Breeders - Had your contract broken?

On my Sibe forum, a fellow member is going through a HUGE issue.

She breeds great Sibes, and sold two girls on contract that they be bred ONLY when approved by the breeder, we'll call her Sally.

Sally keeps in touch with all the people that buy her puppies, and this couple were good friends with her. They would call her for anything and everything, and she's done right by them.

These "friends" were chatting with a local BYB, who convinced them that they could make "quick money" by breeding BOTH of their girls, AT THE SAME TIME, to a boy he had at his house. The girls are 18 months at the moment, untitled, and with no testing done as of yet, since they aren't 2.

They call Sally and tell her that the girls are pregnant and due within DAYS of each other, and if she could possibly tell them everything they need to take care of the puppies when they are born.

Sally is indescribably (sp?) upset. She was torn between taking the girls back, period, and not returning them to the owners since they didn't think the contract they signed was worth the paper it was written on, and taking the girls back to have their puppies, selling them on spay/neuter contracts, spaying the girls and then giving the girls back to their owners. She is also feeling incredibly betrayed, as this couple were friends and love their girls very, very much. They were sucked into this guy's story of "quick, huge money" in Sibe puppies, when in reality this community has many BYB's in an over-saturated puppy "market".

She decided to take the girls, let them have their litters (they are due in 2 weeks), spaying the girls and then giving them back to the owners. She is planning on selling the puppies under her kennel name to recoup her costs of the pregnancy, as she is paying for everything, and then donating whatever is left over to a local rescue.

Have you had your contract broken in a similar way? Or just had people that blatantly ignore what they've signed? What action do you take?

That's horrible!! Did she not have a spay/neuter contract on them?

I'm on the other end, I broke my contract, LOL. But considering I can't even find their breeder anymore or she is just ignoring me, I don't really care. I broke it in that I let them run off-leash in an unfenced area.

From what I've picked up, she didn't have them sign a spay/neuter contract, possibly because Sally was planning on possibly breeding them when they got old enough? The contract she has them sign says the dogs cannot be bred until they are health tested and they are over the age of 2.

I know my breeder has before (though it didn't result in a litter...). It happens unfortunately sometimes no matter how hard the breeder screens. I know though, that she'd never put her kennel name on a litter of pups out of a byb stud she didn't approve of. I can't see the reason for this at all... then your kennel and reputation is linked to a litter of 'substandard' pups.

That's what I was thinking.

Unless the stud the BYB has is the one that THEY broke their contract on, and is in point of fact, a nice dog with good breeding.

I agree, and I was wondering the same thing ??

Good call on the kennel name thing, Laurelin. I wanted to see if she had an update on whether she was going to sell them registered or unregistered.

I logged back into the forum, and it appears that she's going to sell them unregistered. She's also not going to lift the registration on the two girls when they go back to their owners, so they can't get into the breed club.

She's ticked because she puts so much into her dogs....and she has to sell 7+ puppies like a BYB. But before she sells the puppies, she's getting both of the girls' testing done.

Nope - my breeder's contract is fairly easy to follow as long as you're not an idiot.

Good thing I'm not an idiot Sizzle

Another update-Sally chatted with the BYB, he's sending her copies of his boy's registration papers and health testing.

What idiots. I would not give the girls back!!!

The BYB health tested? Is being cooperative instead of dodging calls? Wow. Wonder how much he charged for the stud fee if he did at all.

I guess I'm mean, I would not be returning the bitches. They had to have an idea that "Sally" would not be happy because they contacted her when they knew the bitches were pregnant (why not after mating to share the "good news?") For someone to blatantly disregard me and my breeding program to make a buck... oh hells no.

wait a minute...isn't she still on the papers as co owner? If not BIG MISTAKE. If so...those puppies CANNOT be registered without her signing off. Teling them that might be the leverage she needs to get them back.

Yes, I KNOW. A BYB that health tests??!! I'm not sure if it's the same tests that I think they are though, Sally is in the UK.

Sally is co-owner on the mommies, from what I can tell she's still considering lifting the restriction to allow the moms AND their puppies to be registered.

I wouldn't give the girls back either.

I would sue them for breech of contract with a warrent of debt of the price of the females as a violated contract. Also contact the AKC after the ruling to let them know the pups were not registerable.

if it was a signed sealed contract by the breeder and buyer, the breeder could then sue for breech of it. If not signed or a contract even made up for both signed, it is null and void.
AKC could care less about BYB or pups with no papers, long as anybody with a litter pays for it to get papers, that is all that matters to them.
My kennel is registered with AKC, so it makes a difference then.

I'd be madder than H#ll !!!! Certainly wouldn't register the litters !

The breeder COULD sue for breech of contract, but it probably won't get her anywhere. It's my understanding, having heard of several similar situations, that the contract between a breeder and a dog owner really isn't worth the paper it's written on. The success of fighting issues when it comes to such contracts really is that most people are afraid of going to court and will back down when you start threatening legal action.

As for the rest of the situation... I'm kinda confused. The breeder has the dogs and is going to let them, as well as all of these puppies that were bred in violation of her contract, be registered..? Why, exactly?
I would be wary of spaying the bitches and giving them back without letting the other co-owners know. Now she's being shady and underhanded just like them. She needs to be upfront about WHY she is mad and let these women know the bitches WILL be spayed, and if they want them back they need to fork over the cash for the procedure or whatever. I actually suspect these owners might not want the dogs back if they are spayed... better to have them tell her upfront they no longer want the dogs than to have two of her dogs suddenly dumped in a shelter - after having been bred at 18 months.

Of course, I don't know all the details, but the whole situation seems very confusing... honestly, even if this guy does health testing and has a great stud dog, the puppies were bred in violation of her contract. Registered? With her kennel name on them? No, no, a million times no.
My mind is a little boggled.

IIRC, in the UK, if you register a litter, those pups WILL carry your prefix. So that may be why her kennel name would be on them.

That's why I have a monetary clause in my contract if they breach our agreements, as I've been told that's the only way a judge will honor a contract.