Back in June the fiance and I purchased an english bulldog puppy from a local puppy store (yes, mistake #1).....He was just so cute and we had been talking about getting an english bulldog for about 6 months.

Anyway, little puppy was sick. Purchased on a sunday and we took him to the vet monday for a routine check and also to see why he was so lethargic, hacking, coughing etc. Well, he had an upper respiratory infection (kennel cough). Ok, pretty common, vet gave us anttibiotics and said to follow up in 2 weeks.

2 weeks later, puppy is not better, he had to be taken to the emergency vet because he had pneumonia and water in his lungs. Just under 5k in vet bills later, lil guy is healthy and happy.

I went to the pet store and demanded compensation for the vet bills. He said "if the puppy was that sick, you should have returned him". Um, no! thats like returning a baby if he's born sick (I know some may not agree, but thats how I feel about it.) Well after some back and forth with the store owner, he cut me a check for 1k and said he would file the rest of the paperwork with the 3rd party warranty company.

Ok, I was satisfied with that solution. 2 months after he supposedly filed the claim, the warranty company tells me they have recieved NOTHING from the pet store.

Long story short, Ive spoken with an attorney and sent them every bit of paperwork that I have in hopes of getting compensated for the vet bills (minus the 1k the store owner gave me).

What do you all think? Do I deserve this money back? Am I reaching?

Unfortunately, I believe the puppy is legally property and you cannot be compensated for any value above the value of the dog itself. This is a very common issue since puppies at pet stores come from breeders who do not care or screen for health. I would not use an attorney, if you feel you should be compensated beyond the purchase price (which I doubt you legally can be) then you should be filing through small claims court. The cost of an attorney will probably negate the whole thing.

He gave you a check for $1,000? That's $1,000 more than I thought you'd get.

Pet "stores" are notorious for getting their animals from puppy mills, etc. The actual likelihood that you'll get a good healthy pet from a pet store? Almost zilch.

Having said that, I think you know that you won't see anymore money. And getting an attorney will just cost you more money. HOWEVER, you could possibly file a claim with the ALDF, and perhaps their staff could check into that particular store and find out where the puppies came from. It might not help you recoup any more money, but it could possibly lead to the shutdown of a puppy mill - and that's a definite plus.

Good luck! - and I'm glad your little bulldog is doing better now!!

Agreed, I am quite surprised the OP got $1k to begin with, that's a lot more than most would have gotten without returning the dog.

If you "win" you might have to give the puppy back. That's the "catch" with most of the pet store contracts.

Read your contract, because that's what you and the pet store will be legally held to.

In most cases, the contract entitles you to a new puppy or store credit (rarely cash or vet bills). When the contract does cover vet bills, you usually have to use the pet store's vet.

And when vet bills aren't covered, you have to forfeit the puppy to get your refund/store credit/healthy puppy.

That's why the petstore puppies (and kitties) are such a scam. Not only do the pet stores sell poorly-bred, sick animals, they sell them at prices higher than you'd pay for a top-notch show-quality puppy, AND the legal contract is always in the pet store's favor.

If you love the puppy, you can't win, because generally any refund you are entitled to, is contingent upon you returning the puppy (and if you try to return the puppy the store owner will often imply or state that the puppy will have to be put down if you return him).

They've then got you over a barrel, because the only way to get your refund (or store credit) is by returning the puppy. Also read that contract carefully, because by giving you the $1000 and/or paying any of the vet bills might entitle the pet store to your puppy. They may or may not demand the puppy back, but if you force the issue they might decide to (again read that contract very, very carefully).

Good luck,

The dog cost more than the vet bills

The plus side is I have access to attorney consultations at no cost. The attorney is sending the store a letter requesting the money. If that doesnt work, I may have to suck it up because then I would have to weigh the costs of actually going to court Vs the amount of money Im seeking. You're all right in that the contract IS in favor of the store.

You paid more than 5K for a puppy?

The recourse for a sick animal is to treat it and pay for treatment or return the animal if they are unsatisfactory. I actually think the store was quite generous regarding all this!

It is tough to guarantee the health of an animal unless you are the original breeder.

I worked in a pet store for a long time and have seen this happen a few times.

I've seen the store paying for the vet bills at times. The key is PERSISTENCE and BEING LOUD about it. Believe me, I'm sure they'll hope you'll drop it. Threaten to call the news, etc. Do it if necessary. What Kaplods said is all true, but they don't want a big hassle when they can just pay you off.

Actually, no. I mis-spoke. After looking at my paperwork we paid 3k, which for a puppy is still quite a bit, but english bulldogs are always up there in price.

Realistically, if all I can get is the equivalent of the cost of the dog I'll be happy.


Yeah, Ive been pretty vocal and persistent with the pet store and the owner tends to blow me off (at least thats how it feels). I called last week and was told he (the owner) would be asked to contact me when he got in. he didn't. I called back the next day and one of the workers told me he had just gone out on vacation.

Sounds fishy to me.

Oh goodness. Around here, AKC registered English Bulldogs from reputable breeders run about 1500-2000. I'm sorry this happened to you. I recommend what others have said is try to find out where the store got the puppy and shut them down.

We got a Great Pyrenees from a rescue back in April. We had to drive five hours and stay overnight in a hotel to get him then deal with ticks and a snake bite he'd gotten on a farm but it was SO worth it. Best... dog... EVER!

During the course of that adventure, we found out some of the local rescues often have to take in Pyrs because of an irresponsible breeder. They over/inbeed and if they aren't sold and get too old, they just dump them. They've been trying to find out exactly who it is for a while.

One of the last pet stores in our town was closed (forced out of the Mall) and he was crying about it but I don't feel bad for him at all. He was charging an insane amount for "designer" dogs, aka Lab mixes and refused to work with the animal shelter or rescues to showcase their dogs. Instead he got his dogs from "other" places.

If you're going to breed, do it properly and humanely. Grr. But for some people it's all about money.

If you expect to get the price of the puppy, there's a good chance that you'll have to relinquish the puppy. A judge will probably be deciding this case, if the store doesn't just voluntarily hand money over to you (which is unlikely), and a judge is going to see the cost of the puppy itself as a fair price (because you were willing to pay it, and it's your responsibility to make sure you're getting value for what you pay for when entering into a contractual obligation).

If the puppy cost more than the vet bills, at most you'll be able to recoup the vet bills.

The petstore is going to argue that kennel cough is a very common and difficult to prevent illness (because it's actually many different illnesses, the equivalent of cold, flu, and pneumonia in humans, so even if the animal is innoculated against one virus, they may succumb to another).

Even breeders have difficulty with kennel cough, but because all their puppies come from one source, it's easier to deal with than in a petstore where the dogs usually come from multiple breeders, and where the dogs are kept in cages (many petstores are switching to baby cribs for this reason - but also, and probably more importantly, because it tugs at the heartstrings of potential customers, and gives the impression that the pet store owners love the puppies as much as you will, so they must be getting wonderful care).

You got ripped off, but you did sign a contract, and most judges are going to hold you to the contract. You might get vet bills, but the cost of the puppy, I just don't see it. Even if you go to the news media, the store will do the same and will point out that you're trying to make a profit (more money than the vet bills) and that you want a free puppy out of the bargain (not saying that is what you are thinking, but it's what the pet store owner is going to say in their defense, and they would have a point, because a judge would make you give back the puppy if you got the purchase price refunded - or in many cases anything more than the vet bills).

The vet bills are all you're entitled to by law, in most jurisdictions (and in many you're not even entitled to that, if the pet store contract is written to include provisions for veterinary care and if you didin't follow them).

I think you should consider yourself lucky that you got $1000.... I made the "pet store" puppy mistake once and it cost me about 5k too... It was either that or put the poor dog down... And I'm glad that I didn't, cause my Max is still kicking around 10 years later... Don't get me wrong, I love that dog to death, but I would never buy a puppy from a pet store ever again...

Trust me you got lucky so far... I can't begin to tell you how many people that I know who wanted to get a puppy and went to a pet store because they just couldn't wait and do a little research and find a reputable breeder... Than it turns out that cute little doggy in the window is really just that sick little doggy in the window.... But they're oblivious... Because like most people it's hard to be rational when it comes to kittens and puppies... So they kid themselves that everything will be OK, and well if it isn't they've got a some sort of a "guarantee"... Well they take the puppy home, the puppy gets sick, and than the puppy dies... So now, not only are they out all that money, they're heart broken too, and God forbid, if there are kids at home, because that's just never pretty...

But hopefully you got lucky and your puppy doesn't have any other underlying health problems and he'll be OK...

Good luck...