[Sylvercrest]

It is understandable to sympathize with WKQUEK, but not all breeders are bad and sometimes even if breeders do their best…..the buyer is just not happy or the situation is just plain unfortunate. Please see Sylvercrest Kennel's responses before running to judge…..


I'm new here and would like to relate a very sad experience that I had with a breeder from Penang, called Sylvercrest Kennels. My wife and I wanted a french bulldog puppy. We found Sylvercrest, picked a puppy from her new litter, and went pick up Odysseus in early January this year.

After 2 weeks with him, he passed away while playing with a friend's dog.
The owner was advised not to have their new puppy come into contact with other pets until after the 3rd puppy vaccination was completed. In addition, the new owner was advised to not let a Frenchie, especially a young and easily stressed or excitable Frenchie puppy, get over heated, over stressed or over excited.

I can't tell you how sad we were. The vet issued a letter saying that he had a severe case of elongated soft pallate and his airway collapsed from over excitement. Elongated soft pallate is a common ailment in Frenchies but the vet verified that this was a severe case.

Sylvercrest has a copy of that vet document. A full autopsy was not performed so the vet can only speculate. The vet could also not be absolutely sure as to what events/conditions took place prior to the puppy's eventual collapse so the cause was written as "probable". The new owner's description of the puppy's death was a "sudden collapse"..... most likely due to over exertion from playing with another dog. SEVERE elongated pallate usually comes with earlier indication signs such trouble breathing when exercised, trouble eating, regurgitation of food after eating etc. Their puppy had displayed none of these signs. The new owners were well advised that a French Bulldog puppy was not to be over heated, over excited or over stressed and should be kept indoor with AC.


Sylvercrest has sold many sound, healthy and show quality Frenchie pups, including the direct littermate to this particular puppy. All are doing great, have no breathing issues at all and all are well loved in their new homes. Two even travel to work with their owners everyday, another one is soon to enter his show career. The parents of this particular puppy are also well, extremely active, plays fetch and eats with no difficulty whatsoever. This puppy showed no signs of any breathing disorder and ate without any problems prior to his departure from Sylvercrest. At this point, Sylvercrest can only assume that over exertion/excitement in playing with another dog may have led to the instant collapse of the airway. Unfortunate situation, but not one in which the breeder could have forseen or be held responsible for. Sylvercrest was not present at the time to have been able to see just "how" over exerted/excited the puppy may have been and also how long or under what conditions the "play" took place and considering that the puppy was only 9 weeks old, many factors could and may have affected the outcome of this situation....


We contacted the breeder asking for a full refund but she refused; instead offering 50% off on another Frenchie or free replacement of another breed of puppy. After a few emails back end forth, she has refused to budge from this offer.

The owner made no request for a refund after the death. Sylvercrest initially voluntarily offered "50% off another Frenchie or a free replacement with another breed of puppy (which Sylvercrest felt might be more suitable for these new owners) immediately upon learning the news of their puppy's death, without ANY request for compensation from the new owners. These offers were made as a goodwill gesture from Sylvercrest. The puppy had a 1 week health warranty against canine diseases and at the time of his death, his health warranty period had expired. Not to mention that if the puppy did indeed die due to over excitement/excertion in play which led to the instant unforeseeable collapse of the airway (which the new owners plainly has claimed took place) while under their care, then how could Sylvercrest be held responsible? Yet Sylvercrest still volunteered without question of cause or fault to go 50% split on giving them a new Frenchie pup or to give them free of charge a puppy of another breed. It was only after a few correspondences that the new owners eventually asked for a 50% cash refund. Sylvercrest nicely explained that there was no obligation or contract for such a cash refund; however, once again, as a goodwill gesture, Sylvercrest offered to reimburse the new owners RM1000 if they chose not to take another puppy. It was at this time that the new owners sent Sylvercrest a threatening email, demanding a 50% cash refund by a certain date or they would start writing into newspapers and pet forums.

A French Bulldog is rare breed that does require special care, especially under Malaysian climate conditions. In addition, the breed comes with many inherit risks that owners must understand. Most Frenchies have elongated soft palettes of varying degrees and they live long healthy normal lives, with knowledge and preventative care from their owners. These are all facts that can be openly researched on-line in regards to this breed.