Gave dog back to breeder, refusing to give money back

HopeAndDriftWood

I wouldn't send that letter, if I was you.

My sister did the same thing with a kitten. Exactly the same. She reserved the kitten, picked it up when it was ready, and had it for a night. She then found out she couldn't have a kitten, her new build flat was 'allergy safe', and she couldn't stay there with it. She took it back on the agreement that she'd get her money back, minus 1/3 for the inconvenience.

She was told to expect a cheque, which never arrived, so eventually it went to court. My sister lost. The verbal contract was broken, but it was her word against the breeders as to whether it was ever made, so the court decided if my sister could not prove a contract, none could be presumed to have existed.

The only contract that could be proven was my sister agreeing to take a kitten, paying for it and returning it. The breeder had originally been happy to have the £600 my sister paid for the kitten to cover this, but the court worked out EXACTLY how much the kitten cost her, including the costs of the mother cat involved, and how much she was likely to cost for the rest of her life, "as she could not be presumed to be able to be sold on." My sister had to pay that in compensation to the breeder, which was an extra £900, and court costs for both parties.

Your mum broke the only contract which can be proved, and while it sounds that she made the best decision in the end, you won't be able to prove beyond reasonable doubt that a new contract existed. I'd put this one down to experience, or it could be a costly lesson to learn.

poet123

Poppy9 wrote: »

Would they think she is barking mad:o:rotfl:

Or barking up the wrong tree:D

Poppy9

poet123 wrote: »

Or barking up the wrong tree:D

and having a ruff day, but the OP should paws for though before acting........:D

Somerset

I'd assume SauceySecrets's sisters experience is right on the legal aspect.

But I was thinking while reading this, what are the rescue's terms on this situation? I'm pretty sure if you return a rescue ( and they do charge a donation ) no refund is given. Tbh, if I had to return an animal, with no health or behavior problems, purely because I'd changed my mind/didn't like having a pet - I'd be wayyy too embarrassed to start arguing about any form of refund.

Brightness

lowis wrote: »

if your mum had gone to a rescue then she wouldn't be having any of these problems...shame she chose a pedigree really.

i hope she does get some money back - as you state, the breeder entered into a new verbal contract when your mother returned the dog. would your mother have returned the dog if the breeder had said 'no money back'? or would she have tried to sell it on her self? poor puppy, but breeding dogs turns them into products and commodities unfortunately, and you have to then view the situation as if you had purchased an item from a shop. so sad.

Lowis, I beg to differ on your first comment. Any dog 'purchased' from a rescue centre is actually still the property of that rescue until its dying day and the money you hand over is merely a 'donation'!

As for the situation of OP's mother all I can say is serves her right. It's about time breeders took a firm stance with people who mess about with puppies lives.

I have just taken on an 8mth rescue who was so screwed up when we got him thanks to someone like OP's mum who handed him back to the breeder after deciding that she no longer wanted him. OK so she kept him a little longer but she'd reserved him from a very early age and so stopped someone else from having him.

Thankfully I know the breeder and she let him come to live with us where he is living the life of riley and learning how to be a dog.

I honestly think that people should ahve to take some sort of test before they are allowed to have an animal of any kind and also think that licensing should be brought back.

Incidentally, just wondering what sort of breed this dog is and whether the breeder is KC reg'd or not.....

Sami_Bee

Somerset wrote: »

I'd assume SauceySecrets's sisters experience is right on the legal aspect.

But I was thinking while reading this, what are the rescue's terms on this situation? I'm pretty sure if you return a rescue ( and they do charge a donation ) no refund is given. Tbh, if I had to return an animal, with no health or behavior problems, purely because I'd changed my mind/didn't like having a pet - I'd be wayyy too embarrassed to start arguing about any form of refund.

The point was(I think) that either the rescue centre would realise she wasn't a suitable owner or that rescue dogs don't cost £500 so wouldn't be such a loss

mrcol1000

mattuk80 wrote: »

Hello,

My mother recently bought a pedigree dog from a breeder for £500 on Tuesday. She had the puppy for two days but unfortunately she realised she had made a mistake and didn't enjoy the experience. My mum suffers from anxiety and panic attacks and suffered a bad attack after getting the dog. She rang the breeder who said she couldn't take the dog back becaue she was going on holiday however her friend (who owns the father of the puppy) would take it back until she gets off holiday. She told my mum that she couldn't afford to give her any money back until she re-sells the dog. On Thursday night we took the dog to the breeders friend, no money was mentioned. My mum has been very emotional and depressed and as a family we decided she needed to make a clean break from the dog, obviously it would've been better for her to keep it for bit longer to see how she goes but she was in no fit state to do this and unfortunately none of our family or friends could take the dog so that's why she'd given it back. She's obviously upset about the money issue as well but I told her to wait a couple of weeks and when she feels a bit better she or one of us could give the breeder a ring to sort out getting the money back.

Today she got a phone call from the breeders mobile (who we thought was on holiday), it wasn't the breeder but her friend who we believe still has the dog. My mum spoke to her and the friend said the breeder doesn't have time to sell the dog and my mum won't be getting any money back. My mum said she felt they were taking advantage of her and it would be reasonable to give her at least half the money back, but the women said no and claimed that in the conversation my mum had with her on Thursday on the phone prior to giving her the dog she told her she wouldn't give her any money and that they were doing her a favour taking it off her.

My mum is very upset and doesn't know what to do. I've told her I would sort it out but I have no idea if there is any legal recourse she can take. I'm sorry for the long winded post, any help regarding this query would be much appreciated.

Should brought from a rescue home rather than breeder and so encouraging yet more dogs to be bred depsite the large number who are homeless. Had you give a dog a home from a rescue they would make sure the dog was suitable for your mother and taken it back if didn;t work out. Sorry if someone has already posted the above.

janninew

Hi

I've read this post with interest and wanted to add my opinion. I am a breeder of a giant breed dog (wasn't sure if i could put the breed!) and my main interest is the welfare of my puppies. I vet all potential dog owners very carefully, i've refused to sell my puppies on more than one occasion because something just doesn't feel right, i put all my time and effort into raising these pups, that they must go to excellent homes!

If a person wanted to return a puppy to me after 2 days i would take it back and refund all money, no questions. Having the puppy back home with me is the most important thing, and also being a respected breeder (don't like to blow my own trumpet!!) i always have a waiting list of people wanting a puppy, so would have no problems selling this puppy to the right home! I do have a contract that says all dogs must be returned to me if the owner can't look after them (this stands for the life of the dog) but there is nothing about refunding money - maybe i should look into this?! From my own point of view, i would just be glad that they returned the pup to me, i wouldn't want a legal battle over a few hundred pounds, especially as i would be able to sell the pup on for the original purchase price.

I hope the OP can sort this out without to much hassle.

Somerset

Sami_Bee wrote: »

The point was(I think) that either the rescue centre would realise she wasn't a suitable owner or that rescue dogs don't cost £500 so wouldn't be such a loss

I accept that - but it's the concept of a 'loss' on a dog. As others have said, it's an animal not a toaster. If you return a 'thing' it goes back on the shelf, a puppy is not a 'thing'.

Tbh I didn't know the legalities so I didn't post earlier. But if SauceySecret's sister's experience is 'standard' in the small claims court, then the OP would be a fool to go that route since not only would they fail to recover a partial refund, they might be liable for additional costs. It seems a bit hit and miss what breeders would do, I suppose you can only ask. But since this breeder is now saying ''no'', I'd personally forget it. Yes, £500 is a lot to lose - but I just don't think of pets as consumerables that that normal shopping/haggling/consumer rules apply to. But that's just me.

janninew

Simon_P wrote: »

Not to forget the breeder might also want to charge for time wasting as well.

I don't know of any respectable breeder who charge for time wasting!! Most would be glad to have our puppies back,and not have them end up in breed rescue or worse, being handed on to another unsuitable person. We put blood,sweat and tears into raising pups,we are not in it to make money!