# What to do when puppy buyers don't abide by their signed contracts



## GennieF

Hi everyone,

I just have a quick question for the breeders here. I'm sure many of you sell most of your puppies on a companion contracts, with limited AKC registration (holding until spay/neuter) and stating that those pups are NOT for breeding. What can be done, legally, when someone does not abide by that contract? I have heard all sorts of results, from essentially nothing can be done to that it would need to be taken to court to the police potentially getting involved and confiscating the dog. Has anyone ever experienced this? What did you do and what was the result? Looking for feedback because I have heard of this happening more lately and just wondering if there are any other safeguards that can be put in place.

Gennie


----------



## MaggieRoseLee

I think the smartest thing that breeders do is sell the puppies with limited registration. It's the only real tangible hold they have on that puppy, especially if breeding comes up down the line.

The puppies from that breeding can not be registered, which means the price for those puppies can be MUCH less than otherwise.


----------



## GennieF

Hi Maggie,

Yes, it's definitely what I and most of my breeder friends do. But what I'm asking is what happens when people don't abide by that contract and go ahead and breed anyway? What can be legally done? I have heard some real horror stories, nothing has ever happened to me personally (that I know of) regarding a broken contract, but I have only been breeding for four years. It's better to be prepared now and know.


----------



## JakodaCD OA

I think another thing that can be done,,as well as selling on limited registrations, is to tack on an extra amount of money and when the dog is spayed/neutered return that said amount. OR keep the registration papers UNTIL you get proof the dog is s/n.

Obviously the above is still not going to stop someone from breeding the dog if they so desire, but they aren't going to make a zillion bucks off it either, Joe Public LIKE getting those "akc" registration papers.


----------



## GennieF

Hi again,

I think maybe I wasn't clear in my first post, sorry it's early. Yes, the registration would be AKC limited, holding registration papers until spay/neuter. Personally, I did to that for a litter, return $250 once we ensured the dog was spayed/neutered but decided not to go that route because we just can't always have an extra $2000 or whatever in the bank just sitting there...too tempting. Actually, for me personally I will only give them the paperwork if the dog is spayed/neutered by the first birthday, because I worry people would try something such as backregistering a litter if they wait much longer. A pet person doesn't care, if they choose NOT to spay/neuter (even though they agree to) by the first birthday, that is obviously their choice in the end but they will not receive any type of registration. Regardless, people can just slap fake paperwork on a dog or go to any goof registry out there 

Anyway, my question revolves more around the contract versus paperwork itself. I have seen contracts, and know of a few people, who say that there is $$ penalty if said dog is bred, regardless of the paperwork. If someone signs a contract purchasing the puppy as a companion dog, not for breeding, acknowledges as such, is there any type of legal recourse? Has anyone actually ever persued this? I have heard the police may get involved but perhaps it depends on the state and the actual details of the incident, I've also heard it may only be something that needs to be taken to court...and then of course, the third option that nothing can be done even with a contract.


----------



## JakodaCD OA

ok I see what your saying, not that I've gone thru this, but I would "think" the only real recourse is something like small claims court..however, after the experience a couple of my friends have had with small claims, it's really kind of a farce..

You pay 75 bucks to file against whomever, you go to court,,if the other party doesn't show up you win,,if they do and you still win, well big deal,,you WIN but then trying to "collect" is almost impossible. You then have to hire a sheriff to serve papers (another cost) after something like 90 days when they fail to pay, and if they still fail to pay, well they aren't going to jail,,they just have a judgement on them..You can attach any of their assests, but doesn't mean you'll get anything. (atleast that is what happened to two of my friends in CT with their recent small claims cases)

In the end, going the 'legal' route may not even be worth it. I would think, but then again who knows,,if something is put in the original contract stating,,"if said dog is not spay/neuter by one year of age, ownership reverts back to breeder" would maybe be more "enforceable"?

Because at one year, that dog would no longer be legally owned by buyer since they didn't abide by the contract, ?? (and I know contracts can be absolutely worthless at times) so that dog would be yours legally, and legally you'd have a right to take the dog back?

Just throwing out some things to ponder


----------



## holland

I bought my last dog on a limited contract which I intend to follow. I think that the intent of a limited contract though is that the dog not be bred until the following conditions are met not that the puppies are sold for less. I would really wonder if a contract that stated that if a puppy was not spayed or neutered by the age of 1 it would be returned to the breeder could even be enforced. I think that its about trust do you trust the buyer


----------



## Andaka

JakodaCD OA said:


> In the end, going the 'legal' route may not even be worth it. I would think, but then again who knows,,if something is put in the original contract stating,,"if said dog is not spay/neuter by one year of age, ownership reverts back to breeder" would maybe be more "enforceable"?
> 
> Because at one year, that dog would no longer be legally owned by buyer since they didn't abide by the contract, ?? (and I know contracts can be absolutely worthless at times) so that dog would be yours legally, and legally you'd have a right to take the dog back?
> 
> Just throwing out some things to ponder


I don't think that concept is legal. Unfortunately, dogs are property, and the owner can do anything with them that isn't against the law. That would include breeding. Just because you have a signedd contract does not make it enforcible.

And why choose 1 year as the deadline? Many vets and breeders are advocating waiting until closer to 2 years old to spay/neuter. So if I don't follow thru due to my vet's advice, you would take my dog from me?


----------



## GennieF

See, that's where I'm looking for personal experience regarding these matters. I know there have been a few postings on other message boards recently as far as breached contracts go. The dogs were bought as pets, supposed to be neutered or spayed or whatever, and then went on to become breeding dogs. I am just wondering what legally can be done, as you stated Daphne, dogs are considered property once they are purchased so am interested if anyone else has had situations where they may have needed to either get the police involved, go to court, or essentially do nothing about what happened? I'm just glad nothing like this has ever happened to me yet!


----------



## spiritsmom

From a shelter background I can tell you there isn't much that can be done. I worked for a shelter that in the beginning adopted out on spay/neuter contracts - that resulted in many litters and intact adult animals. But even though the adoption contract stated they must be fixed our director said there wasn't much we could do other than call them or send our humane officer by to speak to the owners to get the animal fixed. We could not legally just take the animal, have it fixed and then return it. The owner had to agree to let us alter the pet.

I know of one GSD breeder who was recently posting that one of her dogs sold on a neuter contract went on to be bred and then sold to someone else - she has no idea where the dog is now. And I know of another dog she sold some years back that also went on to be bred - they got around the AKC limited reg by registering the dog with their own kennel name in UKC. I don't think there is much to stop people from breeding their dog if they want to. So a dog is sold on limited reg, they can still breed the dog and register under another registry (there are so many now) or they can just sell the puppies without papers, they can still get a few hundred dollars per pup.


----------



## Lilie

Here is the other side of the coin. When I purchased Hondo, I hadn't heard of limited registration etc. I found out when I was researching breeders - but at the time I was honestly offended that I would be expected to pay a good sum of money for a dog and only get a limited registration. What would happen if for what ever reason the breeder and I had a falling out, and they decided that they wouldn't pull their side of the contract? If I wasn't interested in competition - I would have gotten a rescue or bought from a breeder that didn't have registration papers. 

However - after all of the information from this site - I wouldn't purchase a "CKC" pup, or full blooded with out papers. I would really worry that the bitch was purchased on a limited and did not pass the qualifications to receive a full registration.


----------



## Chris Wild

Per 2 different contract/property law attorneys I have discussed this with ad nauseum, yes you CAN do something to enforce contract terms on dogs. First step is to get a court ordered injunction for suspected contract violations, and then you go to court. Whether it will hold up in court is up in the air.. it would depend on the opinion of the judge and, if lawyers get involved, who has the best lawyer. Contracts for dogs most certainly can be enforced. The idea that they are "unenforceable" is untrue. It would probably be prohibitively expensive and difficult in many cases, but that is not the same as the contract itself being unenforceable.

The fact that dogs are considered property is actually a good thing when it comes to enforcing contracts because there is a whole lot of property law and precedence already set. If dogs were not considered property, it would actually be harder.

The first step though is to make sure your contract is written in a correct legal manner. Ours has been reviewed and tweeked several times by attorneys who specialize in property/contract law and they have ensured that the language is legally correct, says what we mean it to say, and uses phrasing and clauses that are commonly used and specific to property law. Should we ever have to go the legal route, having a fully vetted, legal contract that has verbage in line with the norm will certainly help.


----------



## ba1614

Same as in anything else today, how much justice can you afford?


----------



## boeselager

It's good you are asking these questions before it could/maybe happen to you. I personally have not had that issue as far as I know. I have all my puppies on a limited until they meet the expectations of the contract. What I also do is register the whole litter in my name (Kennel name) so that no one can white my kennel name out on the registration papers, and put their kennel name, etc. I think I would pursue it if someone did not go by the contract. It might even be best to have a attorney/lawyer to look over the contract to see if there are also any loops that would benefit the buyer if this situation came up. When writing a contract it's best to cover all the bases (cross your "T's" and dot those "I's"). I'm grateful that I've been breeding over 10 years and have not run into this ssituation yet.


----------



## ChristenHolden

There are 2 CKCs I would buy from the Canadian but not contental. and if someone really wanted a Full AKC dog they can find them a dime a dosen in a local paper. I always see AKC labs, chis, bostens, Yorkies, ect all for around 200 to 800$ anymore papers arnt worth a dang. Jus paper. AKC, UKC, CKC, there all jus big names to make the dogs look more important. JMO


----------



## Lilie

ChristenHolden said:


> There are 2 CKCs I would buy from the Canadian but not contental. and if someone really wanted a Full AKC dog they can find them a dime a dosen in a local paper. I always see AKC labs, chis, bostens, Yorkies, ect all for around 200 to 800$ anymore papers arnt worth a dang. Jus paper. AKC, UKC, CKC, there all jus big names to make the dogs look more important. JMO


That may be true to some. But there are a lot of folks who enjoy the thrill of the formal show pen.


----------



## Liesje

No personal experience, but you'd have to take the person to court, that's pretty much it short of stealing the dog back and then risking them taking you to court, lol. The police aren't going to do anything unless a law is being broken (like if the dog is abused, neglected, improperly housed depending on local laws). The police won't help a dispute over a contract, that's for the judge. The dog is property and a contract is like any other contract...whether or not it is enforceable "depends" (this is what my law prof would say when we looked at contract case studied...."it always depends"). If you watch those dumb shows like Judge Judy, you see this all the time. I've never seen it over a dog, but cars, expensive electronics....they are basically sorting out who owes who what and who really owns what. Unfortunately the burden would be on the breeder to bring suit against the dog owner. It can be done and I've heard of dog cases settled in court, not over breeding rights (yet) though (mostly stuff like the dog shipped was not the dog advertised, the dog arrived sick, wormy, fur was dyed, etc).


----------



## Liesje

ChristenHolden said:


> AKC, UKC, CKC, there all jus big names to make the dogs look more important. JMO


Actually there are tens of thousands of people and dogs who very much enjoy the activities these organizations offer. Without the UKC and WDA I could not compete in agility, Schutzhund, lure coursing, dock diving, conformation, weight-pull, Dog Sport, rally-obedience.... Just because you don't do it does not make it stupid or some kind of rip off.


----------



## GennieF

Does anyone have an idea how much it would legally cost to persue something like that? I'm sure that's what some cheaters bet on...that the cost of persuing it would be more than most people just have laying around sitting in the bank or are willing to just essentially "throw away"


----------



## arycrest

GennieF said:


> Does anyone have an idea how much it would legally cost to persue something like that? I'm sure that's what some cheaters bet on...that the cost of persuing it would be more than most people just have laying around sitting in the bank or are willing to just essentially "throw away"


If all you would be suing for is $$$ (or maybe return of the animal) and it falls within the maximum dollar amount of your state, can you go thru the Small Claims Court? It's my understanding it doesn't cost much to file and most people represent themselves.


----------



## middleofnowhere

Breach of contract is a civil matter. Depending upon the amount of the claim it can go to regular civil court or to small claims court.

If you want the pups spay/neutered you can assure that by selling them spayed/neutered. [Ok not what you want to hear but that's one way to do it.]


----------

