New dog - poorly & prev owners knew -what are my rights?

bexyboo1312

Hi
Not sure if this is the right place but hope someone can help.
We bought a Pug 3 weeks ago, who will be 2 in April. He had been used as stud and had good pedigree champion lines. The owners were breeders and had used him as stud aswell as having another pug !!!!! (we i have discovered was up for sale in December)..they said their reason for selling was cos she was now breeding chiauauas (sorry spl). They were a family and he had been in the family environment.
They assured in writing he was in good health and had no known health problems. They did however say he had a wart on his face, which the vet had confirmed was only a wart and would drop off after a week.

We booked him in for a health check yesterday, and it turns out the wart is a tumour (which will hopefully not spread) but needs taking off and this has also caused an infection in his throat. As well as this, he has a problem with his eye which means an operation on that otherwise he could go blind. The total cost of all of this is £250 and his eye may not recover properly.

I was shocked as we didn't expect this at all. I have obtained the previous vet reports today, and it seems they knew about his eye condition a good 7 months ago and were advised by the vet to get him looked at but they didn't bother due to the cost. He has a history of eye problems before this and the vet report shows they stated they had no pet insurance (despitebeing breeders) and even that vet recommended not to breed, but they did.

We are now faced with having paid £800 for a dog (yes I knowit is alot), which we believed was healthy and that the owner confirmed in writing he was, when they knew all along he wasn't. We cannot claim off our insurance, as this comes under a previous condition (although we didn't know!) and wont allow claims within first 14 days. It also transpires that the "vet health check" completed in August was filled in by them, as he was not even seen on that date.

What rights do I have on getting the owner to recompense us with the vet fees , I am almost certain they will not offer when I first contact them so i would like to know what rights we have - if I decided to take to court etc. I don't know if it is worth reporting to kennel club, if they will do anything as they are still breeding other dogs - and are probably more than happy to sell unhealthy ones of those too!

Either way our poorly boy will be sorted out, I just feel annoyed that he has been allowed to suffer this long.
Thanks alot.

Takoda

There is a dedicated pet section. I'd start another thread in there as you will def get better replies than in this section.

Good luck with the dog. Personally I'd take them to small claims but I'm sure others will have more to add.

firesidemaid

i would think it fair to ask for ALL your money back.

seeing as you now cannot claim anything off your insurers now and in the future for either of these conditions i think this may just about cover you costs.

i cannot believ all that you have uncovered. hope doggie fully recovers x

Optimist

If the previous owners are breeding from the dogs I presume they are doing this as a business in which case this is a consumer issue and comes under the Sale Of Goods Act.

bexyboo1312

thank you for your help, i also think that would be fair but at this moment the most important thing is getting the money to cover what he needs. I'll post on the pet section. thanks
Will trading standards be able to help me if it is a consumer issue?

Optimist

bexyboo1312 wrote: »

thank you for your help, i also think that would be fair but at this moment the most important thing is getting the money to cover what he needs. I'll post on the pet section. thanks
Will trading standards be able to help me if it is a consumer issue?

Consumer direct have some template letters Link Here plus they will give you further advice if needed.

Whilst I realise your looking at this as a loved pet, legally its just a item you have bought and would come under SOGA assuming you bought from a business. You have not said if you have been in touch with the seller but I would suggest that's your first thing to do.

bexyboo1312

hi i haven't contacted them yet, because i wanted to know my rights first - i am stuck on how to word it as i dont want to seem angry from the offset (although i am!). i'll use that link and contact consumer direct to check my rights, thanks for your help

Equaliser123

The difficulty is if you start quoting SoGA, then they are totally at liberty to offer you a refund. Obviously they get the dog back. Are you happy with that?

Optimist

Equaliser123 wrote: »

The difficulty is if you start quoting SoGA, then they are totally at liberty to offer you a refund. Obviously they get the dog back. Are you happy with that?

I do agree with this until you approach them you are not going to know what their attitude is going to be, so quoting SOGA might be a little premature

pinkshoes

As a dog lover, I wouldn't want to be giving the dog back, but instead pursuing them for the costs of the vets bill to put him back to full health.

Write them a letter (sending recorded delivery) stating that you have had the dog checked by the vets, and that instead of being in good health like they stated, he has X and Y wrong with him. Then go on to say that you've checked his vet records, and as they were obviously aware of these medical issues, then you would appreciate them paying for the vets bill of £X.

I would then go on to say they have 7 days to respond.

If they decline, then write them another letter entitled "Letter before Action" then re-iterate the above, stating that if they don't pay, you'll take them to court over the costs, using the vet history as proof they knew the problems existed.

Unless, of course, you're happy to give the dog back for a full refund?

Proc

Another Pug sold to another trend-follower with no interest in the dog's well-being. I feel sorry for the dog already.

You say the most important thing is getting the money? It's not. The most important thing is getting the dog into good health, and giving him a loving & caring family that aren't going to turn their back on it the moment it starts costing money.

This got me thinking about when I first got my Springer Spaniel. He was about 8-12 weeks old. Took him to the vet and he was actually in quite poor health. Had terrible skin rash, some kind of lice, plus a few other small problems. It only cost about £350 to fix, but the last thing on my mind was "Oh yeh this is faulty goods I'm going to pursue the seller". It was more "Well I thank god he's healthy and happy again".

You wouldn't act this way with an adopted child, so why do it with a dog?

And if you can't afford the £800 fees? Well maybe you shouldn't be getting a dog in the first place.

Legally, I'm not sure where you stand. However, I do get the impression that the money is more important than the dog's welfare.