What can a person do if they got a dog from a back yard breeder, and the puppy died after 1 year old?

Question

will the authorities do anything, will akc? the dog was AKC certified, very sad story

The puppy died from lymphoma. cancer. :(

This happened about 3 years ago, a bullmastiff. I then got another bullmastiff after interviewing 40 breeders, and finally found a breeder that would change my contract to my liking, including hips,etc. It's kind of sad that I had to learn and get screwed over,

what's worse is that not only does the dog suffer, but so do the family for the rest of their lives. I don't regret having him, he was my son. I rather experience love our beloved bullmastiff gave us than to not at all.

thank you for all of your feedback.

I look forward to hearing more feedback.

Oh yeah, I contacted the IL dept of consumer's affairs, and come to find out I was the 3rd call that week, 2 other puppies from that litter died of Lymphoma also.

I tried contacting the backyard breeder and going to her home, etc, she moved, changed her number. I didn't even want my money back, I just wanted her to stop breeding because everyone suffers except for her. How can someone be so evil??

Answer 1

I think the best thing you can do is educate other people about your experience and hope that fewer people will buy from backyard breeders.

What you are doing here is good. Maybe you will change one person's mind. The more that happens, the less likely BYBS are to succeed. I am sorry to hear about your dog, but glad you made the right choice the 2nd time around.

Answer 2

You can't do anything unless you got a health guarantee in writing. Besides that, you don't say what the dog died of. If it was a genetic disease, it's important to get in touch with the breeder to inform them. If they are at all responsible, even a tiny bit, they will want to know so they do not breed that particular dog again. If it was not a genetic disease, I'm not sure the breeder can be blamed. Sadly, some dogs do die young, just like children, and it can have nothing to do with how they were bred.

"AKC" has nothing to do with quality or health. The ONLY thing "AKC" means is that the dog is a purebred. THAT'S IT. It's insane how many people think otherwise. With the way some people talk, it's as if they actually think the AKC came and inspected the dog or the breeder before saying okay to the registration.

Answer 3

You got a health guarantee? Contact the breeder.. Bought from an unethical breeder and got no health guarantee you are SOL... The authorities aren't going to do anything and the AKC doesn't care.. The AKC REGISTERS dogs, they don't monitor dogs and make sure you took goo care of it and check to find out why the dog died.. They register dogs ONLY.
AKC isn't a certification, it's a registration.. Why can't people figure that out???

Sad story but lesson learned.. puppymills and backyard breeders don't give health guarantees and if they do, it's like 24 hours or 1 year.. IT's always short of when the problems arise..

We give 6 year written health guarantee on hereditary /congenital problems, 8 years on natural eared dogs.. LOTS of breeders give more than a year guarantee. If you don't, it means that you aren't all that sure that your lines are healthy...

Answer 4

If it died after a year, it could have been anything. Food poisioning, choking, no health care or a virus. Truth be told that a dog is a dog, and they breed the same way whether it is in a back yard or a certified kennel. If it was a genetic defect I would go back to the breeder and ask if there is any sort of refund or credit on another pup. You would need proof from the vet for that. Any responsible breeder would agree to that.

Answer 5

Wiping the tears from my eyes i know what u are saying is true, I only wish that i could rescue every animal that is taken to the shelter but unfortunately i cannot. I have adopted several pets in the years that were ready to be put to sleep and for some reason i picked the older ones so they could live out the rest of their life. I have a couple dogs i rescued that were so old they only lived about 6 months longer, but that was six months longer that they could be happy and taken care of. The older ones never have a chance as nobody ever wants to adopt an old dog that may die on them in a day or two, but that is my preferance as i give them a longer time to live instead of being put down in the way u explain. Alot of people believe that these animals do not know what is about to happen to them and they supposeably do not know what is going on, i know that is the wrong belief as they do know and it is so sad it has to happen. People do not want to believe these animals get rendered into their pets food and their loving pet is eating another fido, but unfortunately that is true also. I do wish that there was a differant approach to the unwanted pets, but there is not. I Thank u for trying to get out a message, but unfortunately u will have those that will argue the point and say u do not know what u are talking about.

Answer 6

Sorry to hear that you lost your dog. You really need to be more specific. What killed your dog, exactly?

So many other factors can contribute to death, including illness, poisoning, or injury.

Most breeders give a specific health guarantee, in writing. Do you have a purchase agreement?
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edit

I saw your update. Very sorry for your loss. That was a good idea to contact the state. You should also contact the AKC.

I cut this from their website: http://www.akc.org/about/faq.cfm?page=8

"Can you tell me if you have received complaints against a breeder or pet shop?

If you have any questions about a local breeder or pet shop, it may be advisable for you to contact the Better Business Bureau to determine if they have received complaints against a breeder or firm.

For reasons of fairness, we would not be able to tell you if we had received a complaint about a particular breeder or firm. Some complaints that are received cannot be substantiated and it would be improper to give out information until the conclusion of an inquiry. If an inquiry leads to a suspension, this information is published in our monthly magazine."
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As for the breeder, if she's in business, she'd probably be easy to locate. Mastiff's are a relatively rare breed. You should try locating her by internet search, using her name, business name (if any), last address, breed and state, etc.
Check local phone listings at dexonline, she may still be in the area.

Look and/or post on mastiff forum's - petfinders, or craigslist. How did you originally find her? For example, If you found her in the local paper, I'd suggest you look there.

Good luck to you.

Answer 7

I agree with the others. Specifically, if you can, tell us what happened with the dog. I know that it is painful but you will get better answers if people who are knowledgeable (like Shepherdgirl and Jennifer T) know what happened to the dog.

If a breeder is responsible, they do give health guarantees on certain maladies that tend to be specific to the breed that you bought. And responsible breeders most certainly give written health guarantees for longer than 1 year. I have known several people that bought pups whose hips went out at 4 years who got a refund on the pup (they didn't want to send the pup back) because the hips went out. So guarantees longer than one year do happen!

What does your contract stipulate?

Also, if you do feel that you were "duped" so to speak, it is always nice to at least talk/write the AKC and let them know of the breeder, talk to your vet, get word out there that this breeder may be less than reputable, and you can also call/write/file a petition or claim with the Better Business Bureau in your area. If you really feel there was more going on, you can always try small claims court to get your money back and possibly restitution for the vet bills you incurred. But that is going to take a lot of time and energy . . . it's all about how much energy you wish to put into your endeavor to get your money back or to get a new puppy from that breeder . . .

Answer 8

There is nothing you can do about it. If the puppy had died within a few weeks of purchase, you may have had a case, but the dog could have died from any cause, not neccessarily anything to do with the breeder, it could have eaten something in your own back yard for all you know, and unless you get an autopsy you cannot blame the breeder.

Answer 9

I'm very sorry about your dog but being as you got the dog from a BYB then you have no recourse.

Just to clarify. I offered a 3 years guarantee on all my pups health and hip problems. This gave the puppy buyers long enough to have the dogs hips checked and of any genetic problems to show up. I felt it was mu duty to do so as a good and reputable breeder. I have never had nor do I intend to hear that any of my pups have any problems but if there was one or 2 than I wanted to know about it.
That's improving the breed, and keep your lines clear of defects. That's be a good and responsible breeder. Any less than that, well I feel i just not right or ethical!

I'm sorry for your loss but next time look for a breeder who will
stand behind the dogs they produce and not just shrug their shoulders and say oh well!

Answer 10

Nope nothing you can do. When buying a puppy it is buyer beware.
Some states have puppy lemon laws but I think a since a year has passed you are just out of luck.
Sorry about the loss of your dog.

Gee Help, when I bought all my dogs from reputable breeders (5 currently) I have gotten at the very least a two year health guarantee, any guarantee under two years is just garbage because in the case of large breeds, the hips can not be OFA'd til they are at least 2 years old and on my last Shepherd I got a 5 year guarantee against any genetic diseases and on my most recent Mini Doxie I got a lifetime guarantee against spinal problems. I guess the 1 year guarantees are popular amongst BYBers but I know better.