What should I do?
 

On and off over the past 14 months, I've been dealing with a very difficult, unsatisfied puppy buyer. No matter how hard I try to please her, nothing I say or do satisfies her. She says I've done nothing to resolve the problem, she's called me a bad breeder and an unethical breeder, she's threatened me, intimidated me, defamed me and says she'll continue to do so. In addition to her sending me intimidating emails, in Feb. 2010 she began sending unwanted and harassing emails to a friend of mine, about me. This woman says she's going to tell everyone about my dogs and about her dealings with me, as well as post video after video on the Internet.

Ironically, I was warned by another breeder who also had a similar, negative experience with the buyer. This warning came in Jan. 09, and pup didn't leave for her new home until late March 09 and that's when this all began.

I have saved all of our email correspondence to back up what was said and offered. I have our signed contract which shows she could have returned the pup for a full refund. I have tried to keep my email correspondence with her professional, without making defaming accusations and without threats, other than if her threats continue, I will be forced to publicly defend myself and/or take legal action. Her latest threats were received yesterday.

Quick synopsis:

Pup arrives at it’s new home at 14 weeks of age and 3 days later began displaying some sort of head twitching. Buyer said you really had to watch closely to see it, and sometimes it would take all day for it to happen. Vet found nothing abnormal; neuro exam normal and blood work normal with the exception of iron levels being at the low end of the normal scale. Pup outgrows the twitch/tremor/focal seizure.

Buyer could have received a full refund on the pup per our contract, buyer was also offered a replacement puppy numerous times. When buyer said she didn't want to return pup but was concerned about breeding her, I offered her a $1000.00 refund if she didn't breed the pup and had her spayed before she was 2 years old. None of my offers were accepted. I asked her many times, what did she want from me, and what did she want me to do to make things right? Finally almost a year later, she told me I should have refunded a portion of her money or paid for the vet tests - that would have made me a "reputable" breeder.

Buyer did go on to breed the pup (now adult dog) and at 12 weeks of age, she says 2 of the offspring have displayed a head tremor (though buyer refuses to provided any of the vet findings to me).

Sire of the pup has produced well over 100 pups between his 2 owners. I've owned 3 generations of this pups family, including the pups 7 full siblings. None of these directly related dogs nor their offspring, ever displayed any sort of tremor or twitching with the exception of this one pup. I'm not saying it isn't possible, only that I would like to also see proof to back up her accusations like vet reports and not base ending a breeding line solely on what a disgruntled buyer says - a buyer who, IMO, could possibly have other reasons to discredit me.

She choose none of my offers to resolve the problem, she later tried selling the pup for $1000.00 above the purchase price when the pup was 8 months old, she went ahead and bred the dog anyway, knowing that the problem may and according to her, has shown up in the pups. As a result, "I'm" the bad breeder.

I have worked hard to build up my reputation and credibility. I love my dogs and take great pride and joy in them, they are pretty much my life.

I really don't want to be here posting this but I'm not quite sure what to do next, since all reasoning with this woman have failed and her threats still continue .... and Yes, she is a YT member.

Wow! What a generous offer. $1k if the baby was spayed makes my jaw drop. From what you posted, it seems this person was dead set on breeding. I even understand giving back a pup being out of the question. I know it is normal for that to be part of the breeder/buyer, I just wouldn't be able to do it if something was wrong with my pup. I guess this is one of the reasons breeders sell dogs on spay and neuter contracts. You (speaking generally) as a breeder just don't know for sure what a buyers intentions are unless you take them under your wing, be their mentor, and walk them through the process. I'm not a breeder, but the more I read on YT about problems people have breeding and selling, the more I understand why it's so important to have a mentor.

OP- Good luck to you. Insist on vet records for your girl and her offspring. You need to know this about your lines as well, so no other pup buyer has to have a dog with a health issue.

I think you sound as though you have tried to handle this in a responsible, ethical way. Unfortunately, there are people you can not make happy, no matter what you do. You may have to seek legal means to put a stop to her harrassement and defamation.

I do think it is despicable that the woman bred the dog when she believed he had a health problem, one she obviously thought was a genetic problem. It is this kind of "breeder" who keeps breeding problems into the breed. And good grief, YTs aren't a breed where you want to ignore any potential health problems.

Good luck.

I think you were being a great breeder by offering $1,000 which would cover medical expenses should she choose to neuter him. I could understand not wanting to return the pup if there was in fact something wrong but being the vet found nothing and your offering to basically cover some of the medical fees she incurred you did nothing wrong. If someone did something unethical it was IMO her because she knew there was something wrong with the dog in her opinion and continued to breed...and now all the puppies are exhibiting the same characteristics. That makes her in the wrong, correct? If you were my breeder and had offered for us to either return Bandit (who was extremely sick when we got him but it was indisputably their fault which isn't the case with your case) or compensate us if we chose to neuter him which we did anyway that would have been great.

I hope everything turns out well.

I think you went above and beyond what a reputable breeder should do. You offered to refund the money. You offered to replace the dog. You offered to refund money if she spayed and didn't breed. I don't think anyone who didn't have the well being of her dogs at heart would have gone to such lengths.

The fact that she went ahead and bred a dog she believed to have health problems is despicable in my book.

My advice to you would be to take some of that $1000 you offered her to spay the dog and hire a lawyer to get a cease and desist order against the woman. You can also get a court order for vet records so you have them (whether they prove a neuro problem or not).

ETA: If I were to purchase a yorkie from a breeder, I would be very pleased to have one as involved and you seem to have been.

It sounds like you have tried to right things even without a vet diagnosis.I hope this gal is now spayed and potential new owners of these pups displaying the tremor are made aware.
I would send her a final email stating your attempts to rectify the situation and state any further contact will be seen as harassment and you will be forced to take legal action.

I highly recommend doing the following:

Have your friend that received ill mannered emails toward you to print them and or forward them on to you. Take all of your documentation, contracts, vulgar emails etc to an attorney....They can draw up a letter and threaten a lawsuit for defamation of character. It is illegal to do this (at least in my state) if you do not have grounds in which to do so. Around here having a letter like that typed up is probably anywhere from 50-100.00. I think it's well worth it considering what you have invested.

Good luck.
Dawn

Thank you all for the encouraging words and thoughts on what I should do next. After so many negative emails from this buyer, I actually began to wonder if maybe I was a bad breeder. :(

If she's also calling on the phone, I'd keep a log of all the dates, times, & note as to her complaint for the day is if you haven't already done so. Also log any visits to your home. It might help in addition to all the emails you have.

Sounds like you did everything you could. Like I said, it was generous of you to even offer a refund if she had her girl spayed. Take this ugly situation as a lesson learned and be more careful when placing a pup on open registration. Obviously, you just never know. I honestly can not say from what you posted that you did not try to do something to correct the situation.

It sounds like you've been more that fair with her. It actually sounds like she thinks she can intimidate you into paying some of her vet bills and if that's the case, how sad. :( I'm sorry this is happening to you....

Wow! I maybe speaking out of turn and on assumption. I'm really sorry you're going through this and it's a hard lesson learned. Selling a 14 week old pup as a breeder to someone you don't have a close affliliation with is the is something I'm sure is going through your mind and you are probably kicking yourself over this. I know I would be and would remodifying my contracts and procedures.

95% of my pups are sold with limited registrations and since this buyer was no a stranger to me, I felt comfortable selling this pup to her.

I'm now receiving emails from the buyer saying she's going to her attorney to file defamation of character against me.

Maybe I should ask that this thread be moved to the breeder review section?

How does one have the thread moved?

I understand where you're coming from and have no idea how close your relationship is with this person. I for one would prefer selling a pet anyday of the week. I've only sold one show dog since my journey began with the Yorkshire Terrier. It's pretty easy for me since I'm breeding for myself first and any dog I deemed breeding/show quality are kept for me.

Well, since you haven't given any identifying information about the buyer, defamation is going to be pretty hard to prove.

Thank you

I can't imagine anyone acting like this but there are all kinds of people in the world.

Sounds like you have tried to please her. Hope all works out for you.

Sue, if I'm getting this right, you've gone beyond what I presume your obligations were as per your contract. What I see from this is that the buyer, after refusing an offer to return the pup for a refund, went on to breed her....at only 1 year of age :eek: :thumbdown. This person has no regard for this dog and looks at her as a breeding machine. That is obvious by her already having a litter at such a young age.

If you are certain you've satisfied your contract obligations, I wouldn't worry about any legal recourse coming from the buyer. What is troubling is how this baby has been used as a money maker at such a young age, health issue or not. If it were me, concern for this little girl would be my over-riding concern.

I doubt there's anything you can do to get her back at this time and that is what is so sad. This will probably be one of those hard lessons learned and I'm sure you're already considering how to better protect your pups in the future.

Since you know this person, perhaps you could contact her vet (assuming you know who that is) to see if there's any reason to be concerned about the health of the line you're producing. I can see that you've made an effort to not make this a drama thread, but perhaps you could give a heads-up if she attempts to sell these pups on YT.

Best of luck with this.

Jim

But you DID offer her some money back! $1000 worth! That would have put a large dent in the vet bills! Some people are just impossible to deal with. I'm sorry, and hope this gets resolved soon. And i agree with the other poster, good luck to her trying to sue you for defamation, you haven't said who she was!

If we wait, she may "out" herself. It's happened before!

I agree with everyone else, it sounds like you have done absolutely everything you possibly could to rectify this situation. You went above and beyond your responsibilities as a breeder. If you offered to take her back for a full refund and the person refused, then there is just nothing more you can do, ESPECIALLY without vet records. I have heard that all too often...a person claims that a puppy or dog from a breeder has such and such health issues, and then refuse or choose to ignore requests to have the vet records sent the breeder. I don't understand that at all! Are breeders expected to just take the person's word for it without seeing ANY sort of proof that the dog was even tested? It sure doesn't work that way for anything else that you purchase with a warranty. I suppose she wanted you to refund the money AND let her keep the dog. Funny because I bet if that had happened, she still would have bred her or tried to resell her. It is baffling that they are so upset about a "health issue" in the dog they bought from you, but yet they still chose to breed her and odds are sell the offspring for a profit. How hypocritical! To me once the dog was bred, the deal is done and can't be undone. Ridiculous and I hope you work everything out...good luck!

It is pretty obvious that, that is exactly what she wanted since she refused all of the other remedies that were offered.

As far as defamation of character, you have simply described what happened and you have proof of everything you said. And there is something about going into court with "clean hands". Who defamed whom? She is the one who started bad mouthing you.

The clean hands doctrine is a rule of law that someone bringing a lawsuit or motion and asking the court for equitable relief must be innocent of wrongdoing or unfair conduct relating to the subject matter of his/her claim. It is an affirmative defense that the defendant may claim the plaintiff has "unclean hands".

Clean Hands Doctrine Law & Legal Definition

Would have to agree with everyone above. Sue you have gone out of your way to please this buyer and she is still not happy. If she continues to harass you just get a lawyer to deal with it. You are a wonderful individual and I wish you all the best!

I don't have any advice, I just read through the posts and wanted to send you my best wishes for a positive outcome.

Me too!!!

I think you have really gone the extra mile to try to please this person. If she thought her dog had a health problem, she should not have bred her dog.

I bought a puppy that ended up with demadectic mange. The breeder first tried to say it did not come from the mother and we all know it does. Then she said as soon as she got testing done she would call me. I have called several times, each time she says she will replace the dog when she gets a new litter. She had no intention of making anything right with me. I would have just been happy if she had tried to do the right thing. My dog is 1 1/2 yr old so I could not part with her.

All I can say is the lady should have had to deal with the breeder I got my first Yorkie from. She would have thought you were wonderful.

There are always two sides to a story.

Just sayin......

Two sides, yes, but if there was something wrong with that dog and she went ahead and bred her anyway, that's just wrong on so many levels....

Yes there are ... and my side of the story is backed up by our email correspondence and contract. I welcome the buyer to come here and share her side of the story, as well as provide her documents to back up her claims.