Advice after puppy sent back to breeder

urbanlegend11

Im after some advice and could only see this board to post it too in relation to my problem.
We bought a 14 week puppy from a local breeder after many months of deciding which dog, home circumstances etc.
Basically everything was fine apart from our 2 cats that would not come back into the house.
This went on for 2 weeks and was causing so much stress for the cats myself, my wife and children and so we spoke to the breeder and asked if she would be prepared to take her back which we thought would be best for the puppy and for the cats. She agreed and also agreed a sum of money to refund us. We took the puppy back and she said she would sell her on and give us at least the agreed amount and possibly more once she had been sold on. Although we were reluctant to leave without any money we could not see another option and obviously did not want to cause anymore stress to the puppy.

We texted her a week or so later to ask how the puppy was and how the rehoming was progressing to which she replied the puppy had been unwell but is a lot better now. We left it a further week but she is now not answering our texts.

Im wondering where we can go from here. I have an awful feeling she has taken us for mugs although she seemed so genuine. Do we have a leg to stand on ? we still hold the receipt that she gave us for the sale. If it was a small amount of money i would not be as concerned but we are talking hundreds of pounds.

Any advice would be gratefully recieved.

nonnatus

Oh Dear,


Did you pay in cash? And she gave you a receipt?


Then you take puppy back but come away without anything? Did you ask for an IOU or a written promise / something that you could use as proof that she now owes you money?


If not, it's a lesson for the future maybe, but NOW it's your word against hers. She will say she has refunded you, even though she hasn't I guess.


You should have come here BEFORE returning the puppy, would've got a lot of advice about settling it in with the cats etc.


You have my sympathy, but I think you've made some mistakes (with the best intentions, I'm sure) and have almost certainly lost your money now.

Tashatutuw

In one sense you are lucky she agreed to give you back any money at all, I know quite a few breeders who have 'hand backs' into the contract (i.e. if you can't keep the dog for whatever reason you are contractually obligated to hand back to the breeder) and they do not refund any money at all.

Would it be possible for you to 'pop in' on this lady? Go with the excuse that you just wanted to see how the pup was doing after its illness as you obviously still care and are concerned, then if she doesn't have the puppy anymore you could ask about whether she has the money you agreed on? Maybe not the most clever way in the world but potentially a means to an end?

arbroath_lass

How long has it been? Is it possible the puppy has not yet been rehomed? I assume it would actually take longer to check out potential owners. Especially if the puppy has been ill.

Do you know what was wrong? Could it be something the breeder felt you should have picked up on? In other words, could it appear, from the breeder's point of view, that you handed back a sick puppy? Might they have used your "refund" to pay the vet's fees? Is it possible the puppy is no longer saleable due to its illness? It may have been rehomed for nothing.

I think you need to talk to the breeder rather than texting them.

thorsoak

As someone who has been a breeder, this is a nightmare scenario, both for you, and for the breeder - and of course for the puppy too.

Like this breeder, I have always said that I would take a puppy back - and my puppy sale contract has always reiterated this. And this means regardless of how old the puppy/dog is, it should come back to me ....which means that I could possibly still have oldies of 11 or 15 that contractually I have said should return to me if the original owner is unable to keep them for any reason!

Understandably, the puppy has been a tad unwell when it has returned to the breeder - stress, different surroundings/food all take a toll on a young puppy. The breeder cannot attempt to rehome the puppy until s/he is satisfied that the puppy is in good health - which could mean that the puppy has to be kept in a type of quarantine area for a couple of weeks. The breeder has to feed the puppy, spend time in socialising and training a puppy of 13+ weeks - and at the same time, spend time in finding the RIGHT home this time for a puppy which is no longer the optimum age at which people look to get a puppy.

So be patient - the breeder has to spend time that s/he did not really expect to be spending on your puppy, and will not have as much time to be in contact with you, until a new home has been found. And don't forget, once the new home is found, you cannot expect to receive back the amount that you paid for the puppy - you don't expect to receive back the full amount for a new car, if you decide after a couple of months that it isn't the car for you, do you? There are the additional expenses for feeding, training etc that the breeder will have had to pay - and a 5 month old puppy sells for about one-third of the cost of a 3 month old puppy.

yorkshire_terrier_owner

Tashatutuw wrote: »

In one sense you are lucky she agreed to give you back any money at all, I know quite a few breeders who have 'hand backs' into the contract (i.e. if you can't keep the dog for whatever reason you are contractually obligated to hand back to the breeder) and they do not refund any money at all.

This is what I do. However, after a short period of time, and if the buyer requested it, I would consider a partial refund. It would not be a full refund for the reasons stated by thorsoak.

In this particular circumstance, I would have given advice re cats and puppies and tried to keep the puppy in its new home before I took it back. It's also one of he reasons I have cats - so that my puppies are used to them, but there is no accounting for cats who dislike puppies!

Frugalista

Excellent post there from thorsoak :T:T and I agree with all the points raised. This is the relevant section taken from the sales contracts on my own puppies ...

If for any reason you are no longer able to keep your dog, no matter what the age, the breeder must be contacted and given the opportunity to take the dog back without liability for the refund of any monies. In this instance, the breeder will endeavour to re-sell or rehouse the dog, and any monies received will be returned to the owner minus any expenses incurred by the breeder, should the dog prove to be rehousable. If the breeder considers the dog to be unsuitable to be rehoused because of a temperament or health problem then no monies will be refunded. Please bear in mind that the resale value of a dog decreases considerably when it reaches adulthood.

Don't forget "expenses incurred" by the breeder also include the cost of re-advertising; telephone calls; petrol to vets,etc; time spent interviewing prospective new owners, etc, etc, on top of all the things already pointed out by thorsoak. It all soon mounts up .

People tend to want a little, chunky, fluffy and cute 8 week old and a gangly, lollopy, "growing like a weed" 5 month old is not what most people have in mind.

Give the breeder some time to restore the pup to full health and find a suitable home - hopefully, this time, one where the new owners will have the commitment to give the pup a fair time to settle and not simply give up at the first little "inconvenience".

yorkshire_terrier_owner

Frugalista wrote: »

Excellent post there from thorsoak :T:T and I agree with all the points raised. This is the relevant section taken from the sales contracts on my own puppies ...

If for any reason you are no longer able to keep your dog, no matter what the age, the breeder must be contacted and given the opportunity to take the dog back without liability for the refund of any monies. In this instance, the breeder will endeavour to re-sell or rehouse the dog, and any monies received will be returned to the owner minus any expenses incurred by the breeder, should the dog prove to be rehousable. If the breeder considers the dog to be unsuitable to be rehoused because of a temperament or health problem then no monies will be refunded. Please bear in mind that the resale value of a dog decreases considerably when it reaches adulthood.

Don't forget "expenses incurred" by the breeder also include the cost of re-advertising; telephone calls; petrol to vets,etc; time spent interviewing prospective new owners, etc, etc, on top of all the things already pointed out by thorsoak. It all soon mounts up .

People tend to want a little, chunky, fluffy and cute 8 week old and a gangly, lollopy, "growing like a weed" 5 month old is not what most people have in mind.

Give the breeder some time to restore the pup to full health and find a suitable home - hopefully, this time, one where the new owners will have the commitment to give the pup a fair time to settle and not simply give up at the first little "inconvenience".

This is similar to mine, but I think the wording of yours is better.

rising_from_the_ashes

To be perfectly blunt, I actually can't believe you're expecting to get money back!:eek:

You bought the pup and it didn't fit with your home so you returned it - the pup's not done anything wrong - it's not been not 'fit for purpose'

If you get any money back - after original deposit, readvertising, care costs are deducted then I personally feel you should be happy with what you get :mad: sorry but .... seriously?

yorkshire_terrier_owner

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

To be perfectly blunt, I actually can't believe you're expecting to get money back!:eek:

You bought the pup and it didn't fit with your home so you returned it - the pup's not done anything wrong - it's not been not 'fit for purpose'

If you get any money back - after original deposit, readvertising, care costs are deducted then I personally feel you should be happy with what you get :mad: sorry but .... seriously?

I do agree with this. My cats are more than used to lots of dogs and puppies running about, but cats who have never lived with dogs, especially a puppy, will take time to get used to them. It takes time for things to settle down and proper introductions are needed. 2 weeks isn't really long enough to allow this to happen. However, Thinking about it, I would take the pup back as I would prefer that than keeping a pup in a home that isn't necessarily committed to the pup.

I had my cats as kittens when I already had dogs so they have been used to dogs and pups from 9 weeks of age. They are 11 years old now and eat with the dogs and also sleep with them. They are also very good at letting puppies know where the line is without hurting them, hence why my pups know how to behave around cats.

meritaten

actually - under the sale of goods act 'fit for purpose' means the opposite of what you are saying. and it should get a full refund.

the pup has been returned as 'not suitable', and terms should have been agreed in writing.
its up to you now to get the breeder to say that you returned the pup and hope to recover cost by the breeder selling it on. email will do. otherwise draft out a contract and visit the breeder and get them to sign it.
something simple along the lines of
I returned X pup to you as our household wasn't suitable for this dog, you agreed to take it back and sell it on. we are agreeable for your expenses to be taken from the sale price and the balance returned to us in remuneration for the cost of the dog.