Should a breeder/seller be held liable if their puppy is found to be sick with parvovirus after it was sold?

Question

I'm referring to a puppy (cocker spaniel) that my brother-n-law purchased from Sellersburg, Indiana, it recently died of parvovirus. She was diagnosed with parvo just two days after she was bought. The breeder claims she contracted the virus being on his truck since he's an over the road truck driver. Can this happen in just a short time? Or is she lying to cover her butt and not take any responibility? Can we sue her? Is she liable?

Answer 1

The Breeder is liable!
The puppy contracted parvo from the breeder! The parvo virus takes 7-10 days to incubate. Your brother would have to have had the puppy for around 2 weeks for it to have contracted the virus. Untreated puppies (or even treated puppies) will (can) die within about 3 days to 1 week after incubation...onset of signs.

I had a litter of Rottweiler puppies that I had given their first set of shots (6 weeks) to before I allowed the new owners to pick them up. My neighbor purchased one...at 10 weeks when the next set was due, I offered to pick up a shot for Dekota and give it to him...she declined...at 14 weeks when they were do again, I again offered..she again declined. About 3 days later, Dekota was dead from parvo. My neighbor tried to say that he had parvo before he left my house (she wanted her money back!), so I called my vet and asked the incubation period of parvo...then asked if there was ANY way he could have contracted it before she took him...he said NO. Come to find out, Dekota only had the 6 week old shots...his new owner did not get the rest of his puppy shots.

Find out if the puppy had had its first set of shots (puppies can still get parvo even if they have has the first shots). Talk to your vet and get a statement from him/her about the death of the puppy. Did you get a contract that says the day you purchased/picked up the puppy? That would prove how long you had possession of the puppy. You can take the breeder to small claims court (she may not show) to get your money back. Also, if she is an AKC (or such) breeder, report her and send a copy of all of your findings to them...They should suspend her registry rights.

Answer 2

The breeder is liable if the dog papers state that the sales price included vaccinations. The dog should have had it's first round of vaccinations at 6 - 8 weeks of age before being sold.

And yes, parvo can kill a puppy very quickly and dogs are a-symptomatic during the incubation period which can be up to 2 weeks. Many pet owners find that they go to bed at night thinking their puppy is healthy and happy and wake up the next day to a dog that his damned near dead and almost drowning in it's own waste.

It may be hard to get your brother in law's money from the breeder...and you might just end up in a royal P****** match....but he should, at the very least, contact the department of agriculture and file a complaint against the breeder. If the puppy contracted parvo at the breeders, then other dogs are at risk until the source is located and removed.

Answer 3

I've always believed that the incubation period for parvo is about 10 days. According to my search, the incubation period for parvo can be around 4 days to 2 weeks (it varies from site to site) -- nothing says it's only 1-2 days. Therefore, the probability of the dog catching parvo anywhere other than the breeder's facility is pretty small.

I'd say the breeder is liable.

Answer 4

double check with vet on the incubation period of Parvo-if it is more than 2 days-bingo, also get vet records for Puppy to see if shots were given, if you B-I-L bought the pup on the understanding that shot were given and none were-the breeder is liable-but any breeder of repute would refund the money or replace a pup if something like this happened

Answer 5

Make them give you a new dog or money back. Did the dog come with a valid health check? parvo takes a few days to incubate. It contacted the virus BEFORE you bought it. Sounds like the breeder is not so reputable.

Answer 6

A while back i bought a dog form a pet store and it got parvo and died so i told the pet store and they gave my money back so im pretty sure that the breeder is liable

Answer 7

She should at least offer to replace the puppy for you. I think if she wanted to be in good standing and have good business practices since she did not seem to be willing to do this,send animal control her way cause i think she could be selling sick puppies to unsuspecting ppl. They will fine her if all is not right and they will check her breeding charts and make sure her home is clean and the area where she keep the dogs is clean. my exs mother was raising pups and her house always smelled and someone called animal control on her and they fined her for having unhealthy conditiions for the pups. she was not allowed to sell for like a year untill she got an approved kennel and they checked her out throughly . So you see i think where you bought this puppy might really be nasty. So do report her to the animal control dept where you live. Good Luck.

Answer 8

i sure would sue her because the parvovirus is so quick acting that the puppy must have caught it from her place and the breeder should have given the puppies their shots. SHE IS VERY LIABLE

Answer 9

if you got the dog from a reputable breeder they should refund the money....did they sign a contract? sounds to me like the breeder doesn't stand behind her pups. do you have a bill of sale?
was the pup paid for with a check?(can stop payment) if you have a contract and if it states in the contract that the pup was vet checked and found healthy you might have a case.

Answer 10

I think she is liable. Did she not make sure the puppy had it's first shots? one of the first ones they get is to protect against parvo.