[JenniferS]

I purchased a corgi/aussie mix from what I thought was a reputable breeder. I picked up the puppy on 11/22. On the drive home she was slightly lethargic and threw up a couple times which I thought was just car sickness. She continued to throw up that evening and throughout the night. I called my vet immediately Monday morning and took her in for an emergency visit. Parvo test was negative and the pup was given IV fluids for dehydration and sent home on metronidazole and cerenia.
The pup was more lively and I thought she was started to feel better. She still refused to eat anything at this point so I returned to the vet on Wednesday 11/25. Vet stated she thought the Parvo test was a false negative and wanted to draw some labs. The labs showed electrolytes were off slightly and pup was slightly dehydrated. Vet recommended 2 options: going to animal hospital for IV fluids and overnight stay or take her home and try syringe feeding her every 3 hours and update in the morning. I chose to bring her home and attempt that option first because I was out over $1600 already and only had her for less than 3 days. She continued to show signs of improvement and was playful before bed. I woke up at 4 AM to find her lying in a puddle of bloody vomit and stool. Immediately headed to the animal hospital but she died before we got there.
Is the breeder responsible for returning the cost of the puppy? I realize the vet bills are not covered but can I go after the breeder? I did contact the breeder after the ordeal and she refuses to return the money stating I should have contacted her prior to taking the pup to the vet. It happened so fast and I never thought to contact the breeder until the puppy died. She appeared to be improving so contacting the breeder never crossed my mind. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[LeoRose]

I'm sorry to hear about your pup.

Did you sign a contract with the breeder? If so, what are the terms? "Puppy lemon laws" differ from state to state, so you would need to research what, if any, laws your state has.

Sadly, most "designer" breeders are pretty crummy, and frequently don't care about anything other than making money off their litters.

 

[JenniferS]

I'm sorry to hear about your pup.

Did you sign a contract with the breeder? If so, what are the terms? "Puppy lemon laws" differ from state to state, so you would need to research what, if any, laws your state has.

Sadly, most "designer" breeders are pretty crummy, and frequently don't care about anything other than making money off their litters.

She did come with a health gaurantee but I never signed it. It was placed in the puppy goody bag and I didn't see it until after she passed. I live in Wisconsin and am looking up lemon puppy laws in this state but am not finding much information. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong sites??
The guarantee states...

 

[storyist]

I'm sorry this happened to you. It must be devastating to bring a small puppy home and lose it that way.

The puppy was sick and at the vet's on the emergency visit within 72 hours, right? Did you contact the breeder and notify her the puppy was sick and died within 10 days? That's what that supposed guarantee requires. Even if you were a bit late on that part, if Wisconsin has a small claims court, why not file a claim for the purchase price and vet bills? The worst that can happen is you won't win.

 

[Deacon.dog]

I'm sorry for your loss.

I second the small claims court idea. I hope this opens your eyes to the awful world of backyard breeding, and the imporance of triple checking your breeders.

 

[DaySleepers]

First, I'm so sorry you had to go through this. It's awful and devastating and you are absolutely in the right to want compensation from the breeder.

I would, however, run the contract and situation by a lawyer. The only actual compensation I'm seeing it offer is for the return of the puppy for a refund, with no mention of how that'd work in the case of death. Wisconsin isn't a state with a puppy lemon law, if what I've found through google is correct, so with all that it's not very clear whether you'd have a legal case for getting even your purchase cost back. If the breeder is in a different state, check if that one has a puppy lemon law too, just in case it covers issues if the seller is a resident, even if the buyer is not. A lawyer will be able to give you a much better idea of what your chances are of getting any kind of recompense for this, even if - morally speaking - you absolutely deserve it.

I'm sorry to be a bit of a downer, but even small claims court can be expensive and stressful, so jumping in blind is a big risk when you don't have an obvious upper hand legally.