What can you do?

I have a question for an accquaintance. I don't know any of the background or any info other than what I am offering up here...

She got a poodle puppy from a breeder in California (I do not know who the breeder is nor what their practices are.) and the puppy was flown in last week.

Last night the puppy had to be put to sleep after it contracted Parvo. she is beside herself with grief. She wants to know what her options are for recourse. As far as I know she has not talked to the breeder directly (but I'm not certain on that... so contacting the breeder was my first bit of advice)

After that is there anything she can do? She is running on the assumption that this breeder has done something seriously wrong. I don't know if this is true or if she is running on pure emotion right now which is totally understandable.

What should she do if anything?

and please... save the flame wars. it's not going to help anyone now. I just told her I would look into what she could do if anything. Nothing is going to fix her broken heart but I told her I would ask anyway.

I agree she should talk to the breeder. See what the breeder says, its horrible but these things happen. I know some really good breeders who's pups have gotten parvo. (I would be upset if the dog was shipped sick though)

Does she have any type of health contract?

Check with the state at which the puppy was bought from and see if there is a Pet Lemon Law and the time frame in which it applies. Check with the Better Business Bureau in the same area and see if there have been other complaints of this breeder's puppies being ill.

Otherwise, the puppy could've contracted parvo from anywhere and it can still be contracted if the puppy had it's first boosters. Parvo is a horrible thing that sticks around in the environment for 6 months after it's shed. Make sure that she BLEACHES all areas where the puppy was before bringing a new one home.

California has a puppy lemon law. I would imagine she would go off the California laws since the sale "occurred" in California?

I'm not positive this is the most up to date version of the law but it's a starting place to then look at the California government page and see what the current version looks like:
Getting a Dog Tips - California's Puppy Lemon Law
She may not be covered because it looks like anybody who sells less than 50 puppies in a year doesn't count? Though since I don't know the details of this breeder, maybe she does... I don't know.

Anyway, I would contact the breeder first and foremost and see what happens. After that she may need to start looking at that lemon law and see if it is applicable.

Parvo doesn't necessarily mean the breeder is bad, crooked, or irresponsible, IMO. I know many very reputable breeders that have dealt with parvo on occasion. It's a terrible disease that dogs can contract for simply stepping outside. There are steps good breeders take to protect their pups but things still happen.

Depending on how long your friend had the pup, there's no guarantee it didn't contract parvo while in her care, either. The incubation period is typically sited as 5-10 days.

IMO, if the breeder kept this pup up-to-date on its booster shots up until the point where it left her care, and if she did not knowingly send a sick pup, she's not done anything wrong or unethical, and there's likely no legal recourse for your friend. That said, if she's a caring individual, she might be willing to work with her, and I hope that's the case for your friend's sake.

However, if she failed to vaccinate the puppies or knowingly sent a sickly puppy, that's something different entirely.

Anyway, I'm super sorry for your friend and my heart goes out to her. I can't even imagine how heartbreaking that must have been.

Thanks for all the great info. This really helps and I will pass it on to her. I did say that it's possible the puppy became ill after it left the breeder. could have even gotten it at the airport. she's just beside herself with grief right now so I'm sure she'll be thinking more clearly soon and will contact the breeder first

Thanks for the tip about bleaching the house. i did not know that and I will be sure to tell her that

Seriously bleach EVERYTHING. Parvo is SO nasty to get rid of.

It's possible that the puppy contracted parvo on the trip to your friend. Parvo has an incubation period of about a week, sometimes longer.

It's also possible that the breeder did not vaccinate correctly, had unclean facilities etc.. but that's frankly not something that we on the internet can judge. All I can say is that it's very easy for a dog to get parvo. The virus lives for a very long time and can be anywhere that feces have been.

My heart goes out to your friend. How sad for her.