Parvo puppy from breeder!?

This might sound cheesy or ridiculous in a way, but I saw an episode like this on The People's Court. It's on Youtube. A girl purchased a puppy from a breeder. The puppy was diagnosed with Parvo shortly after. Breeder didn't want to pay for the vet bills because the other pups didn't have it. The buyer of the puppy won the case. It would all depend on the judge in your case. If you signed a contract absolving her of the responsibility of Parvo, you may be out of luck in that respect. Symptoms of Parvo can manifest in 7-14 days, not 4-10. Because of that, it's obvious the puppy did not contract Parvo while in your care, but in the hands of the breeder.

It is the breeders responsibility to sell you a healthy puppy. Is there a puppy lemon law in your state? You may be entitled to reimbursement of the vet bills because the Parvo was contracted while the puppy was in the breeders care, thereby selling you an unhealthy animal. So that may be a loophole in the statement that you have absolving the breeder of the responsibility. Because the Parvo was not contracted AFTER purchase but before, she may be liable. Your best bet would be to speak to a lawyer regarding this situation.

You don't need a lawyer as you can take her to small claims court if the lawyer states that you have a case, but consulting one for advice would be a good idea. It doesn't matter what she says regarding the rest of the puppies. If the symptoms don't show up for 7-14 days (print out any and all information you can regarding Parvo and get a statement from your veterinarian reiterating this fact), then it's impossible for the puppy to get Parvo while in your care, and already present symptoms of the virus. So you could have a case because under regular contracts law, you as a buyer are purchasing property that is to be as described. In this situation, a healthy puppy that isn't going to cost thousands in vet bills shortly after buying her.

What you bought wasn't as described and as a purchaser or property, you could be entitled to reimbursement. So contact a lawyer that gives a free consultation. Inquire about this, and move forward. Good luck!

Add: As for the 72 hour health check, to detect Parvo, a test must be performed. If the symptoms are not present, then there is no reason to test the puppy for Parvo. It's entirely possible that other puppies in the litter also had/have Parvo and the breeder is just stating that they did not to avoid implicating herself. It's also possible that your pup was the only one that was carrying it. That still doesn't mean that the puppy didn't get Parvo when in her care, prior to you purchasing the puppy from her.

If you have a written agreement with the breeder that they are not responsible for Parvo or do not cover Parvo that means that if the puppy gets Parvo they are not responsible for any bills. Though it does sound like the puppy got Parvo when it was in the breeder's care there would be no way to prove it so you're probably stuck with the vet bills. Sorry. And I hope your puppy makes a full and quick recovery.

I would take the woman to court whether or not there was a contract. If she was too cheap to protect her puppies from parvo, then she needs to be brought to court. Small claims isn't that expensive. And the judge will give her a good lecture. Plus she needs to be scared enough to make sure that ALL her dogs are vaccinated, especially puppies before they are sold. That is just negligence and cruelty. I can't imagine anyone thinking it is ok to breed dogs, but not protect them with basic vaccines.

As far as the contract, it doesn't matter. There is ALWAYS a warranty of merchantibility by law regardless of contract. The dog was not merchantable if it had parvo. If (when) you go to court use those words-- " warranty of merchantibility". It is a valid point of law in most states and you do not give up your rights no matter what contract you sign.

There is a link below about the topic. And remember that puppies are merchandise-- property.

If you see the breeder does not cover Parvo meaning if the puppy got it before or after sales. You bought that puppy and with the best of your knowledge it was healthy to you. When you signed that paper that is pretty much what you signed and when your puppy got it the breeder is not going to refund your vet bills becuase of that. I am so sorry to hear your puppy got parvo and is going through all that. I am trully sorry you will not be able to get refunded for your vet bills either by what I am reading. I have my degree in Criminal Justice, so I pretty much know. Next time do not sign a form like that becuase that means the breeder is a bad breeder and does not care for her dogs. I bet the other puppies have it.

It seems it would depend on the state laws and what is stated in your health contract with the breeder. As a Breeder myself, I suggest always ask where the pup you are interested in got their vaccination if they have been given one. Sometimes vaccinations are not stored under the proper conditions sch as temperature and they are worthless or could be out of date. A vac.from a Vet's office is always the best guarantee....... ....especially for puppies. If Breeder self-vaccinates,they should give you the label or copy of the label from the medicine bottle with the manufacturer on it along with the date shot was given. You can also request your pup remain longer with mom until has had second vaccination from a Vet or second vaccination period. Even if Breeder requests you pay for that; it is reassurance for you and more time for pup to get needed immunity to face the world. Also, always ask if the mom of the litter is up to date on her vaccinations and ask to see her latest records. breeders can say anything; ask to see records. Ask for the shot record for your pup to take with you to your Vet. You can even hire a separate Vet of your choice and request the Breeder take the pup to this Vet to get a Health Certificate. Legally any new pup taken across state lines is required to have a health certificate in new owner's hands and one in the hands of the state....this is to help prevent the spread of diseases. It will also tell you if your pup still has a lingering heart murmur, bite is off, a temperature, other important information. A good,reputable breeder should be happy to accommodate you on such requests. If not, then look elsewhere.

Well if you signed a contract saying breeder didn't cover parvo I think you can't do anything.Strange the breeder did that since most state laws cover infectious disease within 7-14 days I believe It is quite obvious that the pup was exposed to the parvo at the breeders home since it started to get ill two days after you brought it home.72 hrs is a poor health contract.What state are you in and is the breeder licensed through your state?You may still have some legal recourse if the state law differs from the contract since the law overrides it.

One of the first questions that comes to mind is, did the breeder give the puppies their first shots before you got the pup? If so, exactly what day and who is the manufacturer of that vaccine? Did the breeder administer the vaccine or did their vet do it? All of the pups in the litter would have been vaccinated at the same time, cause it would be ridiculous to do them separately on different days.

There are thousands of cases where vaccinated pups are coming down with Parvo in the past several months. Some of the biggest problems have been seen with the 5 way and the 7 way vaccines. EXACTLY what kind of shots did your puppy get? You NEED to get that info!

If the vaccine caused the Parvo, then it's highly probable that the other pups from this litter also have Parvo. This breeder should notify you if ANY of the other pups have Parvo. If She won't tell you, then take her to small claims court to find out who the other buyers are. By virtue of the fact that your puppy has Parvo, an ETHICAL breeder should have contacted all the other buyers, upon finding out that your pup has the virus, to caution them to watch for signs.

Had this been a pup that I sold, I would MOST DEFINITELY have notified everyone else! I cared greatly what happened to the GSD pups that I sold because I LOVED those puppies and turned away prospects that I didn't like. Just because I had puppies for sale didn't mean that just anyone got to buy one. It sounds like the breeder you got your pup from, could care less about those puppies. It's all about the money, and that's wrong!!

I just bought a puppy on 6-05-09 from a breeder several hours away from my town. We were in contact every few days talking about the pup I had chosen from pictures, getting updates about his growth and just how all the pups were doing. We talked about the 5 & 7 way vaccines, and his vet had also informed him of the problems she'd been seeing with those shots and pups getting Parvo from them. The Parvo outbreak has been so bad that his vet told him not to bring the pups in to her clinic and to administer the shots his self at home, which he did. When I went to get the puppy, the breeder gave me all the papers and the vaccine records. The vaccine records have a stamp affixed, informing of the batch, maker, etc. I wasn't asked to sign ANY papers exempting the breeder from selling sick pups. The breeder that I bought this puppy from is an honest, ethical, and caring man.

If you continue to have problems getting this breeder to be forthright with you, then you need to contact AKC and report this breeder for unethical practices.

My daughter just bought a Doberman pup from a breeder in SLC and the guy was and continues to be an absolute jackass!! She called AKC and they pretty much said there was nothing they could or would do, so that could be a dead end road for you too.

It sounds like your vets can substantiate the fact that this puppy had contracted the Parvo virus BEFORE you took possession of her. If that's the case, then I would think that you should have a pretty strong case in court. Have a lawyer review the form the breeder had you sign because I think the form is suspect in and of itself. So, did the breeder have you sign such a form because she KNEW that she was selling sick puppies? Finding out some history on this breeder shouldn't be too hard, providing the AKC complys and tells you when the last few litters from this HACK breeder were registered. Has this "Parvo" form always been a part of this breeders practice?

I've heard that some females can carry the Parvo virus and most, if not all of her pups come down with Parvo. Our neighbor had a Pit Bull female whose pups always died from Parvo even though she didn't show any signs of being sick, she was a carrier. The pups didn't become sick until a few weeks after they were weaned, about the time mommas immunity starts to wear off. You would want to substantiate the validity of that with your vets. If that IS the case, then this breeder should be sued by all the people that have purchased pups from her that got Parvo.

I'm really sorry that you and that poor little puppy are going through this and I pray for the very best of outcomes for you. Sounds like this breeder needs to be put out of business. I would go to her city, town whatever, and hang posters, take out ads in the paper and spread the word as best you can about BUYER BEWARE.

Despite what the form your breeder had you sign says, selling "sick" animals is against the law. Standing law supercedes anything the breeder has you sign. (And if they had you sign something that specifically mentioned Parvo it's probably because they've had PArvo in previously litters.)

Tell the breeder that if he/she does not reimburse you for the veterinary bills for the pup you will take him/her to court. Give them 10 days to pay, and then file a small claims court case against them. (Don't threaten legal action unless you're going to follow through, or the breeder can sue you for making false threats.) Usually just the paperwork coming to them from a court is enough to make a bad breeder pay what he/she owes you.

Also, to help the other dogs in this breeder's care, report the breeder to your local Animal Control office (with proof from the vet that your dog was sick) and tell them that Parvo may be an issue with the breeders' litters (regardless of his/her assertions to the contrary). If one of the pups has Parvo, they ALL have Parvo.

Animal Control has the authority to do a site check to see what conditions the pups are being raised in, and can confiscate the dogs if necessary. They can also demand that all of the aimals be properly vaccinated (which they seemingly have not been), and can pull the breeder's kennel license if he/she fails to conform to their demands. Your report of the breeder selling you a sick dog will also go into the local legal records and can be used against the breeder later if multiple complaints start coming in.

There's definitely something dodgy about this breeder if they actually got you to sign something specifically saying they won't cover for Parvo! As a general rule, puppies won't contract Parvo unless the mother wasn't vaccinated as they have some natural immunity passed down from the *****. Ultimately, that means the breeder is responsible, but you are probably stuck with the vet bills, due to signing the agreement. I would report the breeder.

Breeder is off the hook then.

You signed a contract that stated parvo wasn't covered - that should have been a warning sign to you - and within the 72 hour time frame you took the dog to the vet and received a clean bill of health.

I am also sure your contract states they won't cover vet bills as well.

Did you at LEAST get a 2 year guarantee for genetic issues?