Registration problem!

[britishbandit]

My parents bought a purebred West Highland Terrier about 6 months ago. I didn't know they were planning on getting a dog, and obviously they went to the "wrong place". The owners gave my parents the puppys' parents papers and said they can register her. After getting no response from the CKC, my mother phoned them, and she was told the breeders had to register the litter and that Maggie she would have to put in a formal complaint on the breeder. She has tried to contact the breeder but they moved withing a month of selling the puppies. My mother has filed a formal complaint against the breeder, and is waiting for results. I can't see the CKC even being able to do anything about it, as I am sure this breeder is doing this often, and not registering the pups, so the new address will remain unknown. They also charged $800 for the dog. Does anyone know what else can be done about this? Maggie is a beautiful dog and it won't change her position as a pet of course, but my mother did plan on taking her to shows and such. My mother can be a bit stubborn in asking for help, but she really should have for this. I'm not sure what can be done now, as my dogs have always been bought with the litter already registered. Is it even possible now?

[Shalva]

Canada is different than the US and from what I recall the breeder has six months from the time of whelp to register the litter...... and the breeder must register the puppies.... they have to be tattooed or microchipped at the time they are registered..... Canada has some very specific laws related to purebred dogs and you could probably take legal action with the breeder.

However, unless you want to sue the breeder and they have lodged the complaint, I am not sure that there is much else you can do. Unfortunately given the type of breeder that this person clearly is, it is likely that the puppy that your parents bought is not show quality. I would contact that national breed club for Westies and see if they can intervene.... your folks have already contacted the CKC so there won't be much you can do beyond that..... You can't register in the states unless she has CKC registration ..... and that means you cant register UKC either.....

It would seem that your parents are going to be stuck with a wonderful pet unless they want to sue the breeder, it sounds like they have done what they can.

I feel badly for them, this just stinks......
S

[mrsgrubby]

I feel badly for your parents too. We all learn the "hard way" I am afraid about buying from byb or puppymills.

Hopefully they will be able to track down the breeder by watching the newspaper and internet for them, I am sure they will be advertising to sell puppies again, and your parents will be able to find them.

Good luck, sorry

[britishbandit]

Oh yes, I am keeping my eye out as well as my parents. I have this gut feeling that they are breeding this dog EVERY heat (maybe the reason behind not registering the litters), so with Maggie being 7 months old, the ad in the newspaper for puppies would be coming in the next month or 2. I can't see these people picking up and moving too far, so I suspect they are still in town. Whether or not my parents wish to pursue it as far as sueing them I'm not sure, but I'll let them know to look into that as well. Trust me, I gave my parents a lecture about it all....and I know they've learned a big lesson here, I just hope they can teach a lesson back to these people.

[bigdoglover]

Just out of curiosity, on the papers they did give you, does it have the name and registration number of the parents? I know that is probably a dumb question, but here was my thought.....maybe by tracking the parents' registration numbers, you can see if the "breeder" has ever registered a litter at all. Kinda like stacking the deck in your favor. But I don't know how Canada or the CKC handles these types of situations. Wish I could be more help!

[MatthewG]

First off I'm not a lawyer and not an expert but the way I read the Canadian Animal Pedigree Act it is an offense to"

"g) knowingly offer to sell, contract to sell or sell any animal in a manner that is likely to create an erroneous impression that the animal is registered or eligible to be registered;

(h) offer to sell, contract to sell or sell, as a purebred of a breed, any animal that is not registered or eligible to be registered as a purebred by the association authorized to register animals of that breed or by the Corporation;"

And can be punishible by:

66. (1) Any person who contravenes any provision of this Act or the regulations

(a) is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to a fine not exceeding twenty-five thousand dollars; or

(b) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to a fine not exceeding fifty thousand dollars.

Value to be considered
(2) In determining the fine in relation to an offence under any of sections 63 to 65, the judge making the determination shall take into account the value, or purported value, of the animal, semen or embryo to which the offence relates.
Canadian Animal Pedigree Act http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/A-11.2/index.html
As far as I'm concerned this is fraud and I would talk to the police, and see what they say. They may not do anything because it will be a low priority, but at least file a complaint, maybe something will happen. Your parents weren't the first people to be ripped off by these people but just may be they could be the last.

[bigdoglover]

Wow MatthewG...that was a really informative post, thank you for providing that!

[britishbandit]

Thanks everyone, I just emailed my parents to give them the feedback. Hopefully we'll get to the bottom of this. I'll let you know how it all ends up.