Question about a contract

[FeatherLove]

I have a friend who's husband got her a bulldog for their anniversary. He put $500 down on the dog. Total price for dog is $1800.00. The day she got the puppy it had diarrhea. She thought it was just being nervous in a new place. 2 days later it still had diarrhea and started vomiting it's food. She called the vet and they saw the puppy. They said it had cocsidia *sp?* She contacted the breeder and told her what was going on. The puppy had to be put on high dosses of antibiotics. She contacted the people again and let them know that she had already spent almost as much as the puppy cost on vet bills and meds. The breeder, in txt msg's, told her she would take the puppy back and get it well for her so she didn't have any more vet costs building up. My friend contacted the lady every day to check on this puppy. About a week into this the lady said her and her husband decided they were not going to refund her any money or give her the dog back. She said they had proof she tried to kill the puppy. I know good and well she didn't. She is a huge animal lover, this was a present from her husband, and I've seen her cry and cry over this puppy. My friend told her she needed to give her money back or return the dog to her. The lady said her money was just a deposit but that was the first time the word deposit was ever mentioned. They had just being using the term "payments"

What can she do about this?? They signed a contract but the breeder can't keep the puppy and the money!? Her husband works out of town and will be in this week. They are going to see a lawyer and maybe have a certified letter sent with copies of the texts the woman sent to her. Even if they signed a contract, could those txt msg's matter??

 

[Chicken Fruit]

once the contract is completed its no longer binding. its hard to know what was in the contract, usually there is some sort of health clause giving so many days before there is a refund given. If you're within that time span then, yes, there would be a refund demanded by the contract and small claims court would try the case. however there is likely nothing in the contract where the buyers would return the dog for treatment, that sounds like a situation in breach of contract, where neither party is adhering to contract perimeters.

I don't understand why the dog was treated so heavily, and at such a costly level, for cocci? That's a pretty routine puppy ailment. All young things get it. A simple round of antibiotics is enough to take care of it. left untreated it could make an already weak animal pretty ill and possibly kill it. I think the real issue here is that they got gouged by a vet and the dog was over treated for a relatively simple condition.

Most of the animals I've had, including dogs, weathered Cocsidia fairly easily with yogurt and simple antibiotics if needed. When calves get scours its usually cocci to blame and they tend to die from it usually because they are on replacer and not their dams. Puppies in almost all breeding cases are on their dams the whole time until weaning- so theyre getting antibodies for cocci. Most breeder worm before sending puppies home too, which could cause the same problems. All our pups from breeders had the runs really super bad, and vomiting, getting home. Yogurt and kiefer stopped it each time.

I think there's info lacking here, but I'd say its worth it for her to spend 50 bucks for a consult with a lawyer. I've had to before. I had a 7500 dollar filly once where the breeder breached contract several times. Blatantly. However even though it was in contract, because we set no dates in the contract, and various other small details, i couldn't take her to court. I had to take my horse and run.

Good luck to your friend. Next time she should definitely spend the extra 100-200 to have her contract professionally checked and/or written by her lawyer. 1800 bucks is a lot of money. Ugh. So sorry!

 

[Chicken Fruit]

Just to clarify, too, obviously these breeders, ethically, owe your friend a puppy. And I think its really crappy that they did this. I didn't want to sound like I was in favor of the breeders.

 

[duckinnut]

Without seeing the wording in the contract it is hard to say. There are many clauses that could be contained in it. Breeders with good reps would either provide a dog or their money back. You should ALWAYS do your homework when buying an animal from someone. Dogs more so as breeds have been over bred to the point of failure.

 

[thatchickenlady]

I think the right thing to do is for them to take the puppy back and refund the deposit. They should not have sent a sick puppy...

 

[FeatherLove]

I've never seen the contract and have no idea what it states. She did tell me that it had in there that if the puppy died before 1yr of age then she would get a refund. I think it's wrong for them to keep the puppy and money. They are using the "they have proof my friend tried to kill her puppy" to keep it. That's total bullhockey and anyone who knows her knows she would never harm an animal. I don't know what to tell her except that she should consult a lawyer and that if they really valued their reputation as a breeder they should do the right thing by giving her a refund, subtract her vet bills from the price of the puppy or give her another puppy... I've done contracts with horses before but have never had anything go wrong. Sorry about your incident chickenfruit. I have never dealt with cocci either. My dogs have never gotten it. I don't know why the puppy has needed so much medication and it got so expensive either. I just feel so bad for her. She is so upset over it. Thanks anyways guys.

 

[cassie]

No matter what the contract says, the breeder cannot keep both the puppy and the money. One or the other. Not both. Time to see a lawyer and take them to small claims court. Does this breeder advertise in Dog Fancy magazine? Dog Fancy will cancel the advertising of breeders shown to be unethical. Some states have lemon laws in regard to puppies. I know California does and they might check to see if their state does.

 

[chickened]

If the dog is sick the breeder should get it back. In our contracts we stipulate that the dog must go to our vet to be covered for bills. The details should be in the contract. Vets are known for charging outrageous prices for treatments. Cocci is very common and is very cheap to treat, like 20.00 worth of medicine that most breeders send home with the puppy. Most are treated with Albon (sp?) I think the vet seen your freind coming.

Most puppy contracts state no refund. From the sellers POV it can come in contact with anything once it leaves the seller and potentially infect the breeders stock. Plus there is no guarantee the dog can be sold again. There should be a vet health certificate with the contract.

 

[chickened]

Without seeing the wording in the contract it is hard to say. There are many clauses that could be contained in it. Breeders with good reps would either provide a dog or their money back. You should ALWAYS do your homework when buying an animal from someone. Dogs more so as breeds have been over bred to the point of failure.

Puppies get cocci just from the stress of a new home. Small breeds more so than large breeds. Puppies have no immunity to cocci and can get it at the new home just as easily as the breeders.

If a breeder refunded the money for a dog to everyone they would be out of business. Most health guarantees only cover certain things. Cocci is so common nobody guarantees against that.

 

[cassie]

Puppies get cocci just from the stress of a new home. Small breeds more so than large breeds. Puppies have no immunity to cocci and can get it at the new home just as easily as the breeders.

If a breeder refunded the money for a dog to everyone they would be out of business. Most health guarantees only cover certain things. Cocci is so common nobody guarantees against that.

The problem is in this case the breeder is keeping BOTH the money and the dog. That is just wrong. Also unethical, and probably illegal. Plus to say they heve proof that the buyer deliberately tried to kill the puppy is just nonsense.