Bought a Puppy That Turned Out Sick? You Can Demand a Refund From the Breeder

You paid $4,000 for a Cavoodle. Two weeks later she stopped eating. The vet found parvovirus, or a heart murmur, or hip dysplasia the breeder “had no idea about.” You have now spent $3,200 on treatment, you love this dog, and the breeder has stopped answering.

You are not going to give the puppy back. But you should absolutely not be the one carrying the cost of the breeder’s negligence.

Puppies are “goods” under the law

It feels wrong to call a dog “goods”, but that is exactly what the Australian Consumer Law does. If the breeder sells puppies as a business (more than one or two litters, advertises online, has a business name or ABN), then every puppy sold comes with the consumer guarantee of acceptable quality (section 54). A puppy with a serious inherited or pre-existing illness at the time of sale is not of acceptable quality.

On top of that, if the breeder said the pup was “vet checked and healthy”, “from health-tested parents” or “DNA clear”, and it was not, that is likely misleading or deceptive conduct under section 18.

What you can claim

• Refund of the purchase price if you return the animal (you probably will not want to)
• The drop in value if you keep the animal. A puppy sold as show quality that cannot be bred or shown is worth much less.
• Reasonably foreseeable vet costs from the pre-existing condition (section 259(4)). Vet bills are the obvious foreseeable loss from selling a sick puppy.

So a realistic demand might be $3,200 in vet costs plus $1,500 for reduced value. Put every invoice in the letter.

Some states go further

Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia all have breeder registration and animal welfare rules. In Victoria, breeders must be registered under the Domestic Animals Act 1994, and selling a sick animal can breach the Code of Practice. Mention this. A breeder who is worried about their registration is a breeder who pays.

What you need

1. The ad, the messages and any “health guarantee” the breeder gave you
2. Proof of payment
3. A written vet report stating the condition, and ideally stating it was present or likely present at the time of sale
4. All vet invoices

The vet report is the key piece. Ask your vet to put it in writing. Most will for free or a small fee.

Why the letter matters

Breeders operate on reputation and repeat referrals. A formal Letter of Demand that cites section 54 and 18, sets out the vet’s findings, names the amount, and gives 14 days before a tribunal application is a serious threat to that reputation.

If they do not pay, you file at VCAT, NCAT or QCAT. These tribunals hear pet cases regularly, and a clear vet report usually decides it.

Claim Done drafts your Letter of Demand for $49. Done in about 5 minutes. You approve it before it is sent.