New puppy to be put down

powerful_Rogue

Hi,

I'm asking this on behalf of my sister, so please forgive me if im a little sparse on the details.

Last week she purchased privately a chihuahua for £500. She took it to the vets to have its injections and apparently it has water on the brain and they have had to have her put down.

Apparently the previous owners purchased her but were unable to look after her, so put her up for sale. As such there was no parent dog for her to be seen with. She was 8 weeks old I believe. It was a very rushed sale, the owners didnt really want them to enter the premises.

When I heard about all this I felt like hitting my head against the wall. We purchased a puppy 3 years ago so know all about checking with parents etc.

Question is, does my sister have any comeback against the previous owners in relation to the £500? If the previous owners are not interested, any recourse through small claims court? I know its a long shot, but thought I would ask on behalf of sister who is pretty upset at present.

meritaten

I would try to pursue the previous owners through small claims court. I have a funny feeling that they may be selling for puppy farmers so keep an eye out for them having 'another' pup to sell - if so then the RSPCA should be informed along with Trading Standards.
I am sorry for the pup hun, I am also sorry for your sister - but, I do believe she has been a victim too. Perhaps next time she wont be 'rushed' into making a decision on a 'pedigree pup' and will do some research into the people selling it.

powerful_Rogue

Thanks meritaten,

Ive been reading up on the private sale of pets and need to ask my sister a few things about the sale which will then decide which way to take things.

morganedge

Sad.
I would have advised her to ignore the vets advice about putting it down, personally. I really hope they were right.

We bought a boxer puppy and when we took it for its injections, they said he had big problems with the valves in his heart and wouldn't last much more than a week, and said to put it down then and there.

We ignored the vets.

That was nearly 15 years ago! The boxer had such a happy, healthy life living to over 14 years old, and I loved him to bits.

Best thing we ever did was ignore the vet.

moggymutt

morganedge, thats a bit of a daft comment, to say the least. One wrong diagnosis does not mean its then right to ignore every vet. But by all means seek a second opinion. Also what xrays/tests were done. But dont go blanketedly ignoring all vets.

Fire_Fox

I wouldn't mind betting the previous owners were the puppy farmers and/ or left it's farmed mother well before eight weeks and was thus far too young. How did she pay? Cash I bet, did she get a proper receipt staying what she had paid for, names and address? Otherwise no evidence.

You need real names and a real residential address for a small claims action - is she SURE she has that? Given they didn't want her to come in I wouldn't mind betting that was not even their home, puppy farmers rent places to sell from so they can't get caught.

Pechow

Since it was a chihuahua, and turned out to have hydrocephalus, was it being advertised as a "teacup" puppy?

hethmar

How very sad, poor little soul. Your sister must have been heartbroken. Did she get any paperwork with the pup?

Sadly, there is a real chance that these are puppy farm sellers. Hillside Sanctuary in Norfolk did an undercover investigation into the sale of apparent "private litters" which were actually poor little pups sold in bundles by puppy farms to unscrupulous people who then sell them on as bred at home. Disgusting.

Speak to Trading Standards and to RSPCA to see if these people are known to them. Even if sister loses her money, surely she would want this sickening trade stopped, if this is the case. If they are selling as a business, then she has more grounds for repayment. Has she checked for any more ads from the same people?

If your sis wants a chi, check out chi rescue. We have had a few chis into a general rescue in the last year, including a pair of babies which were bought as toys for kids and then not wanted

http://www.the-british-chihuahua-club.org.uk/Rescue/InterestAdopt.php