Bad Dragon Dealer, Colby Laidlaw

[Chameleon Company]

No one is going to read to this point and not feel that Mr. Laidlaw is to be avoided.

There is obviously no excuse available to Mr. Laidlaw for the condition of the animal, whether he claim ignorance or, truth be known, he was trying to unload a sick animal while it was still breathing. While he claims nobility, and that others would vouch for him, what caught my attention was not the condition of the animal,which was deplorable. Rather, its how a vendor chooses to fix a problem once identified. Making no excuses for the condition of the animal, once you registered your timely complaint Rachel, Colby had an obligation to pro-actively address your concerns and outline solutions that would have repected both the animal and the transaction. Reassurances that "it will be OK" are not going to garner support from any quarter, and are not solutions. Since he did not pro-actively address both the needs of the animal and you, he left himself wide open for all the criticism that can be heaped on him with regards to the transaction, in every forum that you care to post. Add to that the actual condition of the animal, and it is clear that Mr. Laidlaw performed miserably at every opportunity in this deal except one, which was taking your money.

To Mr. Laidlaw. Enjoyed reading this part of your email of 16 Feb, 7:05 PM, to Rachel:

......So we can do this one of two ways-
either you can erase your slanderous comments and we can continue to settle this like adults- or I can post an equal to yours- proving that what you've stated is not ONLY false- but made with MALINTENT- which I intend to do so anyhow. I have NUMEROUS people that have recieved reptiles from me- and NEVER has this occured- and I am absolutely SICK to my stomach that YOU have. If need be, I can go as far as to have MY vet look at pictures of how she was before and how she is now- and get her oppinion on it, as well as get the friends I have who are big in the reptile business to vouge for me that YOU are the one at fault. This is outragous, and if you do not remove your slander- I will be seeking legal advice, as this is my reputation not only as a reptile breeder- but me as A PERSON as well! But I"m sure you wont be posting this as well- as it would probably ruin your cover.
Colby and Amber Laidlaw

I highlighted the "settle this like adults" part, as I find it ironic since you had said this in a note 5 hours earlier:

......I've decided that i'm not sending a refund .....

Mr. Laidlaw, there is not a single email of yours that reflects legitimate concern and an effort at a reasonable solution. But since you are so adamant that you have been "slandered" etc, why don't you c'mon on down and enlighten the rest of us !

 

[joepythons]

bad

I am sorry he sold you a sick beardy .I am glad she is in the hands of someone who will take care of her properly now.Keep us posted please on her progress.

 

[CheriS]

Rachel,

I just noticed that you are in Seattle area. IF you want, you can contact Veronica of BeautifulDragons.com . She does a lot of rescues also and is very knowledgable about rehab of beardies that have been neglected. She does not sell dragons, she does rescue and study their medical needs and I know she would do everything in her power to assist you with this girl and helping her recover from this neglect. This is what Veronica has dedicated the last several years to doing for bearded dragons.

She also has many nutrient supplements on hand and can help you there, you can contact her direct from her information site here and I know she will respond to you:

Beautiful Dragons - Veronica

Just before I posted this, when previewing, it made me realize something, look at the difference between people like her who do this for the love of the animals, helping others who need to help their animals and I also know the extend she has gone to at times to help them and no gain on her part..... then look at someone like Colby and Amber Laidlaw, even if they were unaware what a healthy dragon should be like, he knows now.. what is he doing?

 

[kimberlyanne999]

I just looked at the post from when he was selling the 3 dragons a year ago. they look pretty awful. look at the middle ones face...

This guy has some nerve!

So whats up Mr Laidlaw.. do you have anything to say?

 

[clarinet45]

There are no words strong enough.....

Immediately after reading this i PM'd Rachel and got all i details. I then googled for Humane societies in his area and just minutes ago spoke to a representive. Hopefully in the next week to a month she will comment about the action being taken, the group is the Minnesota Federated Humane Society [very close to where this scumball lives, she tells me] I even dowloaded and emailed her pics of his dragons, like the ones kimberlyanne999 posted, and Mirage.
I reported him offically as a neglect/abuse case and possible animal hoarder, something i know humane societies take seriously. And i believe i contacted a 'no-kill' shelter that is willing to take in any herp rescues.
I'm praying for you Mirage!

 

[colbyandamber]

In defense of Colby Laidlaw- Rachel Puckett- LIAR.

This is Colby Laidlaw, and yes I do have numerous things to say. Rachel Puckett did in fact post the majority of our conversations and dealing with over the internet- but she picked and choosed as to WHICH of those conversations to post. This is the last thing that I sent to her- after seeing her post on this fauna forum:
Rachel,
What you have proven to me- is not only that you are a poor pet owner, but
you are a poor person as well.  You didnt even wait until this issue got
resolved - before you went to every website you knew to slap across a
bulletin board of slanderous remarks about me.  YES slanderous!  You have
made me out to be an animal abuser, christ, you honestly DO NOT know me.
I've had more then 40 animals in my home at one time before- scorpians,
tarantulas, dragons, tegu's, moniters, snakes, iguanas, pot bellied pigs,
degu's, rodents, rabbits, possums, pretty much anything with four legs or
less.  I am VERY knowledgable about pets- as I've HAD several animals in my
care.  THIS dragon was NOT in that condition when she left here- As I stated
before- I gave her all the best care and if I'd had ANY suspicion that she
was unhealthy in the LEAST bit I would have taken her to my vet immediately.
  THis is NOT a case of neglect- and good luck trying to fool people into
that.  THis is a case where a dragon is SICK and NOT to the owners expense-
as the pictures III have are from BEFORE she was sent- and anyone can see
that she was NOT in that condition when she left.  So yes, it comes back to
you my friend.  In YOUR care- her health depleted.  I have numerous pictures
of her that can prove that as well.  So we can do this one of two ways-
either you can erase your slanderous comments and we can continue to settle
this like adults- or I can post an equal to yours- proving that what you've
stated is not ONLY false- but made with MALINTENT- which I intend to do so
anyhow.  I have NUMEROUS people that have recieved reptiles from me- and
NEVER has this occured- and I am absolutely SICK to my stomach that YOU
have.  If need be, I can go as far as to have MY vet look at pictures of how
she was before and how she is now- and get her oppinion on it, as well as
get the friends I have who are big in the reptile business to vouge for me
that YOU are the one at fault.  This is outragous, and if you do not remove
your slander- I will be seeking legal advice, as this is my reputation not
only as a reptile breeder- but me as A PERSON as well!  But I"m sure you
wont be posting this as well- as it would probably ruin your cover.
Colby and Amber Laidlaw

I will attach pictures of HOW that dragon looked only a COUPLE of weeks before she was sent out (she put on more weight before she was sent out- yes MORE weight)- the EXACT same pictures that Rachel recieved. I INFORMED her that the dragon was underweight- NOT sickly skinny- but not as pudgy as she could have been- as you can see in the pictures. So here's the evidence- before and after- the pictures here are the pictures from when IIII had her- and her pictures- of how she looked after the dragon was in HER care. The dragon very well could have had internal parasites- and HAD I KNOWN THAT- she would have recieved immediate vet care- but she looked as healthy as can be. People e-mailing me are saying "A dragon cannot get like this in a couple days" Well- it DID. If she HAD in fact had something wrong- then as you can see- after the dragon was recieved- her health took a turn for the worse. But it's extremely hard for me to believe Ms. Puckett- when the dragon looked GREAT before she left- and then all of a sudden I recieve an e-mail saying that the dragon turned into a sickly comatose reptile. This leg twitching, non-digested worm feces- ALL of her accusations- NEVER occured when she was in my care. As I've stated a thousand times before- I loved this dragon just as I love all of my animals. Me and my fiance used to take in unwanted animals and rehabilitate the damage done to them by their previous abusive behaviors. And there are a number of people who can vouge for that. Does that sound like a reputation had by an animal abuser and an imposer of neglect? Hmm...not to me. So a special thanks goes out to Sara Gatto and [email protected] for sending me e-mails saying that I'm a jerk and that they're going to report me to the humane society- as I'd be more then happy to visit with the people there and explain this situation, as I have NOTHING to hide. I've sent out NUMEROUS reptiles to people- and as stated before- nothing like this has ever happened. And I am absolutely sicked that she has done this. If I could have things my way- I'd take that dragon back- and get her back to the way she used to be WITH ME- as what she has become- is a reflection of the care she's been given sense she arrived in the care of Rachel Puckett. So it's up to you people, you have the choice to believe whatever you see fit.

 

[colbyandamber]

To clarinet45

I just read your post about the humane society rep.- I look forward to meeting with her/him, as we have nothing to hide here- we've got healthy horses, dogs, and a hedgehog here that can prove immediately the treatment they recieve. We've donated time to shelters in MN and SD- so I'm sure we can call and get plenty of references proving our side of this case. So thanks Clarinet45- as if it was any of your business to do so- but either way- we look forward to meeting with this rep.
Colby and Amber

 

[Chameleon Company]

Colby,
It is my impression that you were contacted within one hour delivery that the customer was not satisfied. Is your argument, because you have pictures from days or weeks prior of the animal that the customer has to be satisfied? Your obligation to fix things began right there. The emails posted show that you did not assume this obligation. At that point, the customer has no obligation to agree with you that they should be satisfied. Or do just conduct business differently from the rest of us? Because you have experience which mandates customer satisfaction, where can I find this experience? I want some too!

 

[colbyandamber]

To kimberlyanne999

When we purchased/accepted the middle one- his face was like that- he had a problem with his little nose from early on- they didnt know if it was nipped off when he was a youngster or if it was caused by compulsive rubbing on the glass of the terrarium they had him in. Either way- when we took him in- the nose was already healed like that- there was nothing we could do to plastic "surgerize" his nose back to normal. People- if you have a question or comment about me as an aminal owner- or about anything else- lets try talking directly about it! Because the more conclusions you guys jump to, the more crap your slapping on this forum,- and the more jeopardy you are putting my reputation in.

 

[LV426]

I'd like to state for the record that I only posted the emails that Mr. Laidlaw and I communicated through after I opened the box to this dragon. I have a gmail account that will keep every email conversation in the same thread type as it was started and responded to. I will be more than happy to let any moderator or admin of the forum have access to my email account in order to verify all conversations between myself and Mr. Laidlaw. Alternately I would like Mr. Laidlaw to include any emails that I might have sent that I did not post that shows me as the faulty party. I had posted previously the response he sent me after I posted here.

While I am upset that this person has ripped me off I am more upset because I am sitting her watching this poor creature die. I do feel she is dying. She is not active, she doesn't eat unless I make her eat, and she doesn't move other than the occassional twitch from her calcium deficiency. I see images like this on Animal Cops and only wish I could call one on Mr. Laidlaw for so blatanly abusing and neglecting this dragon. She was probably destined to be a beauty but because of his faulty care and negligence she is now just a shell, a skeleton held together by scales. As far as I am concerned the pictures I posted do not do the abuse justice. You can't really see how much she has suffered.

I have a sick feeling in my stomach every time I check on her, afraid that this will be the time that she doesn't open her eyes, that she will have taken her last breath in my care and there was nothing I could do to help. Still she has a chance and I will give her what I can and do what I can for her and hope she will recover. I doubt she will have more than a couple of years left if she survives but unlike Mr. Laidlaw when my animals become too old or can not breed anymore I do not cast them aside.

Mr. Laidlaw in my opinion your crimes here are more than just ripping me off for money, it's for throwing away a beautiful life because it couldn't serve your purpose anymore. Prison would be too kind a sentence for you.

 

[colbyandamber]

To Chamco

I never claimed to be a dragon breeder, I never claimed to be an expert, I never claimed a live delivery guarentee, I never claimed a satisfaction guarentee, I never claimed to be any more then a guy who had a dragon to sell- with good intentions. She e-mailed and asked about it- I responded telling her what I thought becuase she was active and healthy looking before she left.
There was no obligations or contracts to speak of. This dragon was a pet- who was bred TWO years ago- TWICE- she bore two clutches. So overbreeding is out of the question. Where you guys get off on justifying these accusations is beyond me.

 

[LV426]

If I could have things my way- I'd take that dragon back- and get her back to the way she used to be WITH ME- as what she has become- is a reflection of the care she's been given sense she arrived in the care of Rachel Puckett. So it's up to you people, you have the choice to believe whatever you see fit.

Your notion on this is completly absurd. I could have kept a healthy dragon in a lightless cellar for 3 months and it would not have deteriorated this badly. There is no damage that someone can do to a healthy reptile in 3 days that would cause this type of condition. Are you really so feeble minded that you expect people to believe this inane drivel you are spouting? Reptiles don't end up emaciated and calcium deficient in overnight shipping.

 

[Chameleon Company]

Colby, you've had a couple of days to react here.

So, when you say:

People- if you have a question or comment about me as an aminal owner- or about anything else- lets try talking directly about it! Because the more conclusions you guys jump to, the more crap your slapping on this forum,- and the more jeopardy you are putting my reputation in.

Many of us feel that, like all vendors, you had an obligation to fix this back on the 14th. Your emails do not enhance your reputation. Certainly things can snowball in the BOI. But it all starts with a disgruntled customer. I am not one to exprapolate the conditions of the beardie to all of your animals, but others cannot be stopped from drawing those conclusions. In my views you had every obligation to be pro-active about a solution on the 14th, and you failed to take the bull by the horns. The longer you continue to maintain a position about "retract this, retract that" will only hasten the continuing jeopardy to your reputation. You are young, and many of us here know a thing about civil litigation, slander, etc. Hint Hint ! Your current position has not a leg to stand on, but if you want to stand there, then be my guest. So far, you are 0-2 on damage control. Stop the bleeding. Fix it and move on.

 

[colbyandamber]

To Rachel

It sickens me far worse that this dragon is in the condition she is- as this was MY PET for over two years..... to think of her in that state brings tears to my eyes- and I want nothing more then to fly over there- scoop her up- hold her and find out what HAPPENED- what went so terribly wrong. I can't even get myself to imagine her the way your describing her, as it makes my stomach turn. This thing you are describing cant possibley be Izzy. Yet- I can see in the pictures that it's her. I don't know any more then you obviously do about what has happened here. And it makes it even worse to know that you've got what seems to be the whole world against me- and thinking I'm an animal abuser.......when I've done nothing wrong. This tears me up. I'm not planning on continueing writing back on here- it's pointless when you are always there to bring something else up against me to incriminate me for something else I didnt do.

 

[Neverland Dragons]

Colby, your explanation that she deteriorated to this point in 3 days is not plausible. While it is possible for a totally healthy dragon to decline to the point of near death in 3 days, it would still not look like this dragon you sold if it had been properly cared for. Even the pictures you posted do not look healthy. Maybe your idea of a healthy dragon is different than every other persons on this forum. All of the evidence points to her being sick before shipment. She did not become emaciated in 3 days. You really need to accept responsibility here. You can shout that she was healthy until you are blue in the face, but that does not make it so.

 

[Cat_72]

Colby, there is NO ONE here naive enough to think that a dragon could become that emaciated in an overnight shipping trip. It takes a long period (weeks, months) of neglect for it to end up in that condition.

The only "slanderous accusations" that have happened here is you calling the buyer a liar.

What upsets me even more is the fact that you still claim to have animals in your care.

 

[Chameleon Company]

Colby's position:

To Chamco

I never claimed to be a dragon breeder, I never claimed to be an expert, I never claimed a live delivery guarentee, I never claimed a satisfaction guarentee, I never claimed to be any more then a guy who had a dragon to sell- with good intentions.

Is one to conclude that your postion is then "tough luck" to the buyer? If so, then take a look down, cause that's where your reputation is headed at a free-fall. I am not going to quibble with you if you say that you thought you shipped a healthy animal, although others might. I believe from the vet report that it had chronic problems, but will concede the possibility that they were not obvious to you. Its a moot point to me. What you needed to do was at least offer a full refund from the get-go. Even if you did not have it. Work something out. But you said "no refund". Like I said, look down.

 

[LV426]

Excuse me but you incriminated yourself, I just posted the evidence. A picture is worth 1000 words but in this case I think the judge and jury has ruled in my favor without me doing anymore than presenting the pictures of the dragon that YOU sold me.

You are right, you didn't give me a guarantee but you did tell me she was healthy. I guess you have no honor or integrity. Of course that was apparent the minute I opened the box.

Fine I get no money back, I end up with a dying dragon and a huge vet bill but you will end up on the wrong end of this deal far more than I because as long as I live I will show people what kind of person you are simply by showing them a picture of your ever beloved dragon and your very own words and actions shall condemn you far better than anything I could ever say.

 

[colbyandamber]

To: Cat_72

Exactly- so emaciation is OUT of the question- I'd like to see the vet's written statements of what exactly is wrong with her- dehydration is FAR less then emaciation. And can you honestly tell me that you can tell the difference by looking at these pictures?

 

[Cat_72]

To anyone with ANY knowledge of dragons, the difference between "just dehydrated" and "emaciated" are more than obvious.

This dragon IS EMACIATED. Period.