I need to vent ... and plead with all of you who may be getting a puppy in the near future ... to please pay attention to what your breeder says and pay attention to what your contract says.
One of my puppies went to his new home on Saturday. He is a very nice little boy, 3.5 lbs. and 19 weeks old. As I said in other threads on this forum before, I keep all puppies until they are at least 16 weeks old, have their puppy shots done at 8 wks, 12 wks and 16 wks and have their bile acid tests done at 15 wks old. All puppies are placed with a sale contract which contains, among other things, a mandatory spay/neuter clause and a very reasonable and generous health guarantee. Attached to the sale contract is a copy of the lab results of bile acid test and a health history printed out by my vet detailing the date of each and every visit, vaccination, etc. On the health history page I write out the date that the rabies vaccination should be given, the date that the one-year DHPP booster shot should be given, and a schedule of all future vaccinations. My contract contains the following clause:
Said dog will have received all appropriate puppy shots and deworming prior to purchase. Purchaser will be responsible for vaccinating the dog for Rabies; said Rabies vaccination is not to be administered before the dog reaches 5 months of age ( ) and is not to be administered in conjunction with any other vaccination of any type. Failure to abide by this vaccination clause renders any and all guarantees contained in this Agreement null and void.
This puppy's new family came to my home early Saturday morning. As we had agreed ahead of time, I bathed him after they arrived so that they could watch and learn how to do it. They got to watch and learn how to dry him, shave his paw pads and cut his nails. I gave them the same nail clippers and battery-operated paw pad clippers that I use on all my dogs. We then reviewed and discussed the contract, clause by clause, discussed the vaccination schedule, the use/schedule of heartworm preventative, flea/tick preventative, and the timing of the neuter based on what the puppy/adult teeth are doing. My contract says that the puppy must be neutered by 8 mos. of age but also not before the adult canine teeth have erupted through the gums. We discussed the feeding schedule, potty training schedule, and the general care of the puppy. Everybody understood and agreed with all clauses of the contract, read and understood the health history, understood and agreed to the neuter requirements and the general care of the puppy. Perfect, right?
In accordance with my contract (which says the puppy must be seen by a vet for a wellness exam within 5 days of purchase) the puppy had his wellness exam today. He got his rabies shot, in accordance with the contract. And that's where the good news ends. In addition to the rabies shot he got another DHPP shot, an intranasal Bordatella vaccination, and an application of Frontline. And they scheduled his neuter less than a month from now when he won't yet be 6 mos. of age. All of this was done on the advice of the vet tech!!!!!!! Since most of you know that I'm a very mild mannered person (NOT), you can well imagine my reaction. Needless to say, I am scared poopless for my little guy!! And, needless to say, the owner is scared poopless for her new puppy and because she ignored the contract and thought she was doing the right thing. The worst part of all of this is that the vet she used IS MY VET!!! I have never had this sort of issue with my vet, but then again his techs would never dream of telling me what I should be doing to or for my dogs.
As other breeders have said before, our sale contracts are always changing and evolving. Just when we think we've got it right something else goes askew. Tomorrow morning I will be calling my vet and tomorrow night I will start drafting an "open" letter addressed to "Dear Vet of Maltese Puppy Now Owned By __________________". That letter will contain (bolded and underlined) the clause quoted above from my contract, have attached to it a copy of the health history and lab results from the bile acid test, and will be followed by a statement that "should you as the new vet of this puppy, administer any vaccinations, flea preventative or heartworm preventative not in accordance with my contract, then you as vet will have caused all guarantees contained in the sale contract between breeder and purchaser of this puppy to become IMMEDIATELY NULL AND VOID.
I'm upset, confused, angry, frustrated and scared. How will we ever get through to people -- buyers, vets, vet techs -- that what we put in our contract we put in there for the WELL-BEING OF THE PUPPY?
One of my puppies went to his new home on Saturday. He is a very nice little boy, 3.5 lbs. and 19 weeks old. As I said in other threads on this forum before, I keep all puppies until they are at least 16 weeks old, have their puppy shots done at 8 wks, 12 wks and 16 wks and have their bile acid tests done at 15 wks old. All puppies are placed with a sale contract which contains, among other things, a mandatory spay/neuter clause and a very reasonable and generous health guarantee. Attached to the sale contract is a copy of the lab results of bile acid test and a health history printed out by my vet detailing the date of each and every visit, vaccination, etc. On the health history page I write out the date that the rabies vaccination should be given, the date that the one-year DHPP booster shot should be given, and a schedule of all future vaccinations. My contract contains the following clause:
Said dog will have received all appropriate puppy shots and deworming prior to purchase. Purchaser will be responsible for vaccinating the dog for Rabies; said Rabies vaccination is not to be administered before the dog reaches 5 months of age ( ) and is not to be administered in conjunction with any other vaccination of any type. Failure to abide by this vaccination clause renders any and all guarantees contained in this Agreement null and void.
This puppy's new family came to my home early Saturday morning. As we had agreed ahead of time, I bathed him after they arrived so that they could watch and learn how to do it. They got to watch and learn how to dry him, shave his paw pads and cut his nails. I gave them the same nail clippers and battery-operated paw pad clippers that I use on all my dogs. We then reviewed and discussed the contract, clause by clause, discussed the vaccination schedule, the use/schedule of heartworm preventative, flea/tick preventative, and the timing of the neuter based on what the puppy/adult teeth are doing. My contract says that the puppy must be neutered by 8 mos. of age but also not before the adult canine teeth have erupted through the gums. We discussed the feeding schedule, potty training schedule, and the general care of the puppy. Everybody understood and agreed with all clauses of the contract, read and understood the health history, understood and agreed to the neuter requirements and the general care of the puppy. Perfect, right?
In accordance with my contract (which says the puppy must be seen by a vet for a wellness exam within 5 days of purchase) the puppy had his wellness exam today. He got his rabies shot, in accordance with the contract. And that's where the good news ends. In addition to the rabies shot he got another DHPP shot, an intranasal Bordatella vaccination, and an application of Frontline. And they scheduled his neuter less than a month from now when he won't yet be 6 mos. of age. All of this was done on the advice of the vet tech!!!!!!! Since most of you know that I'm a very mild mannered person (NOT), you can well imagine my reaction. Needless to say, I am scared poopless for my little guy!! And, needless to say, the owner is scared poopless for her new puppy and because she ignored the contract and thought she was doing the right thing. The worst part of all of this is that the vet she used IS MY VET!!! I have never had this sort of issue with my vet, but then again his techs would never dream of telling me what I should be doing to or for my dogs.
As other breeders have said before, our sale contracts are always changing and evolving. Just when we think we've got it right something else goes askew. Tomorrow morning I will be calling my vet and tomorrow night I will start drafting an "open" letter addressed to "Dear Vet of Maltese Puppy Now Owned By __________________". That letter will contain (bolded and underlined) the clause quoted above from my contract, have attached to it a copy of the health history and lab results from the bile acid test, and will be followed by a statement that "should you as the new vet of this puppy, administer any vaccinations, flea preventative or heartworm preventative not in accordance with my contract, then you as vet will have caused all guarantees contained in the sale contract between breeder and purchaser of this puppy to become IMMEDIATELY NULL AND VOID.
I'm upset, confused, angry, frustrated and scared. How will we ever get through to people -- buyers, vets, vet techs -- that what we put in our contract we put in there for the WELL-BEING OF THE PUPPY?
. You spent so much time with the new pet owner, more then anyone has ever spent with any of my babies and then for this to happen. I know your sweet little guy will be okay and I am sure you are right on top of it at your vets office. You must have been blown away.
