I sold what seemed to be a healthy pug puppy. 8 days after it left I had a phone call saying it was ill in the vets with parvo. I rushed my other puppies that I still had at home up to the vets, and they were given the all clear. No signs from parvo and they remained healthy. Now the people who got the puppy are refusing to pay for it because they said it was my fault. When I asked to see the vet bill they refused. The puppy did survive but we still don't know who is responsible for the parvo. I am a breeder so its always their fault. But none of my pups have suffered with it. Or my younger litter that was on at the same time.

How old was the puppy when you sold it? How many vaccines did it have before it left you?

Over in the uk it is normal to sell the puppy with no vacinations and left to the new owner to vacinate. The pup was ten weeks.

You could alsoget a write up from your vet saying that all othe rpuppies had been cleared and not had the disease. Also how unlikely it would be for only ONE of the pups to contract it and not the others had it been something from your house.

Parvo is very hardy and if these new owners were looking ta other puppies they could have came in contact with it somewhere else and brought it home on their shoes. Would your vet be willing to give you written and signed documents like this?

It had no vaccines at 10 weeks, at all? They should have one vaccine by then, even if its not "normal" for the breeder to sell with vaccines.
Was the owner aware of the vaccine protocol they needed to follow?

Either way, one vaccine usually won't make a difference. Have you ever had parvo in any of your breeding dogs? It is going to be hard to place blame - the pup could have gotten it from feces in a park - it can survive in the soil for years.

Also on a note -

It's not really anyone's fault. The puppy should have been vaccinated sooner (looking into UK's vaccine protocol for puppies shows that at 10 weeks it should have gotten it's second set of vaccines), but again that wouldn't have provided full immunity, but may have been enough. But on the other hand the owner should have been more careful to either a) vaccinate the dog as soon as they got it and b) be careful where they take an unvaccinated/not fully vaccinated puppy. Education is essential.
It's not like either of you meant to put the dog at risk, so I don't know if you can place blame on any one in particular.

Never had parvo in my house at any time been. Also when I have puppies on they don't leave the puppy pen it's a big one. They live in my bedroom for 4weeks then my dining room. None of the older dogs are aloud out for walks when I have pups on. But I do have a very large flagged back garden. The people who took the pup are also newbie breeders. I say this as they accused me of bring parvo back from the stables where I keep my horse. If I had know the pup would not sell until 10 weeks then it could have been vacinated by myself. But over here breeders usually let their pups go at 8 weeks. And a lot of the time vacines don't match to the reason they are sent with none. I now don't let any puppy go until they have had both jabs. And people will just have to wait. But this doesn't help the fact I lost 950 to these people. And the fact that they told me they had 15 different girls to their other stud dog make me believe it is more likely to be theirs. I also have a very old dog that I have to amit has not been boostered for years she is 15 surely she would have caught it if it had been at mine.

The reason for my question is I'm going to take them to court and want some advice before I go.

Then you should seek help from legal aid and your vet.

Getting the all clear from my vets is not a problem. But on the internet there is so much differene. Some site say parvo shows from 3 to 5 days which would place it in their home other site say up to 14 days which would place it at mine. But surely the rest of the pups would have got it.?

The incubation period (aka the time the dog gets the virus to when they show signs) is a pretty big range that can go up to two weeks, but you would never really know for certain when or how they were infected, honestly.

Well it has made me learn one thing never let a puppy go without payment. As I agreed to let them pay him off monthly. With no contract.

And the only other strange thing is they wouldn't let me speak to their vets. Or show me the puppies vet bill.

Hmmm something sounds fishy. Perhaps the dog is healthy and they just didn't want to pay so came up with a story...
Why didn't they pay, anyway?

Are you selling the pups as UKC reg?

Yes the are reg with the kennel club and I'm a acredited breeder with them. I never gave them the transfer of ownership he is still in my name. I've written to the kennel club and am just waiting to hear back from them. I also have sent a bill invoice to the buyers for the full amount because this is what the small claims said I must do first. But because I handed the dog over its not like I can just go steal it back or even say its stolen. Which in my eyes at the moment it is. But the law doesn't let you go into someone's house to take back what belongs to you.

I am pretty sure they have to be vaccinated to be sold UKC, but I would have to double check on that one...

I guess it just says be provided with proper healthcare, but that really only has to do with the UKC rules and regs, just looking at all avenues here. They could protest you didn't hold up your end of the bargin as per sellign a reg dog.

Here's my opinion..

First and foremost.. any legit breeder should vaccinate their puppies whether is is mandated or not. I don't think in the US that breeders are obligated to sell puppies with vaccines.. I could be wrong.. but I've never heard of it. I think its more of a code of eithics in that if you are going to put life on this planet, you are responsible for giving them their preventative shots against deadly diseases and to take the dog back at any point in the dogs lifetime. That defines a good breeder..

You allowed these people to take a puppy with no money. You basically gave away your dog. You have no contract stating they are to pay X amount of dollars over a certain period. Unless a judge will rule towards a verbal agreement, but good luck with that.

There is no contract stating that you are selling healthy dogs. There is no where in this non-existant contract stating that they are to take the dog to the vet for a health check. There is also no where stating that you are not responsible for specific diseases or that you will pay so much for a specific disease or anything along those lines.

You sold a potentially sick dog to a family that has no obligation to pay you. What is a judge going to say? I suppose if you want to spend the money and clog up the court system with this crazy deal, go for it.. But I don't see you winning..

Yes, the new owners should have stayed in better contact with you. If they got a sick dog, they should have told you. However, because you have no contract, no health guarantee... the new owners don't have to show you anything. They're upset because you sold them a sick dog and there is nothing stating they HAVE to pay you.

I would say this is about 80% your fault. You did not cover your own @$$. You allowed a dog to leave your home unvaccinated.. You allowed someone to take a dog with no money being paid trusting they will pay you over months, you have no contract stating that you sold them a healthy dog nor does anything state the dog should have gone to the vet immediately after purchase.

Just a personal thing I want to add.. I would never pay anything over $100 (maybe not even that) for any type of "papered" dog if I bought it without vaccines, without a contract and without a health guarantee... Breeders who have that in place may not be the best breeders around, but their at least trying to do what's right by the dog.

Vaccinate your dogs. I know in the US you can purchase Parvo/Distemper shots for entire litters for probably less than $40 a flat... Not that expensive.. You're just being cheap and lazy and hiding behind the rule of "You don't have to vaccinate puppies to sell them." Create a contract. It doesn't have to be anything fancy.. Just write down the day you took you're entire litter into the vet for an exam.. Most vets don't charge huge amounts for litters.. Shop around for a good price.. Have that vet sign off on each puppy's shot record that on this date, this dog was healthy.. Also state that the dog should go to the vet after purchase within 1 week... If they do not, then the contract is voided and you are not responsible for any diseases, such as Parvo.

Doesn't take rocket scientist to save yourself from crap like this.

Parvo can pop up at any time. There really is no point in pointing fingers at everyone on where the dog got parvo from..

I'll say it again.. You're 80% wrong...