We recently got a puppy from a pet store, please im tired of people ragging on me for it so please dont, and we noticed that the day after we got him, he wasnt right. It ended up that he had severe lobar pneumonia. We treated him right away, but it just kept getting worse. We ended up making a deal with the pet store that they would take him back and get him better, pay for him to get better then turn him back over to us when he was 100% healthy. A vet (that has a contract with the pet store) said he was 100% so we took him home. Its been a week and a half and we noticed that his nose was runny again so we took him in today. He is still sick!! We contacted the pet store and told them this and said the dog wasnt 100% that we think we should get a refund, they said no, talk to your attorney, we have already paid enough for him. I dont want to give them my dog but this doesnt seem fair! Does anybody know anything, laws, anything that could help us??
Answers:
When a Dog Is a Lemon
The odds of getting a sick animal at a pet shop are disturbingly high. Here's what to do if it happens to you.
It was love at first sight: Those expressive brown eyes, that noble nose . that wagging tail.
Lots of otherwise level-headed people fall head-over-heels for a puppy displayed in a pet store window. They may have gone to the mall to buy shoes, but end up taking home a considerably pricier item, a purebred puppy that costs several hundred dollars, upkeep not included.
Unfortunately, these shopping mall romances often have unhappy endings. Because after the puppy is home, the kids have given it a name and it's become part of the family, there's a very good chance the owner will discover that the dog is sick, or even dying.
The odds of getting a sick animal at a pet shop are disturbingly high. More than half the out-of-state puppies sold in California pet stores were ill or incubating a disease, according to a survey commissioned by the state legislature.
Pet stores are occasionally sued by customers or fined for selling unhealthy dogs. For example, a few years back Pet Depot agreed to pay New Jersey $7,500 in penalties and costs for selling dogs it knew were unfit for sale (among other violations).
Because problems with animals from pet shops are so common, several states now require pet stores to make detailed disclosures to buyers. They've also enacted "lemon laws" for dogs, holding pet stores financially liable for selling sick dogs.
What Sellers Must Tell Buyers
Some states require sellers to disclose facts about the dog's health, age, and history. If your state doesn't require these disclosures by law, ask for the information anyway. Be wary of any seller who can't or won't give you answers.
Keep track of medical bills. You can sue them in small claims court to recover the cost. Or go on Judge Judy, she's a dog lover and she'll probably rule in your favor just for that reason.
Do exactly what they said--talk to an attorney. They're guilty of something there.
Small claims court works real well,,, pet shops are NEVER in the right in the eyes of a court.
I don't know the laws in Ca but my first concern would be the dog. Take him to the vet get him all fixed up the take the pet store to court for your out of pocket expenses. Good Luck and I hope the puppy is OK. KG
Implied warranty of fitness for an intended purpose as adopted by a majority of the states as part of the UCC.
You will NEVER get a lawyer to take this case. You will drop $1500 - 3000 in attorney fees and never get a dime back of the fees. It doesn't wok that way in contract cases which is what this is.
You could try small claims on your own BUT there is a 'but.'
Puppy was sick. He went to the vet and stayed in clinic. Puppy came home %26 seemed fine.
A week and a half later (10 days) puppy has a runny nose.
(1) Puppies do that if something has irritated their nasal passages - dust mold etc
(2) Right now you have no diagnosis that he is ill - you think so but where is a diagnosis form a vet??
(3) You have no diagnosis that he is STILL ILL from what he had the first time.
(4) 99% of bacterial and viral infections will show up in far less than 10 days. That means that he was fine after your brought him home the 2nd time but if he is ill, he has picked up something else AFTER he left the store %26 vet and now it is your problem.
That time gap of 10 days is an enormous problem. No warranty, express or implied, says that they gaurantee the animal will never get sick.
He is probably run down and not that strong because of his breeding and the environemnt in which he was raised. (Those places sell weak puppies from terrible breeders who keep them in horrible conditions.).
Add to which, puppies get sick - they get sick since there is no vaccine out there for every single possible bacteria and virus. It happens to even the most carefully bred and raised puppies. When my now 2+ year old came home at 16 weeks, within in less than 3 weeks he was showing the signs of a bladder infection. Turned out so was his one litter mate. Who knows how both of them go it. Off to the vet for doggy antibiotics. And this litter was home raised by an AKC judge who owned the sire and dam and grandmothers, and grandma and grandma and daddy and auntie (mom's full sister) are all Westminster winners and top ranked show dogs in their breed - and she is my guy's co-owner (normal arrangement on a extremely well bred top flight show prospect.) It happens.
Did you get papers w/the puppy that showed you whom the breeder was? Alot of times when pet stores buy puppies they buy whole litters/cheaper for them that way.
How long did the pet store have the puppy b/f you bought
it? If not very long, it could have come from the breeders sickly. Keep all your records of monies spent on this dog.
In some states BREEDERS have to have a agriculture Lic. to breed %26 sale pups. Call your state Ag Dept %26 see if they'll step in %26 help you. Put the heat on the PET STORE %26 THE BREEDER! Also go to the county you bought the puppy %26 file a complaint on the pet store.
If the breeders place was nasty %26 has had complaints-get all info you can %26 get a TV station to AIR your dealing w/all of them..bring the house down on them. It happen to a Ga. Dog breeder %26 put her out of business!
retired breeder/shower/groomer/24 yrs
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