Puppy with congenital portosystemic shunt

[Yodayo]

Hi,

 

I live in Victoria and got a puppy from NSW from a registered breeder when he was 8 weeks old. 
 

Puppy was always fussy with food and very low in energy, we though it was just because of change in home environment . 

Within two weeks of puppy arriving he was diagnosed with congenital portosystemic shunt. He was in ICU and recovered well but needs a surgery which can be done when he is 6months old . We are medically managing him as of now and he is super energetic and well.

 

Breeder says she got the puppy vet checked and all , I wanted to know what are my options here . I don’t want to just let breeder walk away from this and wash of their hands. Are there any legal options I can take.

 

 

[JRG]

5 hours ago, Yodayo said:

Hi,

 

I live in Victoria and got a puppy from NSW from a registered breeder when he was 8 weeks old. 
 

Puppy was always fussy with food and very low in energy, we though it was just because of change in home environment . 

Within two weeks of puppy arriving he was diagnosed with congenital portosystemic shunt. He was in ICU and recovered well but needs a surgery which can be done when he is 6months old . We are medically managing him as of now and he is super energetic and well.

 

Breeder says she got the puppy vet checked and all , I wanted to know what are my options here . I don’t want to just let breeder walk away from this and wash of their hands. Are there any legal options I can take.

 

 

There are regulations in Victoria setting out your options,  I do not know whether they apply to dogs from NSW as well, but you can always ask or contact the appropriate the NSW govt department.

[Rebanne]

The most you could hope to get back is purchase price if you could prove the breeder knew the puppy had the shunt. Congential does not mean hereditary. Also there is no need to doubt the breeder had the pup vet checked as it would have been vaccinated by a vet and checked at that time. The shunt may not have been obvious at that time as in the pup showing any signs. I don't understand what you mean by "I don't want to let the breeder walk away from this" Congential means, basically, sh*t happens. It's sad but it's life. If you have approached the breeder with your attitude of making them pay for what is an act of nature then yeah it might get messy. However personally, if I was the breeder, I'd want a couple of days to digest this news as well as all vet reports to discuss with my own vet. Then I would most likely offer some sort of refund but it would be no more then the purchase price. If you wanted me to contribute to ongoing costs then I would want the puppy back. But I would avoid spending a fortune on lawyers etc and try and sort things out with the breeder.

[sandgrubber]

It requires far more than the normal puppy check to diagnose this condition.  Unlikely that it will be diagnosed when pups go for their jabs.

From a specialist vet website 

"a full diagnostic work-up is advised. Some of these diagnostics may be completed by your primary care veterinarian, but you may also be referred to an ACVS board-certified veterinary surgeon or veterinary specialty center for additional diagnostics. A full work-up may include blood work, urinalysis, liver function tests, radiographs, ultrasounds and potentially advanced diagnostics such as a CT scan with contrast or nuclear scintigraphy."

There MAY be a genetic component to the condition, but there are no genetic tests available. Due diligence is not sufficient to prevent or catch it. 

There are a lot of complaints about the price of pups these days.  If breeders are held responsible for this and like congenital conditions, expect those prices to keep rising. 

Edited February 7, 2021 by sandgrubber
Additional thoughts

[persephone]

16 hours ago, Rebanne said:

Congential does not mean hereditary. Also there is no need to doubt the breeder had the pup vet checked as it would have been vaccinated by a vet and checked at that time. The shunt may not have been obvious at that time as in the pup showing any signs.

I agree with this .Especially the first sentence . Things happen. 

[Yodayo]

20 hours ago, Rebanne said:

The most you could hope to get back is purchase price if you could prove the breeder knew the puppy had the shunt. Congential does not mean hereditary. Also there is no need to doubt the breeder had the pup vet checked as it would have been vaccinated by a vet and checked at that time. The shunt may not have been obvious at that time as in the pup showing any signs. I don't understand what you mean by "I don't want to let the breeder walk away from this" Congential means, basically, sh*t happens. It's sad but it's life. If you have approached the breeder with your attitude of making them pay for what is an act of nature then yeah it might get messy. However personally, if I was the breeder, I'd want a couple of days to digest this news as well as all vet reports to discuss with my own vet. Then I would most likely offer some sort of refund but it would be no more then the purchase price. If you wanted me to contribute to ongoing costs then I would want the puppy back. But I would avoid spending a fortune on lawyers etc and try and sort things out with the breeder.

 

Thanks for your reply. Breeder in this case is not even ready to accept that this is something caused by birth and throwing all kind of allegations like we were feeding him wrong food which caused it. I spoke to them and try to make them understand its nobody fault but they were like its your(my) fault. 

 

Hence, I  thought I should look for some kind of legal remedy. 

[Yodayo]

11 hours ago, sandgrubber said:

It requires far more than the normal puppy check to diagnose this condition.  Unlikely that it will be diagnosed when pups go for their jabs.

From a specialist vet website 

"a full diagnostic work-up is advised. Some of these diagnostics may be completed by your primary care veterinarian, but you may also be referred to an ACVS board-certified veterinary surgeon or veterinary specialty center for additional diagnostics. A full work-up may include blood work, urinalysis, liver function tests, radiographs, ultrasounds and potentially advanced diagnostics such as a CT scan with contrast or nuclear scintigraphy."

There MAY be a genetic component to the condition, but there are no genetic tests available. Due diligence is not sufficient to prevent or catch it. 

There are a lot of complaints about the price of pups these days.  If breeders are held responsible for this and like congenital conditions, expect those prices to keep rising. 

 

 

I agree to the fact it cannot come up in normal vet checkup which is carried before puppy ownership is transferred.

[persephone]

31 minutes ago, Yodayo said:

this is something caused by birth and throwing all kind of allegations like we were feeding him wrong food which caused it.

Quote

 its nobody fault 

IMO useless to try for any legal resolution . What are you alleging ?

You are both mistaken here- nothing to do with birth - it is when the puppy is being "put together" and things do not form correctly .As for feeding the wrong food - for someone who breeds dogs , her knowledge of anatomy/physiology is a bit sketchy. 
, She probably had no idea that the genetic lottery had thrown such a wobbly  in one of her pups. No way she could have known in the normal scheme of things . 
 

Edited February 8, 2021 by persephone

[SchnauzerMax]

Animals are considered property in the eyes of the law. So, in effect, you have purchased a defective product. 
The usual legal remedy is you return the dog to the breeder and receive a refund. There is no avenue for damages. The breeder may offer to pay for some treatment at their discretion or replace the puppy again at their discretion. Threatening and pursuing legal action for damages will only waste your money.

 

[Selkie]

As SchnauzerMax says, the most that you could hope for is getting your money back if you return the dog.

[Selkie]

And it's not something caused by the birth. It's mostly bad luck.

[WoofnHoof]

There are some breeds where shunts are more common (yorkies for example) and some breeders are starting to run tests on pups prior to homing. While it is likely in those breeds to have a hereditary component, In most instances it is thought to occur spontaneously, I have a husky who had one. Legally there are currently no requirements to test for this condition, there is no genetic test it is a matter of blood testing when pups are old enough. The only way you would have any legal recourse is if you had evidence that the breeder knew the pup was sick, or that they knowingly bred from lines which have produced pups with shunts previously. 

 

Either way the most you can hope for would be a refund of the purchase price, it may help towards the cost of the surgery but may cause further stress to you and your family so you need to weigh it up.

 

All the best for your pup's surgery, and check out this facebook group if you haven't already, lots of help and support there https://www.facebook.com/groups/239254069596394/?ref=share

 

 

Edited March 3, 2021 by WoofnHoof