Am I being reasonable?

Question

Ok, so my fiancee and I just got a puppy, we bought her for $450.00, she is AKC. The day after we got her the breeder called us and that one of his other puppies just tested positive for Parvo, and that we should get Bella to the vet to get her tested. So we did, and she tested positve for parvo.

We had three choices, either we let the vet treat her, or we take her home and treat her ourselves, or have the breeder treat her. To take her home and treat her it would've costed around $150.00. Before we made our choice we called the breeder and gave him the low-down. He offered to treat her for us and that he would reimburse us the cost, but that he hasn't ever treated a dog for Parvo. The vet said that if we take her home, her chances of living are slim. We let the vet treat her, and the bill was $608.00, now she's fine and healthy again.

What amount (if any) do you think the breeder should pay? I think he should reimburse us the $450.00 that we paid to get her.

Is monkeyness right, I could have let the breeder treat her for $150.00, it was my choice, but the vet said her chances of survival were slim if we took her home...

So signed agreement has been received yet, I am still waiting for the papers, it's a little harder to get all that done since he is in Oregon and we are in California.

Answer 1

I think the breeder should reimburse you $608 for the vet bill. I presume you bought a dog that you thought was healthy. You still have a HEALTHY dog and you should pay for the dog, but not the vet bill.

Answer 2

Being a breeder this is what my personal words would be. First the Breeder was right to call and warn you of the +parvo test on another puppy. And yes they were right to offer to pay but wrong to offer only to pay if you brought the pup to them and treated at home.

We ourselves have gone through Parvo after bringing in a rescue set of pups that were to have been healthy. so I all too well know your pain.

You had and have every right to choose to have the vet care for the pup as you had. And I am glad to hear that the pup is doing well. And the breeder if they are ethical and responsible would pay for the vet bill which would be sortof in the way of a return of the puppy costs and then what ever beyond that to care for the pups parvo needs.

So yes in a way you would be getting the adoption fee back for what you paid for the puppy. If the Breeder is not willing to do that then look into your states puppy lemon laws and see if you have one. Works the same as a lemon car law but is for dogs. I can sadly say that if you are in Wisconsin there is no puppy lemon law.

If none of that works then you can bring a civil suit against the breeder in the court of law to get the vet costs for the parvo back and the court costs as well. There won't be a pain and suffering as a puppy is considered property.

Let this be a leason learned by others to research the breeder and ask all the questions of things that might happen and make sure that it is in a contract that there is a health guarentee even for 5 days.

Answer 3

The situation may be that the breeder legally did what he should have which was to offer to reimburse you and to take the puppy back, and the breeder also informed you that one of his other puppies was sick so that you had yours tested and treated in advance of the puppy being sick enough to take into the Vet having not known.

At that point, you did the best thing for the puppy and took it to a Vet and got it well. You could talk to the breeder and see if he will pay the bill or any part of the bill. He might. But if he doesn't, it may be within his legal right not to since he informed you of another puppy that was ill, offered to reimburse you what you paid for the dog, and to take the pup back and treat it himself.

I am glad that you had the puppy treated in a way that saved its life and that you have a healthy puppy now.

Answer 4

That's difficult since he offered to treat her for you.
I think you should call and talk to him and explain that, while you appreciated his offer to treat the pup, since he didn't have any experience in doing so and the vet stated the dog would probably die if treated at home, you felt it necessary to allow the vet to do the treatment so the dog would not die.

If your dog came with a health guarantee, which many akc pups do, then it would be appropriate for the breeder to reimburse you $450 of the $608 as he'd have to either replace the pup with another pup, or reimburse your money due to the Health Guarantee. If the dog didn't have a guarantee, it's more awkward.

If he offered to reimburse you the cost, did he mean the cost of YOU treating the pup, or the cost of the vet treating the dog... that's the part that's unclear and you can ask him to clarify. If he states he'd meant to pay the vet cost, then you have to give him the bill so he can write off the loss on taxes. If he reimburses you the $450 that you are hoping for, you should give him a copy of the bill marked that he paid $... so he can have that for tax records.

Try to be friendly and diplomatic when you call. Don't call when distressed. He cared enough to call and warn you. It does make me wonder though if he'd forgotten to give the puppy it's first puppy shots before you bought it, as she shouldn't have gotten Parvo if she had her first puppy shots.

Answer 5

Sounds like a mill and not a reputable breeder.

Also, I'd have checked your vet costs a bit more. The fee is determined by how long the pup has to be on the IV, if she was tested for it, but showed no signs, I doubt she was on the IV for long. I've seen pups come in with nasty cases (already vomitting and diarrhea) and go off the IV in a day or less, so the bill can sometimes be less than $200!

I'd get a new vet... Parvo can NOT be treated at home (They need IV's for hydration!!!)

I'd sock it to the breeder... And next time, adopt from the pound=)

Answer 6

I am assuming you signed a contract when you purchased the puppy. If so, read it and see what it says about a health guarantee. Good breeders will have some provision in the contract for heritable or pre-existing health problems. You will have to go with whatever is in the contract (cost of pup vs. cost of treatment vs. set amount). If there is nothing, take whatever he offers you, because he is then not legally obligated to give you anything. Personally, I think he should reimburse the vet costs, not the cost of the puppy. Reimbursing you $450 is like saying you got a defective product. Just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Answer 7

Most breeders are more than willing to work with a buyer, and there is nothing wrong with a little bartering. See what he will offer you, and then you can always counter offer.
Just remember that if you ask for a set amount, the settlement will never be higher than that.
Glad your puppy is OK, that is the main thing.
Every thing else can be taken care of in due course.

QUOTE
"It does make me wonder though if he'd forgotten to give the puppy it's first puppy shots before you bought it"

I would be inclined to guess just the opposite, and he administered the shots himself after allowing them to reach a temperature of 42 deg or higher.
Parvo vaccine is a "modified live virus", and if it is not kept refrigerated it will mutate and the shot will give the dog "modified parvo".

Answer 8

I think that getting reimbursed for the puppy is definitely the fair thing to do. However, I would expect a fight from this breeder. If the case ends up in small-claims court, you definitely have a case. I hope it doesn't go that far. Just call the breeder and tell him that your vet bill was $608, and that you would really appreciate it if he reimbursed you for your troubles. Remind him that you'll still be out of pocket $158 for having to have a vet treat her for a condition a responsible breeder should have caught and treated before selling her to you. If he refuses to budge, call your lawyer. Good luck, and go kiss your puppy for me!

Answer 9

Your breeder is a very honest caring person to have called you and for you to have found this out early enough to treat the puppy successfully.

In many states there are lemon laws which cover your very question. Some of them say that reimbursement is up to the cost of the dog, some say 1.5 times the cost of the dog. I am not sure what Oregon or California laws say or which would apply in this case.

Either way,you are very fortunate to have such an honest and caring breeder.

Answer 10

Get legal advice, but personally I would think he would only have to pay you $150. He did offer to take the puppy back and treat it and then reimburse you, and because you didn't accept that legally the only cost I think you would get would be the $150 that you quoted him originally. I also want to say that you did a good thing, you made the best decision for the puppy and saved its life. The world need more dog owners like you, in the end you have a healthy puppy and that is the most important thing.

Answer 11

We just adopt out mutt puppies for $100.00 all vetinng including altering done and if one of ours breaks with parvo we immediately call adopters send them to our vet and have the bill on our account. We pay for 100% of the treatment and apologize our @ss off. In most cases they break before they are ever ready for adoption but sometimes it happens.

Added:

Yes you can treat parvo at home.It is a virus it has to run its course. It can however be messy and not for a weak stomach.

You can not ask for your money back because you still have the dog. If the dog had died you could have requested a reimbursement or replacement.

I hope everyone sees this never buy a pet from out of state.