I bought an advertised akc bulldog but no akc papers came?

Question

Hello I bought a bulldog from terrificpets.com The breeders name is Jessica Rutherford from Missiouri. She had him advertised as AKC. I bought him in Nov. 2006 and had him flown to me where I was supposed to pick up him along with his akc registration papers. When I got there he had no AKC papers. I contacted her and she said she would get them in the mail. Well end of December still no papers. Try contacting some more. Said she will get them in the mail the next week. Well it is now April 2007 five months after I bought him and I cant get in contact with her. I email, call, instant message, text message. Still no response. I used another screen name and acted like I wanted to buy another puppy and she responded within one minute. When I asked her where my dogs papers was she got defense and said I told you I would get them in the mail. Now still trying to contact anyway possible. But no response. What can I do in a situation like this? Can I still receive papers?

Answer 1

Contact the AKC and file a complaint with them. They may be able to help you resolve the problem. Here is the information I got from their site:

You will need to write a letter giving the details of the situation and copies of any documents you have. Please provide the full names, addresses, and phone numbers of everyone involved, including you. You will need to fax or mail that letter and copies of all related documents to:

American Kennel Club
Case Management Dept.
PO Box 37924
Raleigh, NC 27627-7924
Fax - 919-816-4250

We will review the situation, contact the breeder, and get back to you.

Please be sure to sign your letter of complaint.

Answer 2

You have a terrible logistical situation for finding relief in this situation since you apparently don't live in Mo. It will probably cost you more to persue this in a legal forum than you would recover. Try contacting the AKC about Ms Ruthersford to see if she is a registered breeder & if so file a complaint with them. Heretofore, & this is to all of you who communicate on this site, if you venture to purchase a dog without dealing direct w/the breeder: get the registration #'s of the dam & sire to check it out with the AKC before you consummate a deal. Find out if the breeder is a registered breeder w/the AKC. It is not mandatory to be a registered breeder but it is just another avenue of research in your case. As a breeder I am very concerned about unethical "breeders" & I really care about your situation. Please feel free to contact me @ my email address: [e-mail] & I will help you if I can.

Answer 3

You should have gotten a set of transfer papers when you got the puppy, you fill them out and name your new puppy and send them into akc... ( these papers have the breeders name and the parents of the puppy on them) .
Then when you fill them out and send to akc.. AKC sends you your pedigree and registration papers for $ 35 .
If you didn't get all that I would contact akc and treaten lawyer to this women in Missouri.
That is to bad that people are like that. Hope you get your puppy registered.

Answer 4

You need to call your local American Kennel Club to see if this breeder is registered with them. If not, I would take some legal action towards her if AKC cannot help you for falsely advertising these animals as akc registered dogs. I so happen to love bulldogs myself since I own 3 Boston Terriers that are descendants to the bulldog. But, please check this out because I'm sure you paid alot of money for this breed.

Answer 5

Interesting .. I googled the name and got this http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-12-04-online-pet-sales_x.htm?csp=N009

Is this your Jessica Rutherford? She's also from Missiouri.

Daniel Morris, 30, of Martinez, Calif., fell in love with a bulldog puppy from a Missouri breeder while searching on puppyfind.com. He wanted a companion for China, a healthy bulldog he'd purchased for $1,800 over the Internetin 2003.

A few months after Bam Bam arrived this spring, Morris noticed that the dog's hips were popping out of joint. His veterinarian diagnosed hip dysplasia and blamed it on poor genetics, Morris said. Bam Bam, who cost $1,500, has had one $6,000 surgery and may need more.

Morris filed complaints against the breeder, Jessica Rutherford of Bruner, Mo. Her husband, Geoff, said his wife sells about 35 to 40 dogs a year. They have never had any other complaints, he said.

Geoff Rutherford said they offered to exchange Bam Bam for another dog but heard nothing.

"There is no way I could do that," Morris said. "We already had bonded with the dog."

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Sorry to say but this looks like a classic puppy mill/backyard breeder case. I would report these people to the ASPCA and BBB.

Answer 6

Do you remember where this person lived? Go to their house and demand the papers. With out a registration number of parents, you are out of luck. To Jon, even if a person doesn't plan on showing or breeding, they paid for a papered dog and expect to get thepaper sinn due time. When I sell a pup the papers are already in packet with bloodline and sales contract. All of which I go over with buyer, All so called breeders should do the same

Answer 7

Your best bet would be to try contacting AKC with all the info you have. Do you have the registered names or reg. numbers of your puppy's parents? All of that would help. However, I'd be surprised if this breeder's dogs are registered, or if they are, they're on limited registration, meaning any puppies they have can not be registered.

Answer 8

YOU got scammed big time. So leave her a message saying something like "my lawyer with be in contact with you" "if i don't get my papers you will be sued for the amount I paid for the dog and how much it cost to fly the dog here not to mention I paid for a purebred and for all I know I got a mixed breed." Have a nice day!

Answer 9

I agree with contacting AKC. Report it because she may not just be playing you. Whatever you do, dont take it out on the little guy! He still wants to be a part of your family, papers or not :)

Answer 10

You need to report the situation to AKC..You may never get the papers..there may very well be no papers...it appears you may have gotten scammed by an irresponsible breeder.