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Owners will be required
to sign a contract in order to adopt a puppy.
My
guarantee has evolved over the years. It started out fairly broad, but I ran
into an owner or two who had a vet that was trying to put their children through
grad school on my guarantee. So this is the latest iteration that I have had
for the last year or so.
1.
You may always return a puppy for any reason. If the puppy is returned
before it is 10 weeks old, you will be refunded your original amount minus 10%.
If the puppy has been damaged or suffered due to lack of care, the refund will
be reduced by the amount of treatment. For every week past that, it is reduced
by 10%, corresponding with the salability of the puppy up to 50%. If I can
resell it for the same amount, you’ll get a corresponding refund, minus 10%.
The 10% is what I charge to re-advertise and the exigencies of reselling an
older puppy.
2.
You
may return a dog with a life-threatening defect (such as heart or other organ
problems) during the first year for a full refund or an exchange for a puppy
from another litter. The problem for the owner with this is that they have
bonded with the puppy and may not want to surrender it. I am not prepared to pay
for treating an animal that you keep. I will give the dog the appropriate
treatment or I may determine it is more humane to have a sick animal put down.
Refunds for an animal older than one year with a life-threatening condition will
be handled on a case-by-case basis. Under no circumstances will a refund be
given without the return of the dog.
3.
I make every effort to ensure that my dogs are parasite free and that
every puppy that leaves here is healthy; however, under the stress of a move to
a new home, a puppy may develop symptoms due to a pre-existing pathogen that was
symptom less until they were under stress. I will cover the cost of medicines
for infections that a puppy may manifest after it has left my kennel (within 2-3
weeks). After that time, incubation periods indicate the infection was picked
up somewhere else. To date, I have paid for treating ear mites, coccidia and
giardia. Things that I do not cover are worms (you should be treating for
these regardless), fleas (I am extremely sensitive to flea bites and remain on
top of it here), and heartworm (we don’t have it on Whidbey). Problems outside
of these parameters will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
4.
Cockapoos are incredibly healthy and hearty dogs. This is due to hybrid
vigor. I do not expect any health problems for the cockapoos. Cocker Spaniels
do not have hybrid vigor. Cockers are prone to numerous problems. I make every
effort to ensure that my lines are genetically clean; however there are many
things that Cockers are prone to due to the intense inbreeding that occurred in
the 50s and 60s. I recommend The Cocker Spaniel Owners’ Medical Manual by
Robert M Brown DVM to understand what you can expect. For instance, many
Cockers have droopy lower eyelids. Because of this, they are physically
predisposed to having cherry eye, just like any other droopy-lidded dog. You
should keep a puppy with droopy lids away from other puppies and cats because
even slight accidents can cause the tear gland to prolapse. I do not cover
physical defects that are a part of the cocker breed.
5.
Dogs with floppy ears are prone to ear infections. This is because there isn’t
good air circulation under the ears. The only thing I cover regarding ears is
if they have an ear infection when they leave here. I’ll cover the cost of meds
to treat that
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