What can I do if the breeder doesn't follow health guarantee?

Question

I bought 2 yorkie puppies from a breeder with written health guarentee to cover inherited disease for one year. The first vet exam after I recieve the puppies ( 2 weeks after), He found out one puppy has mild Luxating pattella. I wrote to breeder. By guarentee for inherited disease, I either able to return the puppy , or getting full or partial refund depend how severe the disease. The breeder email back said none of her siblings or parents has luxating pattella. Before She ship the puppies, her vet didn't find out the puppy has this disease either. She want me wait and see. Then I wrote her back and told her 2 options. 1: partial refund, I 'll take care of the puppy in the future in case she need surgery in the future. 2: Wait and see, If puppy syntoms get worse eventuraly need surgery. She need pay half of the surgery cost. That's the last contact with this breeder. She won't email back, she won't answer her phone. She still sell her puppies on her website. What should I do ?

Puppy doesn't have symptoms yet, The vet did physical exam, He said when he manipulate the puppy's leg, he can feel right knee easily pop out of the joint and return back into the joint. I guess it's grade one

Health Guarantee :
Your pup is guaranteed for 14 days from date of purchase for all diseases it has been vaccinated for. In the event that your vet finds a defect at the pups first check up, the buyer has the option of returning the pup for a replacement, OR receiving a full or partial refund, depending on the defect. Minor cosmetic flaws that do not affect the health of the pup will not be considered for refunds. Only defects that would affect the quality of the pup’s life will be considered. Pups are guaranteed for a period of 1 year for congenital defects. Buyer has the final decision as to the disposition of any dog found to be defective, however, in the event that the buyer chooses to keep dog with defect, buyer releases seller from all responsibilities of incurred vet expenses of said dog.

No refunds will be given without proper documentation from a licensed vet describing the defect, and the return of all registration papers.

This guarantee is limited to the purchase pri

Answer 1

She is breaking the contract. You can get a lawyer and have them contact her and if she is still unwilling to cooperate, you can take her to court.
She is obviously not a reputable breeder if she isn't willing to follow through with a health guarantee.

Answer 2

Some guarantees exclude certain conditions, if they aren't necessarily genetic. Though luxated patellas are more likely to be inherited if the condition is in the bloodlines, they're a physiological abnormality of the legs. If the breeder had the necessary exams and checks before breeding her dogs, and they showed negative for risk of luxated patellas for a good few generations back, she may be correct in that she's not responsible for your puppies' condition. Read the fine print of your guarantee - it may state which conditions are covered and which are not.

If she's selling puppies on a website, and you didn't visit the puppies in person before buying, she may not be a reputable breeder at all. Though opinion is split, many people would agree that unseen shipping is an irresponsible practice.

Personally, I believe that any breeder who stakes their reputation on the health of their puppies would be more than willing to communicate with you and come to an agreement.
Depending on the nature of the document and who it was countersigned by, you may have problems trying to take legal action, particulary if the breeder can find a vet who'll uphold her dogs' health, and you can't find one who'll say for sure that your Yorkie's condition is genetically influenced.

Answer 3

Congratulations - you've basically bought from an irresponsible breeder. This is why people here tell you not to buy a puppy over the internet.

If you have documentation stating that inherited diseases are covered, make sure that the fine print doesn't disallow luxating patellas.

And read your contract - often your only option is to return the puppy. Of course, the scumbucket breeders know that people are very unlikely to return a puppy that they have become emotionally attached to, so the scumbucket breeder is usually off the hook.

But don't expect anything out of this breeder unless you go to court. She doesn't care about the puppy, just about the cash.

Answer 4

There is really only one way to enforce the terms of a contract and that is to take legal action. I.e. in small claims court probably. However, she has to have actually breached the contract before you can take any action and that may mean that the dog has to actually exhibit symptoms of the inherited problem before she is liable. It really all depends on the way that the contract was written.

Does she have feedback on her web-page? You may want to write a letter or post a note to a blog about breeders, contact the AKC if the puppy was registered to see what they know about the breeder and report her, etc...

Maybe all you need to do is tell her that you are considering these options--i.e. legal action or contacting the AKC and that give her the incentive to take some action.

Answer 5

Responsible breeders don't ship their puppies. She is not a responsible breeder and the likelihood of her holding up her end of the bargain is not high.
This is another reason that people need to be really cautious looking for a reputable breeder and take their time to research the breeder and the breed. DO NOT BUY PUPPIES ONLINE! Duh.
If it's only grade 1, then it's questionable...especially w/out an xray and on a really small dog. You should get a 2nd opinion before pursuing this legally.
You should report her to the AKC (or whichever organization that she says the puppies are registered with...I assume they have papers) Report her to the BBB. You can fill out this complaint form and send it in: http://files.hsus.org/web-files/PDF/puppy_mill_complaint_form.pdf

Answer 6

For what its worth, a luxating patella is not a disease, its a structural deformity that is fairly common in small breeds. Backyard breeders rarely have their dogs checked for it and if mild, symptoms may never occur.

Is she a member of her national breed club? If so, I would contact them.
Contact a lawyer and see if there is any help there... although its unlikely.

If you have a web savvy friend, set up a webpage talking about the issues you've had with the dog you purchased from her... if nothing else, it may cut into her sales.

Answer 7

Well what exactly does your contract say.. If it's vague then you are SOL likely. You get your vet to write you a report stating his findings and you show up to her house. She can't avoid you when you meet her in her driveway. If you can't get anywhere and your contract is one that actually says something, then go to small claims court if you really feel you might have a case. You might want to have a 2nd vet opinion, or take the puppy to the vet that the so called ' breeder ' uses. That way she can't say that the vet was one that she doesn't trust.

Answer 8

While there may be some great stuff in breeder contracts, the only enforcable parts are from the Uniform Commercial Code for the state they were sold in. See a lawyer.

Please note there is no such thing as a "mild" luxating patella. They are graded with numbers.

Answer 9

first get a copy of the vet record stating there is a difinate problem.
send a regitered letter along withthe vet copy. Tell her you willgive her 12 weeks to respond and if not you will be taking her to court. If you are not willing to do this thogh jsut suck it up because that's all you can do.

Answer 10

If you have a contract in writing I would take it to a lawyer sometimes they can send a letter and people will pay more attrition to them