Breeder will not return my calls re my pups heart condition

[Fish54]

Hi guys l purcahased a Rottweiler pup from a breeder registered with Dogz Online in June,   the first vet examination (3months )nothing was reported.

We took her our Veterinarian 4months for her needles they noticed a heart mumur,this would be checked again at 5months, again the mumur was found and was suggested she should be taken to a heart specialist.

We contracted the breeder she advised she had no dogs with a heart mumur or any of her puppies and she'll grow out of it.

 

At 7months she was examined by the specialist via Ultrasound examination at a cost of $850 of her heart he found a narrowing of a artery. He advised that she would have a loss of energy and we should limit the amount of strenuous activities such as running. She will  require lifetime monitoring to keep  a eye on the heart 

He advised that we must  tell the breeder asap that  our pup had a hereditary fault passed on to her by one of her parents. 

We tried many times to  contact the breeder left messages explaining the problem along with copies of the handout from the specialist explaining the disease,   .....  finally we received a message saying  she  was sick.

We waited for a couple of months and again tried many times left messages but no reply. But she can advertise her new litter of pups on line.

What can I do l have a 9month old Rottweiler pup that cost $3,500 and can only  run ½lap around a oval then lay on the ground  exhausted.

Our breeder will not return  our calls...

The breeder should  also be aware of the "Code of Practice for the breeding of animals"

 

 

 

 

[Rascalmyshadow]

The next letter I would send would be saying your looking into taking legal action.

 

[Deeds]

Is the Vet prepared to put it in writing that the pup has a hereditary fault passed on by one of it's parents?

[coneye]

Don't mess about ,, get a letter of the vet , go down and take a summons out in the small claims crt , document every letter, phone call  and tex you send , and send plenty reminding her of her obligation  also tell her  you are seeking a return on vets bills ,,  ,, stuff her ,   what do you think she would do if you paid by cheque and it bounced , treat her the same ,,,, Some love to play holier than thou ,   defending there high prices because of heart checks , hip checks ect ect ,, and these breeders  that charge  the high prices and don't do the checks , are ruining it for everyonbe other breeders has well

[~Anne~]

The standout issue for me is - did she know, or could she have been aware of the issue prior to selling you the pup? If so, then she has a legal (I think) and moral obligation to compensate you.

 

If she wasn't aware there was an issue, then I don't believe you should hold her liable. 

 

The dog world is so damn mystifying at times - we want to think of them as 'family' and as living 'feeling' creatures, but then we treat them as commodities when we purchase. "This commodity is not fit for purpose" is what you're basically saying.

 

Yes, that's probably a rather simplistic view of it all but it is by no means wrong still. 

 

Is she still selling puppies and breeding that pair of dogs? Probably, but its not your issue to worry about. You've alerted her to the concerns. You've done what is the reasonable and moral thing to do.  Now move on. Love your dog, give it the best life you can. 

 

 

 

[JRG]

The Code of Practice in Victoria applies to all breeders and is supposed to be law so get in touch with the appropriate government department and ask them for advice.  As far as I recall, you are entitled to (at least) partial refund if the dog is under three years old.  However, if you go this route be aware that you might have to give the dog back.

[coneye]

On 10/12/2021 at 9:47 AM, ~Anne~ said:

The standout issue for me is - did she know, or could she have been aware of the issue prior to selling you the pup? If so, then she has a legal (I think) and moral obligation to compensate you.

 

If she wasn't aware there was an issue, then I don't believe you should hold her liable. 

 

The dog world is so damn mystifying at times - we want to think of them as 'family' and as living 'feeling' creatures, but then we treat them as commodities when we purchase. "This commodity is not fit for purpose" is what you're basically saying.

 

Yes, that's probably a rather simplistic view of it all but it is by no means wrong still. 

 

Is she still selling puppies and breeding that pair of dogs? Probably, but its not your issue to worry about. You've alerted her to the concerns. You've done what is the reasonable and moral thing to do.  Now move on. Love your dog, give it the best life you can. 

 

 

 When a breeder breeds and sells dogs , for a profit  , to make money ,, they are selling a commodity , does'nt matter if its a toaster , a kettle dog , cat , or horse , and that product should be fit for use ,,, In a dog ,  One with a heart defect , that cannot be  a normal familly pet , because its  got to have restricted excercis and is probably going to be on medication  all expense  for the rest of its life  its obviously not suitable for what its sold for .

Now regards wether or not the breeder knew does'nt matter ,, If you have vets telling you it has a  hereditry heart problem , you can summise , if its there first litter they did'nt know ,  but neither did the manager at harvey Norman  know when  they sold me a faulty toaster , they just had to replace or refund

.

 There are enough breeders defending the costs of puppies  ,  saying they have to take these things into account , in the big prices asked ,  that this breeder cannot have it both ways , if the dog has a vet or vets saying its faulty these people deserve a refund or exchange , and if this breeder still breeds from the dogs he / she , needs to be hauled over the coals ,, ....  Personaly i would'nt mess about ,  , If   the breeder said to me , look you know these pups are normaly 4-5 grand and you got yours for 1500 dollars , i'd say fair enough  i'll cop it ,,, but if i paid the 4-5 grand , sorry i would'nt hesitate , i'd get a letter from the vet ,  get a second opinion , and second letter ,, forward them off to the breeder , asking for a full refund or exchange for a healthy puppy ,    and if  they did'nt reply ,, off to the small claims crt quicker than you can say Jack Flash where i would also seek compensation for  vets fee's has well has the refund ..  Like i said its a two way street and once a breder any breeder starts  charging big money  ,  in the thousands ,, it changes the whole game  ,,  after all this dog was'nt bought from a  home of gumtree for 200 bucks

 

[Rascalmyshadow]

A good breeder should offer you a partial refund if you chose to keep the dog and a full refund if you give it back, as long as you’re vet puts it in writing.

I’ve been through this twice, first with an Airedale puppy, had a hereditary defect and had to be euthanised at 5 months old, breeder refunded us all our money as we had a letter from a specialist, the second was a 10 month old Samoyed from interstate, as soon as I got him home I knew something was wrong with his hips/back legs, took into the vet I worked, they knocked him out to do X-rays, he had hip dysplasia so bad the vet advised me not to wake him up and to euthanise on the spot, contacted the breeder, she spun some bull#%*t story and didn’t want to know about it, we lost money on the purchase price, the flight fees, and the vet bills, was a hard lesson to learn.

[Debraspace]

I recently had an issue with a breeder too (Vic) Dogs Victoria do not have the power to get your money back but advised me to lodge through VCat, be prepared if you lodge with VCat it is expected that you get your money back but you hand the goods back being the dog. I was not prepared to give the dog back and had to withdraw my claim ($280 to lodge it- lost) I also lodged with Dogs Vic complaint process which is still ongoing. In addition to this Agriculture Victoria advised me to report the breeder to RSPCA, they asked for a copy of the Orivet report and consider this to be cruelty to animals and will force the breeder to have the animal spayed to ensure future offspring do not get the hereditary condition, good luck