Brendan I see your point of view. A cabinet maker can't make a fine piece of furniture with a hatchet.The only problem is we still don't know what breed Martha had and what she intends to do with it. My feeliing is she wants a pet for the family to love. I'll stick with my original post. Why do I have the feeling that Ed will close this thread soon?

Brendan,
I agree. The importance of remaining objective, far surpasses the difficulty of remaining objective. Even if you are best friends with the best breeder in the world, you are still likely to "go through" a couple before you get what you really want. Especially so if you are buying pups that young. This, however, was a matter of a health problem and this breeder sucks for not giving them their money back if that's what they wanted, in my opinion.

Hi Martha, Maybe I'm missing something here, but if you thought that they were a reputable breeder in the first place, why not get one of their pups in the New Year and take someone with you who knows how to pick them. That way, you get your dog, etc... Just make sure that the vet checks it out within the two weeks, resign the contract and if it doesn't work out you may be able to get your money back? Just a thought. I may be yelled at for this but the breeder, although rotten about it, is within their right to deny you money, but not a future dog. Just a thought.

Martha,
I also agree with Phyllis on this. It is highly likely that there will be a dog for you in the next litter. Assuming that their next litter is more of a "normal" one. At this point, it doesn't seem that you have much more to lose by at least leaving that option open. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Martha,

Dog lawsuits are tricky. If you do not believe the breeder about the heart problem ask him to send you a letter from the vet he/she took the pup too that states the dog has no heart murmur. If the breeder refuses then I would suspect a crook. If a vet did indeed look at the pup and says it has no problems then I look at the breeders stand point. Maybe they think you are trying to stiff them. Maybe they think you just didn't like the dog after you got and are trying a way out of the contract. I'm not saying your wrong or siding with the breeder I'm just looking at it from all angles. Get a statement from his vet and go from there.
Also it depends on what state your from. The Dog Law book is a great book to read. Ed sells it. Some states you can't sell a puppy before the age of 8 weeks. Check into that as well.

Dear All,

You guys have gone above and beyond the call of duty coming up with ideas here. I appreciate it so much!

Richard--
You made a good point about small claims court. That's good to hear that it is more 'common sense' oriented, since from that standpoint I may be able to prevail. Due to the hassle involved I think I'll keep this as my last option.

milt--
She is a GSD. I want her for a family dog. To be honest folks, I'm not getting her for protection at all. Why am I getting a GSD? -- you all are probably wondering. In the past I've had keeshonden. I love those fuzzballs that lick you to death! However, it is almost painful for my husband to be around them as he doesn't like the way they invade his personal space. The only type of dog he feels he can 'bond' with is a GSD. He is 'in love' with these dogs. So a GSD is somewhat of a compromise.


Karmen,
I'm still waiting for them to send documentation from their vet re. the murmur. They have a copy of my vet's chart note.

Phyllis and jason,
I think you are right that there is good chance that I can find a good dog in the next litter. A very kind GSD breeder in my area, who unfortunately won't have any puppies for a while, has offered to temperment test the pups at 7 weeks.

The pups will be 7 weeks January 11. I'm feeling more and more that I'm likely to be writing you all on the 12th to say that I got a wonderful, healthy pup. I met the father of these pups. At that time I was feeling kinda disappointed because I liked him lots more that Greta's (our original pup) father. So I think things may work out for the best in the end.

Thank-you all,
Martha

Dear All,

You guys were so helpful to me in this situation -- I'm writing to let you know the happy ending. Eventually the breeder got so sick of us that they refunded the full amount we paid for the puppy!
Also, we got a 2 year-old GSD from a different breeder who is absolutely perfect for us (she was sold because her hips were mildly displastic). She does great with the kids -- 5-year-old twins that are holy terrors and has turned my 8-year-old into a dog lover. He merely tolerated them before. She is totally unflappable. I am trying to teach the twins not to drive matchbox cars on her or put dress up wigs on her but they are far more difficult to train than she is. At first she would get anxious if I would discipline them for this stuff but I think she has now learned I am not talking to her. I think she has decided they are some type of bizarre pets from Mars and can't help themselves (I will never give up on trying to teach them how to respect a dog, though.)
When we were working things out with the original breeder we had planned to get a replacement pup but I think we will wait until the twins are at least 8 before we get a second GSD (puppy).
Thank-you again for all your help!

Martha Kesting <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Martha,

Glad to hear it worked out. Good luck with your new dog. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />