update:puppy in mastiff group with hip displasia/breeder not keeping word?

Question

I wrote a few months ago distressed that one of the members in my mastiff group has a young mastiff with hip displasia. He was sold as a show dog to the tune of 2000. This is not an unusal price for a mastiff pup of show quality but now he has been diagnosed with hip displasia. The contract stated that in the event of hip displasia a full refund would be issues with medical proof of the displasia and spay or neuter. The breeder has hemmed and hawed and finally said he would agree to heed the contract after she sent him a letter a lawyer friend drafted for her but unfortunately, the check came and is for 500. Now what should she do? Breeders - how does she deal with this and what are your opinions on how to come to a resolution quickly and calmly. She has scheduled the hip surgery for January and he should be fine but the surgery itself is 3000.... Thanks in advance.

This is a direct quote from the original contract.
“"Refund Policy: Pups found to have PRA, hip dysplasia, or cryptorchidism will receive a full cash refund or replacement puppy with proof of affliction and spay/neutering by veterinarian."
Thanks for all of the advice so far. I have also told them NOT to cash the check. It is a very tough lesson. I hope some of you add on with the quote above if you have additional advice. I think they need it...

They have two sets of proof of the displasia, xrays, from different vets both have been sent to the breeder. HE recognized that the pup had displasia from what they sent and she has that documentation. So they have done everything as they should sending proof of displasia and neuter. I dont see where they have done any wrong here. The hips are guaranteed for 2 years with this breeder, not forever. Of course he cant be held responsible forever but two years at the price they paid seems reasonable to me. Also full refund seems warranted to me given the fact that when all is said and done it breaks down like this:
2000 was paid for the pup
vet bills to determine the displasia were paid by them of course
surgery to correct hips is 3000
If all works out and he is healthy in the end of the rehab from surgery they will have a non show quality beautiful mastiff pup at the cost of 1000 minus vet bills to diagnose.
I dont see how he shouldnt give full refund under his contract.

Answer 1

He needs to talk to his lawyer friend again ASAP, in the meantime I would NOT cash the cheque, as this could be construed to mean that he is accepting this amount as correct.

Have him document EVERYTHING and keep copies.

Unfortunately, the cost of successfully taking the breeder to court may be more than the amount of the refund.

Answer 2

It's hard to say without the entire contract, but I did notice that you said something to the effect of "replacement puppy OR full cash refund". Has this breeder offered a replacement puppy at no charge??? If she has, was this offer turned down?? If so, your friend may not have much recourse. It doesn't matter that your friend may not want another puppy from this breeder. This contract is very ambiguous at best and will probably be an uphill battle.

Did the contract say anything about what would happen should the owner decide to keep the dog? The fact the your friend has chosen to keep the dog and have an expensive operation done is commendable; BUT it also tends to let the breeder off the hook.

Ethically, the breeder should offer a full refund to help defray the expense on the surgery. Unfortunately, you can't change the way this breeder does business unless your friend is willing to go to court. I don't think I would cash the check until I had an attorney review the contract. I would also consider taking this to small claims court.

I commend your friend for even having a "contract"; without one there wouldn't even be a discussion. But there is also a lesson here. Before you sign ANY contract spend a $100 and have it reviewed by your attorney. Quite often there are so many loop holes "written in"; that you may as well not even bother. A contract should spell out every single contingency in exact detail to be effective.

The cleanest way to deal with this is directly with the breeder. Has your friend picked up the phone and said something like: "I'v decided to keep this puppy and have surgery on him. A full refund would be appreciated as this would help defray the expense of the surgery." If she has already tried the direct approach to no avail; then she needs to find an attorney. Good luck.

Answer 3

Nope, do not let them cash the check! Have them get an attorney to go over the contract. Have that attorney send her attorney a certified letter stating that the check for $500 will not be accepted and the breeder stated in the contract a full refund, with a photocopy of the contract and the portion highlighted. Then have the attorney put in their a time to get the full refund and that the breeder will be sued for the full amount plus attorney fees if the check is not received by that time.

Tell them to send x-rays in to OFA for evaluations and ratings as well. They then have proof from OFA about this for court. Those x-rays are rated by 3 different radiologists before they give a final report. I have a friend that was sold a boy years ago and the breeder claimed that he had been pre-limed and his hips were great on pre-lims. She x-rayed hips and elbows and sent off to OFA after the vet saw the films. He had severe hip dysplasia in both hips and grade III elbow dysplasia in both elbows.

Reporting them to the AKC would be a waste of time for something like this. The AKC is a registry, they do not police the policies of breeders guarantees.

Answer 4

If the breeder is renegging on their contract I would report them to the AKC and take them to small claims court.

Otherwise, I think the best thing is for your friend to just suck it up. Unfortunately dogs are living beings and even with the best circumstances and all the clearances necessary, there is never a 100% guarantee. It's not the breeders fault the problem happened ( as long as they raised the litter well and parents had all possible clearances required ), but it's their fault they are not abiding by their own contract.

They way I look at it, you do your research and get the best dog possible from the best breeder possible, and if something happens down the line, you need to suck it up and pay for it yourself. Heck, I've dealth with ED and other issues with my labs, but what point is it to go to the breeder afterwards? A breeder can't be 100% responsible for everything that happens to the dog. Are you also sure that your friend has disclosed the full truth. Sometimes there are stipulations like if the puppy owner doesn't provide OFA certifications to prove the HD, refunds are not given.

In my own puppy contracts, I don't promise anything, but I will be willing to work with puppy buyers on a case by case basis.

Answer 5

I have a mastiff as well that had bilateral hip displacia. We also purchased it from a breeder. We had a similar clause in our contract about the surgery. Luckily our breeder was really nice about it and gave us no trouble. Perhaps the person should not have asked for a check but sent a bill to the breeder. In all fairness to the breeder, you should get more than once price on the surgery to show that it's a reasonable amount. Good luck!

Answer 6

It sounds like they will refund the money after they have received proof of the hip dysplasia AND the neutering of the animal. Have they send both? If they have sent documentation from a licensed veterinarian and only received a portion of the cost, then definitely do not cash the check and contact a lawyer.

Answer 7

I'm really sorry, this is a sad but important lesson for your group members: not all breeders are trustworthy. Unfortunately, a legal process might end up costing a lot in fees for an unpredictable end.
In Canada a lady was sued by a kennel after she denounced in the newspapers that the dog she bought from them had hip dysplasia and the guarantee was BS. Unfortunately, law and fairness are not the same thing. Your friend should be cautious.

Answer 8

Without seeing the contract its very difficult for anyone here to make any suggestions. That being said:

Check into your state's puppy lemon laws
Have the attorney review the contract before the person cashes the $500 check
Contact the parent breed club about breach of contract (assuming the attorney has reviewed the contract and agrees there is a breech).
File a claim in small claims court

Answer 9

It all depends on what the contract said if it said for the full price of the pup then she will have to return the pup to the breeder for the full $2,000 sounds like if she kept the pup the $500.00 was for the amount she sold a show and non show we can not really say with out seeing the contract SORRY

Answer 10

Humm I would have tht lawyer friend submit a new letter mentioning possibly going the to breed clubs ethics commitee. that tends to make show breeders tremble