sire: Alpine’s Ring of Fire (Phoenix). Dam: Zaliamstaff Luv Me or Leave Me (Doris)

Pherren’s full pedigree