Complaint Review: Jim Hammond - Parrish Flolrida

I ordered a MALE, domestic born, bottle-raised, 8 wk old Fennec Fox as a pet last Spring. Jim Hammond sold me a FEMALE imported fox covered with scabs, sores, and excrement and infested with 2 strains of coccidia plus hookworm. She is being treated for these parasites plus mange and secondary infection, malnutrition, and is on 4 different medications. This a con man. We agreed on a price of 2000 in the Spring. He said he had partnered with a man 'in the Midwest' where the babies would be shipped from in a few weeks. Four months later he finally got the 'baby' foxes in and told me he could sell them all day for $2800 and wanted me to pay $300 more! I told him I had texts that showed we had agreed on $2000 and I could not pay more. He now claims he "gave me an $800 discount." I drove an hour to pick my fox up on Sat. Aug.18. He wanted the USDA transfer paper signed before I saw the fox and the 2k cash.

The paper stated the MALE fox was in perfect health. I had no reason to believe that this was not what I'd be getting and signed the paper. He said that since he was giving me a 'discount' I had to take a male with 'a little hair missing from the tip of his tail.' He handed me a skinny little fox that appeared older than stated and had scabs on HER body, especially her head. 'HE' was a female! I told him I had ordered a male. He looked disgusted, disappeared and came back apologizing and saying he grabbed the wrong fox and that THIS one was the male with the' little patch of hair missing from his tail'. I was appalled at it's condition. Very underweight, skin and bones, scabs and sores all over it's body. a mange or fungus growing half-way up her naked tail...I wish I could post the pictures. I decided she needed someone to rescue her and took her anyway. I was so upset I walked all the way to my car before I thought to check, and sure enough 'HE" was another female! By now I realized that he was trying to pass these sick looking females off on me.

I am elderly (72) and he probably thought I'd be an easy target and wouldn't think to check them to confirm their sex. My neighbor who had driven me there thought I should try one more time to get a little male. I was torn between taking this obviously unhealthy and neglected female back to him and my desire for an infant male like one I had lost in the 80's. I went back. On my third try he finally produced a male. He was skinny but didn't look sick like the other two. However he was not a baby and appeared to be closer to 6 mos-1 year old. I was emotionally exhausted and could not argue with this man any longer. I took the male. We had arranged to visit friends who had a fennec in Sarasota while we were that close. In an effort to comfort this panic-stricken fox I held him in my hands and tried to pet him on our way there. He was bat-s**t crazy wild and bit me on both hands and one arm until I had to put him in the crate. I arrived at my friend's house devastated.

She observed the fox biting and acting crazy and agreed that he would never be a pet and was much older than 8 weeks. At the same time I was feeling guilty about rejecting the sick little girl who so desperately needed medical care. I texted this man and told him the last fox he gave me was wild and not the 8 week old baby I was promised and I was on my way back with him. He said the sale was final. I told him I wasn't asking for a refund and would trade this male for the little girl 'with the chewed up ears and tail.' At least she 'looked' to be a baby and she couldn't help the shape she was in. I took her home and bathed her with an anti-fungal shampoo and fed her. She weighed 15 oz and ate 4 helpings! The next day was Sunday and the vet was closed. I had her in his office at 11:00 a.m. on Mon and received the diagnosis. I was devastated, hurt, and most of all angry that any man who said he loves animals could sell one in this condition. There would be ongoing care and medical bills. My other animals and even my grandchildren were in danger of being infected with coccidia.

The fox could not be handled and would never be a pet, and I was robbed of my dream. I called another Fennec breeder, sent him the pictures, and asked him what I should do. I could not bear to send her back there in her condition but I was so torn up about the whole situation. Then this breeder dropped the bomb. He told me the fox was NOT domestic-bred and coming from 'the Midwest, but was a wild- caught imported fox from Sudan, Africa. She Was NOT an 8 wk old just-weaned baby but, as the vet later confirmed, was between 4 1/2 and 6 months old. (She was small because of malnutrition). She was NOT bottle-raised or tame, and would never be an affectionate pet. He also told me she would be full of coccidia and worms and he was exactly right. With a little research I learned that after a 4-month wait there had JUST been a shipment of these imported foxes to the Miami area. I was also told that the African officials are bribed to mark these wild-caught foxes as 'captive bred' so they could be legally exported to the United States and that this man could have been given falsified paperwork and possibly even health certificates on them!

If true he will probably get away with everything! I recently found a post from a girl who had bought 2 of these fox from this man and she said they were mean, much older than advertised, and full of coccidia! How many more victims are there? I asked him for half my money back for this fox's vet bills and ongoing care as well as my 'pain and suffering' and he told me he'd see me in court, that I was old and broke and he could afford to fight it to the end. He then proceeded to bully me on a personal level, attacking my looks, my financial situation, and even made a comment about my kids. This is a very immature, rude, and disrespectful man. He sells mostly marmoset monkeys and his place is quite nice but he himself is a disgusting con-artist who had no qualms about taking advantage of an elderly great-grandmother with a dream to have a sweet baby MALE fox. Please think twice about dealing with him, especially if you are a woman alone. He is very intimidating, conniving and vindictive. You have been warned.