I am wondering if anyone knows of a lawyer that can look over a contract (I made for my dog's, when they are sold). I made it to where I am able to look at the dog and their home at anytime throughout their life but I am not sure if I am wording it correctly.
Do you know of anyone that would be able to help, please??? Or what the attorney for animal rights is called?

Sandra,
Once you sell your dog, you have to be able to let go! No one is going to want to purchase a dog from someone who is going to make them sign a contract. Besides that there aren't enough hours in a day for you to worry about the dogs you have sold. You have to be willing to trust your judgement in choosing a new owner for your dog. It really is out of your hands once the purchase has been made and a bill of sale is given. If you can't let go, then breeding is not for you. Put yourself in the new owners shoes. How would you like it if you had to sign a contract from the person you purchased your dog from? Would you have purchased the dog? Also people move and it would be impossible to keep up with all the new owners! Relax...........trust your judgement. Good luck!

Sorry to disagree Whitefish but any responsible breeder should have a new owner sign a contract outlining certain responsibilities. Some do spay/neuter contracts if the animal is being sold as "pet quality" and all the reputable breeders I know of have in their contracts that if anything happens to the animal where they can no longer keep it the animal should be returned to the breeder. Contracts and good home checks are a couple of the things that show the difference between back yard breeders/puppy mills and reputable/responsible breeders. I have seen in the yellow pages listings for lawyers that do handle "animal law" you might try there or a search on the Internet. I know animal law is starting to become a more popular topic these days.

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Originally posted by Magenta:
Contracts and good home checks are a couple of the things that show the difference between back yard breeders/puppy mills and reputable/responsible breeders.

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I have to disagree with you Magenta, just because a breeder doesn't check up on a puppy for the rest of it's life doesn't make them a backyard breeder or a puppy mill. That has got to be the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. You cannot put in a contract that you have the right at any time to visit someones home and "inspect" it and then take their right to own that dog away from them if you feel that the dog is not being cared for properly. If that happens to one of your dogs its YOUR FAULT for not properly screening families! It's the job of the breeder to carefully screen potential families when placing their dogs. Now I have ways of keeping track of my dogs, and if I find that one is not being cared for properly, I will go through the proper channels and report them, but I have no right to just take a dog away from them. Before I even select a family, I have a three page application process, interviews, phone conversations, and a home visit, before considering them as a family worthy to have one of my dogs. I also have ways of keeping track after the sale as well, letters, get-togethers and things of that nature. Once my dog leaves my home, it's not mine anymore, it's theirs. If you can't trust your own judgement then your shouldn't be involved in breeding in the first place.

"Bring a smile to your life, hug a weiner dog!"

Good Post DJ

Thank you WF, I am very passionate about things such as this.

"Bring a smile to your life, hug a weiner dog!"

I have a written contract on my 2 , 19 yr old horses. I donated them to crippled children riding school. And the deal is if they feel it is not working out for them. The deal we (both parties). Find a new home for them. And I can fisit anytime to see if they our getting the attention. That they diserve. But she can not remove them off the property with out me part of it. I know it is not dogs, but it is about the same thing.

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Originally posted by Sandra Davis:
I am wondering if anyone knows of a lawyer that can look over a contract (I made for my dog's, when they are sold). I made it to where I am able to look at the dog and their home at anytime throughout their life but I am not sure if I am wording it correctly.
Do you know of anyone that would be able to help, please??? Or what the attorney for animal rights is called?

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Sandra,

I think it may be unreasonable to ask to be able to check up on a dog throughout it's lifetime. Besides people's lives change and people move...it would be hard to follow up on a contract stated like that. I am a breeder and my suggestion to you is this.

1. It is not unreasonable to ask to check out the living arrangements BEFORE they take a puppy home. Think of it like what Foster parents have done. There are certain living requirements one must have to be a foster parent. Explain to the buyer that this is your baby and they are like the adoptive family.

2. If during your interview/screening process you feel a need to be able to check up on that dog throughout it's life, this may not be the person to place the dog with...go with you gut feeling...if something doesn't seem right, it probably isn't.

3. In your purchase contract you can add a section that states if for any reason at anytime they cannot keep the dog or cannot care for the dog properly that they are to contact you before doing anything else. This way if something does come up (ie: they must move and can't take the dog with them, lost their job and can no longer afford to feed or provide medical care, have a sick relative moving in and just can't take care of the dog anymore) they know that no matter what they can contact you and you will either take the dog back or find another arrangement to relieve them of their delimma (sp). Most folks feel a sense of relief knowing they have an option like that from their breeder.

I have that section in my contract and have had a few people take advantage of it through the years and were grateful knowing the dog was going to be taken care of by the person that cared for it from it's first breath of life.

Sometimes screening isn't enough...there is always someone who can lie and make you believe they will be the perfect owner. It is something that can't be avoided. The above are the best ways I know to help decrease the risk of sending a pup ito the wrong hands. Hope this helps.

SJ

"Stupid People Shouldn't Breed!"