Hi Everyone,
This one probably belongs in breeder's forums, but I'm having a heart attack, I need someone to calm me down.
I have recently sold a puppy, who at their vet check passed with flying colours, on a Contract of Sale outlining the conditions in which the person purchased the puppy.
The main reason for this was to ensure that the dog would be desexed by a certain age, but we also included things such as ensuring the new owners had the puppy health checked within 72 hours so that they would agree the dog was in good health.
Well, 9 hours past the 72 hours we were contacted and told that what our vet deemed a perfectly health puppy a week ago has a heart murmur.
The contract offers the new owner the following provision; (I'm surmising)
- that in the case that their chosen AVA veterinarian does not agree that the dog is in good health, the puppy, at the buyers expense will be brought back to the premises of the breeder so that the breeder can take the puppy to their own veterinarian for examination.
- that if the breeder's veterinarian agrees that the puppy is not in good health the breeder agrees to take the puppy back with a full refund and/or the choice of a limited registration puppy from a future litter on which an amended contract will be signed.
We also said that diseases caused by polygenetic mode of inheritances were void from liability on the part of the breeder now or at any time during the dogs life - despite our health testing and the dedicated choosing of two healthy adults to mate to produce the puppy.
We had the new owners view the puppies a week before they went home, and sent the contract with them and made sure they read it, encouraging them that if they did not want to agree to the conditions of the contract to not go ahead with the sale.
Well, contract signed without a problem, the new owner has now called me, will not produce puppy to my address so I can get my vet to look at it, (they live close by), and wants to get her old vet to look at it. They don't want to give the puppy back, and at this stage am not even sure what they want me to do - (I believe it may be a refund as the price of said pup kept coming up)
I am devastated, and have no idea what to do, after many phone calls, can still not convince them to adhere to the contract that they signed, and am not sure how to settle the matter. Should I stick to my guns? Should I say until my vet has looked at the puppy I can do no more for them? I don't want to be mean, but I have to be sure that the puppy is indeed sick, and if it does have a murmur (the dog is only eight weeks old) I would rather take it back and wait to see if it is just a puppy murmur that passes, but that is not going to happen, no way, they believe they are the only home that has the ability to look after said 'sick puppy' - what would you do?