[Lorraine]

Well i think they are. In Canada under our Canadian Kennel Club rules, we are required to provide and pay for the registration papers on any dog or puppy we sell transferred to the new owners name. The registration actually belongs to the dog or puppy being sold.
I am aware in the US the AKC does not have that requirement if you are buying for pet. The AKC from what I understand is trying to encourage breeders to provide the registration for the new owner to send in if they want to.
The regsitration paper for any dog or puppy, verifies that this a purebred dog, has the registration number and registered name for the dog as well as who the parents are and their registration numbers, date of sale, breeders name, date of birth that sort of info.
Under some contracts, spay/neuter will be done and verified before papers will be provided which is reasonable.
The info on the registration certificate is also only as good as the reputation of the breeder so bear that in mind when you are looking for a puppy.
If you are buying purebred, paying for a purebred, I think the registration verifying that this is a purebred should be a requirement of any buyer.
Thoughts?