The Creekside Kennel (Lumber Bridge, North Carolina)

I just got the most beautiful, sweet, intelligent female lab puppy two days ago from The Creekside Kennel! She is the best addition to our family and fits right it. Very easy, straightforward pick up at the farm and got to see the sweet dogs and other puppy they had there. Was lucky enough she was 8 weeks old, so I sent the deposit and we picked her up the same day! Communication was great with very quick responses to any questions or concerns. I did receive the litter information, a microchip and AKC registration at pick up and received the vaccine and deworming paperwork via email. Looking forward to a wonderful life with her from precious little puppy to an absolutely beautiful dog! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

We had great experience from Creekside Kennel. April is amazing and very thoughtful. Our healthy 3 yr old lab Kobe is is a handsome, loving, smart, and friendly dog. He’s great with both people and dogs. I hope this helps future owners. Thank you April.

We picked up our amazing Banjo in May 2016 and communicate regularly with Creekside sharing pictures and updates. We brought home a happy, socialized puppy who has turned into the best, goofiest dog we could have hoped for. When it comes time to add to our family I will wait on a list for one of Creekside’s pups. If you are looking for a Labrador, any Labrador pass on Creekside. Creekside is NOT a puppy mill, if you want an exceptional Labrador it is well worth the wait. April is one amazing lady!

Do not buy from this breeder! Their Facebook looks very legitimate, however, the owner is very sketchy and does not give all the information about the dogs she is selling. If you want a dog that looks like a true English blockhead, this is not the place for you. I was sent pictures of our dogs parents and then based on akc paperwork these were not our dogs parents. Owner will try to convince you to buy her scentsy dog shampoo to make additional commission off of you before you get your dog. She listed them in a message as “must have” items before picking up your puppy. We asked the owner Aprile if our dog was an English lab after looking on paperwork and seeing our dogs parents. She was very rude in her response and accused us of wanting to get rid of our dog. Just to beat her to this as this is always her response.. yes we love our dog and would never get rid of her but want to make others aware of the inconsistencies and lack of open and clear communication from this breeder.

I cannot stress enough how poor by experience with Creekside Kennels has been over the last 3 months. Throughout the entire process the breeder never once reached out to me to communicate with photos, health updates, puppy picking procedures, pick up procedures. I always had to initiate communication with my questions. She never answered the phone when I tried calling, and never returned my calls. Also over the course the 13 weeks I was in communication with her, she put our family on the wrong litter list (wrong color, gender, and pickup date), had to push back the pickup not once but twice, and finally texted me at 11:20pm the night before our 3rd decided pick up date to tell me that “the puppy threw up, she has raspy lungs, and the vet just put her down”. I had the option to wait another two weeks for another dog, but decided I had had enough. I had my deposit refunded immediately. This was a complete and total waste of time and emotional energy. I am aware that the breeder was going through a family crisis at the time of our transaction, and I am certainly understanding of that. However, over the course of 3 months I was consistently disappointed with my experience, and when paying such a high price tag for a dog, I did expect more. Proactive updates and professional, friendly communication does not seem like too much to ask. Please do not put yourselves through the process with this breeder. There are far better breeders out there.

I ignored every red flag about this breeder because I fell in love with the black lab puppy on the website. I made my first call to April about a year ago at this time to inquire. The owner responded with a text. I tried to ask a few basic questions but received only short replies, including something along the lines of “other people are interested in this puppy, so you need to make a decision soon.” The photos were so cute, I was told he was “outgoing,” and I knew it was difficult to get a dog because of covid, so I said yes. Almost all communication ceased until it became time to pick my puppy up. Coordinating pickup was an ordeal, with multiple communications ignored. Maybe not wanting me to see the kennel, the owner ultimately offered to drop him off halfway. On the day I was supposed to get him, I had zero information on when or where I was supposed to meet and thought I had been catfished. I ended up getting a call around 2PM and drove three hours and met a van in a parking lot. The poor puppy had been rolling around the back the whole time, unsecured. He was also a bit under 8 weeks according to his birthday on his AKC paperwork and weighed about 8 lbs— but oh boy was he cute.

Flash forward 4 months and my sweet puppy suddenly started resource guarding. I immediately went to a trainer and behaviorist—it’s a lab! He got worse, we spent more money and intensified training. I reached out to the breeder to see if any other puppies in the litter were having issues. She texted no and suggested a neuter, something we had already scheduled after consulting with our vet, trainer, and behaviorist. She never followed up to check in. After intensive training and spending a lot of money, his resource guarding issues improved, but then he started to have aggressive seizure episodes. He would just flip. He would go from completely sweet to snarling and growling. Sometimes there were triggers, but soon his condition worsened and there were no triggers. We worked to control his environment as much as possible and put in more intensive training to help him with inhibition. He still wasn’t always able to inhibit during these episodes and bit me and my spouse on multiple occasions. He wouldn’t be his “normal” self after these episodes and something was clearly seriously wrong. When our house became unlivable, I reached out to April numerous times asking her to talk. Every trainer, vet, and serious breeder I had spoken with told me that any reputable breeder would want to take the dog back at this point, especially if you were considering euthanasia. April pushed me off for days, before she finally put me in touch with her trainer. When I spoke to her trainer, she had not been briefed on the situation at all. I still have never had a conversation with April on the phone. I told her trainer that given the progression and severity of our puppy’s neurological aggression issues, we would likely have to put him down but felt that we needed to contact the breeder first. She did not ask for him back to do her own evaluation and appeared confused as to why she was having this conversation at all. I was offered a replacement puppy. I did not receive a single text or call to check-in in the following days on me or my puppy.

With all the professionals we worked with concluding our puppy had a neurological disorder, we made the horrible decision to put him to sleep. It was devastating.

I loved that dog so much. I poured so much time, love, and money into that dog trying to solve his problems, but we couldn’t make him better. April couldn’t make him better either. He was sick, but she didn’t do anything an ethical breeder would have done in this situation.

You can’t imagine the heartbreak this has caused me and my family. Don’t put yourself through this hurt and go to an ethical breeder. My puppy’s issues gave me bruises and bites. We could hardly pet him at the end. This genetic issue is likely still in her breeding lines and I wouldn’t wish the pain of losing your 11 month puppy on anybody.