Tru-Heart Labradors (Jacksonville, Florida)

All these negative reviews are simply not true. This is an honest review of our family’s aquaintance with Tru-Heart:

We had a wonderful experience with Terry and Tru-heart Labradors. I have owned dogs my entire life but had never purchased one from a high end breeder. Like all breeders that care about the dog, Tru heart has an application and interview. They do NOT want to match a dog to a bad home. They do NOT run a puppy mill. After reading the negative reviews, we were a bit nervous. NONE of them were true or the least bit accurate, just angry people, lashing out. Karens, if you will. From what we saw and read, Tru Heart is a very esteemed breeder with a passion for the Labrador. Their operation, care, and pride of their dogs is remarkable.

We spoke at length with Terry about carring for our dog. A LOT of good information. They always emphasized that they are there for us for the entire life of the dog. No matter when we called, Terry would stop what he was doing to speak with us. Case in point, while preparing for Hurricane Ian, I thought Id leave him a message to be returned after the storm. Terry answered the phone and spoke with me for quite a while even though the hurricane was approaching. He did not have to do that at all.

During puppy visitation, he took the time to Show ALL the dogs in his operation. He is VERY proud of his dogs. They are quite impressive.

On puppy pick up day we asked to meet our dogs Dam (Dottie) and Sire (Dan). Terry was very happy to bring them both over. Both dogs were very happy and healthy from magnificant lines. Tru Heart did not rush us at all in selecting our pup (we took a full hour). Terry was very helpful. A day later he called to see how we were doing. HIs Wife was always polite and helpful as well.

We ended up with an amazing puppy. I was so impressed with Tru Heart that I would highly recomend them to anyone looking for a perfect Labrador Retriever for their family.

Terry and Susan of Tru-Heart Labradors are passionate breeders dedicated to producing beautiful Labrador Retrievers puppies. When you purchase a puppy from them, they are eager to provide insights, advice and guidance on raising healthy and happy Labrador puppies for as long as you need it. The dogs in their kennel are exceptional and show Terry and Susan’s dedication to the breed. The puppy we recently purchased from Tru-Heart is not only beautiful, but happy, healthy and socially well-adjusted. We couldn’t be happier with our new pup!

To say that we are “satisfied customers” would be an understatement of our experience with Tru-Heart Labs. I first contacted Terry in 2021 after losing our sweet Lou, and while I was ready to add a new pup to our pack, my husband wasn’t there yet. We knew one thing was certain though – our next dog would be a Tru-Heart dog. At the beginning of summer 2022 we decided it was time. Our experience with Tru-Heart was like becoming part of a family. Terry truly takes his time to get to know you. You can see how much pride and passion he and Susan have for the breed, the litters they produce and their process. We picked up little Johnny at the beginning of Oct. He is remarkably smart and well-mannered and BEAUTIFUL. Susan and Terry are a wealth of knowledge and with you every step of the way for any questions, information or recommendations for everything for your new family member. We will be repeat clients when the time comes. We just wouldn’t go anywhere else.

Edit #2: All: Dec 12, 2018. This post is a gift for everyone in the process of getting a puppy from Terry. I have been blessed with a beautiful Labrador that fulfill our lives and hearts every day. He is 6 months old and is everything we asked for and more. Of course, he is not a puppy from Terry’s litters. Even though we have the puppy we wanted, as a good person and dog lover, I can’t get over the disappointment he caused my family until I see my troubles serve as a learning experience to others. If after reading my review you decide to continue doing business with Terry, I have a few hints that will help you succeed in the process.
1. Be prepared to feed the breeder’s ego. He is the best and he knows everything. If you think otherwise, keep it to yourself.
2. Don’t be fooled by “Visitation Day”. It is not visitation, it is INTERVIEW DAY!!! Be prepared to be disappointed and surprised at the same time. No touching/petting the puppies
3. INTERVIEW DAY cheat sheet.
a. You have a fully carpeted house, even if you don’t have any.
b. You are a true believer of crate training. You may have other
training ideas but once again, keep them to yourself.
c. If the adults in the house have to work during the day, be prepared
to say that one is a stay home parent and that the puppy will have
100% care during the day.
d. You have carbon filtered water, not a fridge filtered water for your
dog.
e. In general, follow his lead, think twice how you are going to answer
his questions or answer with a question so that you can say what
he wants to hear.
4. A final thought about the experience. Never ask for an exception to his rules (e.g. cash payment (no matter if you don’t feel comfortable carrying all that cash with you)). He may accept helping you out and seem accommodating, but at the end he will use that against you.

THIS IS THE POST THAT I NEEDED TO WRITE TO LET THIS GO. IT IS MY WAY TO PAY IT FORWARD SINCE BECAUSE OF HIM, MY FAMILY WAS BLESSED WITH A WONDERFUL PUPPY THAT MAKE US LAUGH AND ENJOY HIM EVERY DAY. I REALLY HOPE THIS HELPS SOMEBODY OUT THERE.

Edit. For the record and for every one to know. While Terry said he received all my calls he did not answered once. While I respect their decision on not having a puppy for me and respect them as a business and a good breeder, I deserve respect as a customer. I deserved a personal response, not as a response to a review.

I’m very disappointed with the way Terry and his wife treated me. After Visitation Day during week 5 and very fruitful conversation full of interesting information with Terry I was very excited to receive a beautiful puppy home on Aug 11th. I started getting ready for the puppy with all the essentials for him to be welcomed. I had received a paid in full email and confirmation of the Puppy Pick Up Day and all of a sudden I received a refund notification with a regret note where I got the money back and telling me in a very surprising way that I was not getting a puppy anymore. I called multiple times thinking that it was a mistake. They blocked my number. Never got a response in person why they decided not to have a puppy for me. I have proof of all of my statements with the emails I got from them. Don’t want to give them a 1 star because they do have beautiful puppies. Hopefully they will do better for other people. Terry: you are good breeder but not the only one.

I have had labs all my life for over 40 years. In that time I have never come across an owner that he had so much arrogance. They may have a good breeding line but would not even let me see the parents of the dog. Said you can look at pictures. How ridiculousness is that. You can tell the personalty and how the dog is going to react by the parents and they just want you to see pictures. There are much better breeders out their that will allow you to check out the pups and the parents so you have a better idea of what you are getting. Dont give these people your business their are better breeders that are more open with you on seeing what you are getting. Once I asked to see the parents the guy got very defensive. This should be a red flag to you. Please go elsewhere.

The other bad reviews are absolutely spot on. Terry is insane and his wife backs him up. They would not send updated pictures of the female mother for the litter I had reserved (only pic on website was from when she was a puppy and he had promised to send updated pics), most likely because she was no longer in their possession. They say you can visit the farm with a few days notice, but freaked out when I requested to visit with 2 week lead time. Again, because most likely there was no “Tammy” on sight. After several unanswered emails, he called me late at night and seemed to be “medicated” and quite aggressive. He gave all kinds of conflicting information on the expected litter date for the puppy I had paid a deposit on 8 months prior. Also why was their Facebook page deleted? Very strange. And so of course they offered me a refund of my deposit right away, because they knew I was not fooled by their bs. Thank goodness it ended that way, I was able to move on and got the best labrador from an EXCELLENT breeder in Alabama.

Edit #2: LMAO Susan! you are a complete liar and your entire operation is laughable. Yes, you could probably tell from the beginning I expected to get updated pictures of the dog that I was going to get a puppy from, and that I would want to know if the targeted litter date had changed. I was nothing but polite to you and Terry and definitely would have preferred to communicate by email (as requested) rather than a 9:00pm phone call from your husband that was off his rocker. Best wishes, so glad I never have to deal with you weirdos again.