Hello everyone,
I came across this post months ago when searching google for reviews on "The Golden Retriever Farm" run by Ray Marengere. Even though there were some bad comments and reviews made on this forum, I still decided to take a look for myself since it was not too far from where I live. The thing I noticed on this forum is that most of the negative feedback and comments come from users who had zero personal experiences and I found lots of assumptions were made on this forum without any real facts...
My purpose in posting this is to share my first hand experiences with anyone interested. I have been to Rays farm a total of 6 times so far and all visits were unannounced. In fact, Ray does not see anyone by appointment...he has "drop-in" hours Sat-Sun, 12pm-5pm respectively and everyone and anyone is welcome.
My search started in August after my family and I made the hard decision to put down our beloved golden called Taz after 14 beautiful years of joy with him. Taz was suffering greatly from two worn down hips and was no longer able to walk without discomfort.
I found Ray's website (
www.goldenretrieverfarm.com) through a google search and took a trip down to his home to visit him unannounced.
First visit:
When I arrived I noticed the barn from which he operated looked old and a little run down and this was my first impression. Once inside, I was greated very kindly and welcomed by Ray and I quicky noticed the inside was quite clean, confortably warm and well lit and the air did not smell bad. The dog pens were clean. There were big bowls of fresh clean water in each pen for the dogs and pups and the floors of the dog pens were covered in clean straw. His setup looked organized and was clean. Some of the walls in his facilities are plastered with pictures of smiling families with their new pup(s) and thank you cards and drawings...it gave me a good feeling! Although Ray was busy catering to the many dogs he has, he took time to ask if we had any questions in between comming and going. There were also many other guests looking and walking about the facilities. My kids had a blast visiting all the dogs and Ray was especially kind to them. All the dogs were well tempered and very social. Upon leaving were invited to come back anytime...
Seccond visit:
So we did. We came back unannounced the following Sunday with the kids again and this time Ray was busy feeding the pups and replacing the straw bedding in some of the pens. Again he took the time to greet us and let us know to ask any questions we might have had. He even let the kids pet some of the older puppies from one of the pens. At this point we started to enquire about the process to get a puppy. To my surprise I learned that the current 3 litters he had were all spoken for (between 20-24 pups) and that we would need to be put on a waiting list for the next available litter. This guy was busy I thought... We said we would think about it and come back.
Third visist:
We came back a thrid time (always unannounced) and since we showed an interest in getting the next litter, Ray took some extra time to introduced us to the potential mother and father. Today the adult goldens were outside playing when we visited. We learned that all the dogs get regular outside time in rotations. He also had us meet a 1 year old golden from the same mother and father to get an idea of the offspring. It was a blast and the mother and father were simply adorable. We got to play with the mother and father outside the pens and spend some time with them while Ray got more chores done. It was a very relaxing experience and I never felt pressured into any decisions. Ray simply provided options and choices and let me make my own. We also met other potential candidates in case we wanted to wait longer and go with anthor mother and father (however we fell in love with Dusty the father and Rosy the mother). Although the kids were allowed to pet some of the puppies Ray was also very cautious and adiment not to pick up or handle any of the puppies. It showed this man really cared for the well being of each pup.
Fourth visit:
Again Ray greated us with a warm smile and always made it a point to greet the children too. He let kids feed some treats to the adult goldens. Visiting the pups with the kids has now become a small ritual for our Sunday afternoons. We decided to put a down payment on a male puppy. Ray took the time again to let us get acquainted with the parents of our future pup. The barn was clean as usualy, clean water, ample amounts of food and clean straw in the pens...very impressed at this point. We are always invited to come back upon leaving.
Fifth visit:
On this visit I had a long talk with a couple who have bought two goldens through Ray in the last 20 years. It's nice to know that Ray has been keeping customers around for this long. By now Ray let's us wander around both inside and outside and we don't have any more questions for him. He's happy to let the kids pet the pups and give attention to the adults as well. His system is really a win/win for the dogs as they get attention and love from visitors while Ray is getting work done on the weekends. We decided to see if we could put a reservation on a seccond pup.
Sixth visit:
I got a call from Ray saying there was a last minute cancellation on the last litter and that one puppy was available. I met Ray Sunday morning to pick up the puppy. My wife and kids were ecstatic. Ray took two hours to go over all the paperwork with me and everything advertised on his website was honoured, EVERYTHING!. The puppy was very healthy, had all necessary paperwork and treatments. I also got paperwork on the parents as well. Ray went through other information with me such as feeding, general care and all kinds of little tips and tricks to train the pup. I really appreciated that even though I had a golden for 14 years, I still learned some things from Ray. Ray was also happy to take a picture with us and share in the happiness my kids and wife were experiencing.
I'm happy to announce Charlie is now a member of our family. The experience with the breeder was wonderfull from start to finish. We still have a reservation on a seccond pup which will be ready end of January-begining Feb 2016 (the one we originally reserved) and we're still going to continue to visit Ray any Sunday that we can.
To reitterate:
-Breeder is very knowledgable, loving, kind and has well over 20 years experience and it shows.
-Facilites and pens were consistently clean
-Dogs were well fed and plenty of fresh water
-Straw bedding was regularly changed
-Tempuratures were consistently confortable
-Breeder is very open and allows you to inspect his premissis at your leisure
-Dogs looked healthy, happy and were all very social and nice
-Breeder is happy to answer any questions
-Very relaxed atmosphere and I never felt pressured or missguided.
It's obvious when visiting and talking with Ray that his dogs are well maintained, loved and cared for. While his pens are not modern as some comments were made and located inside a barn, the animals in his care get all the proper love attention and support they need to get the best start ever for their new owners...
5 STAR breeder and I personally highly reccomend him.
P.S I've attached a picture of our new family with Ray (holding Charlie). And a few of Charlie
I hope someone finds this informative and I encourage anyone interested to simply go down and visit Ray and find out for themselves!