Dog purchased from private seller but died within a week - covered by SOGA?

Ste_C

hethmar wrote: »

I think zee's point is, that to have compassion is human, to make silly gross jokes about the death of an animal isnt worthy of human kind.

Laughter is the best form of medicine. I don't see anyone joking about death either, just a few puns.

Woof justice really.

BFG_2

Ste_C wrote: »

Laughter is the best form of medicine. I don't see anyone joking about death either, just a few puns.

Woof justice really.

What a punbelievabley insensitive posting.

BFG_2

Ste_C wrote: »

Laughter is the best form of medicine.

Gotta say, antibiotics tend to work better than laughter [but not on viruses, and they can tend to build up resistance in the population at large if administered indiscriminately].

ses6jwg

So they bought a pedigree puppy for £500 which wasn't vaccinated or insured, not KC registered but apparantly a "pedigree" (you print pedigree forms off the internet).

Sounds to me like they did virtually no research before buying or are typical of the "bargain hunters" that are feeding these back yard breeders.

BFG_2

ses6jwg wrote: »

So they bought a pedigree puppy for £500 which wasn't vaccinated or insured, not KC registered but apparantly a "pedigree" (you print pedigree forms off the internet).

Sounds to me like they did virtually no research before buying or are typical of the "bargain hunters" that are feeding these back yard breeders.

Wow...a poster after my own heart!!!!!

Both barrels, and close up too!!!

SIT!!!!!!

thomasthecat

I don't think they were bargain hunting; £500 sounds like a lot to pay for a dog to me (mine is a rescue dog but that's another story). They aren't experienced dog owners so they didn't know about KC registration or pedigrees, etc. When they picked up the puppy the mother wasn't there (but having not had a dog before they didn't think this was strange).

Anyway, no, they didn't do their research and they have paid for it. I just want to know what is likely to happen if they take the breeder to the small claims court.

Somebody asked if they had contacted the breeder, and yes, they rang her the day after they brought the dog home to say it wasn't well, and then they rang with regular reports. When parvovirus was confirmed and their vet advised them to ask for their money back the breeder became abusive and they have not had any further contact with her (except for sending her a letter explaining that they are going to start proceedings). They have contacted the RSPCA but I assume due to the workload of the RSPCA there hasn't beern any progress so far despite my friend ringing to ask.

ses6jwg

It depends on the breed if it was a "TEACUP" maltese terrier or a male british bulldog for £500 that constitutes a "bargain" in this day and age.

I am not condoing the actions of this breeder they really are scum of the earth but to me it is absolutely ludicrous to spend £500 on something and know nothing about it. They prey on the gullibility and stupidity of the general public when buying animals.

Inexperience is no excuse. There is a plethora of information on the internet about what to look for when purchasing a dog/ puppy and it only takes 2 minutes to search. My sister researched for 6 months into pedigree dogs and what to look for before buying one.

If the mother was not present it does not sound to me like they are a "private family breeder with a one off litter".

Sounds to me like they are dealers or commercial breeders.

A lot of the dodgy ones will advertise widely then invite punters to a private dwelling of a friend to make it look like they are reputable small scale breeders when in reality they could be puppy farmers.

Parvovirus is something that is rife in situations where various litters of pups are exposed to each other so it sounds to me like the breeder is a fibber.

Trust me - this type of practice DOES and CONTINUES to go on.

Pedigree animals are BIG BUSINESS and there is BIG BUCKS to be made and some people will do anything.

I would be on the phone to my local Council with the breeders details, asking if they have a license.

If they do have a license they are a trader and you are covered by SOG you will not find a list of licensed breeders on the internet in most cases.

I would also suggest getting a copy of the breeders advert they went off then doing a google search of the phone number - you may get a bit of a shock.

In most cases the RSPCA will not do a single thing about it unless there is some sort of publicity stunt involved.

pinkshoes

They ought to get in touch with the Kennel Club for advice, and definitely the RSPCA, as I suspect they are perhaps selling pedigree dogs that are certainly not pedigree.

The letter they sent - was it entitled "letter before action" i.e. giving the seller one last chance to pay the money back otherwise they will take it to court? They should have done this...

I can imagine that they would stand a good chance of recovering their £500 in the small claims court, and can certainly try for some of the vet bill too.

Takoda

It certainly sounds like they did all the right things and should stand a very good chance of succeeding in small claims court. They need to get as much evidence as they can to support their case.

Did they buy on their first visit?

Did they ask to see the mother? All of the books tell you to do that because the size and temperament of the parents is a good indicator to the temp/size of the pup when it is mature. We saw our girl's Mum and her Dad was there too as the breeder owned the stud dog.

When I got my lab I went to see the litter (at Gundog breeder's premises) when they were 2 weeks old. I went back every Saturday to visit til I picked her up. Was lovely seeing them change and grow up.

Hard lesson to learn but I'm sure they'll be more alert and better informed when they get their next pup - assuming they can bear to repeat the experience.

Ignore the idiots posting jokes about it. Sometimes posts like this get better responses in the Pet section where the genuine animal lovers hang out. There are trolls there too but not as many.

You got some great advice on this thread though so pass it on to your friends and wish them good luck from me and my labrador.


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thomasthecat

Are we confident then, that the SOGA applies even though this was essentially a private seller? I don't want my frineds to waste any more money and go through all the stress of a claim if they are unlikely to win.