I agree that many contracts are ridiculous.....one thing to keep in mind, though, particularly on the hour requirement for the vet check is that for many breeders, this is not set in stone. The guarantee says, for example, 48 hours, but in reality they will extend that within reason. Same thing with what's covered and not....for example, most do not guarantee against luxating patella, since this can be caused by accident as well. However, upon reasonable proof that it wasn't caused by an accident, some will refund anyway. Or those that offer a 1 year guarantee (which to me is reasonable) will sometimes refund well after that year. I don't blame them for making the contract very strict in writing, as unfortunately there are many out there trying to scam breeders as well. For reputable breeders, it is a protection, and they always have the option of doing whatever they want beyond the guarantee.
Of course, I totally get what you are pointing out. This does not excuse those breeders who only give a 48 hour guarantee or something crazy like that. To me, if they will only stand behind their puppy for 48 hours, they must think there's a big chance something will go wrong after that. And I do realize that it's hard to weed out those breeders who are using the guarantee to get out of something. Personally, I never consider breeders who have less than a 1 year guarantee on life-threatening congenital defects. That is my starting point, my minimum acceptable guarantee, and they go up in "value" from there. |