The Pet Pad

Was told that I was purchasing a pure breed puppy for $1,100 turned out to be a mixed breed puppy.I paid $1,100 for a puppy that was classified as a purebred miniature Australian shepherd. After observing health issues with my puppy, I took him to the vet to get blood drawn for a DNA test. When the results came back, it showed that my puppy was not purebred and in fact mixed breed. I contacted the Pet Pad and they told me that they would not give me a refund for the breach of contract because the owner did not believe the authenticity of the DNA test. I got an attorney and had him send a letter to The Pet Pad owner requesting a refund. My attorney had given him 30 days to respond and we never got a response.Desired SettlementI would like a refund for the $1,100 that I had paid for my puppy and financial assistance for the medical issues that my dog is having. Business Response This is the response letter that we sent Mr. [redacted]'s attorney:June 7, 2016RE: Your letter dated May 26, 2016 on behalf of [redacted]Dear Mr. :Your letter dated May 26, 2016 addressed to Pet Pad on behalf of [redacted] ("Ms. [redacted]") has been forwarded to me for a response. As I understand it, your client is requesting a refund of $1,100.00 for a "non-conforming dog." For reasons below, your client's request for a refund is denied.First, Ms. [redacted] contracted for a miniature Australian Shepherd that is registered by America's Pet Registry, Inc. (the "[redacted]"); that type of dog is exactly what she received. The [redacted] website explains that the genetic makeup of a dog is separate and distinct from the official breed designation. The Pet Pad uses the same standards and practices that breeders use to track the descendants of each registered pet. This lineage system has been recognized by breeders as a basis for determining whether a dog qualifies for being registered as a particular breed. Genetic purity is not used for such a determination. There is no mention of genetic purity in the contract executed by Ms. [redacted]. Additionally, the breed analysis report referenced in your letter indicates that it is intended as a resource to determine the dog's genetic history, and is not intended for use in a judicial proceeding. Finally, the owners of the Pet Pad are willing to work with Ms. [redacted], assist her with the registration process and transfer of the registration of the dog, known as [redacted] as I understand it, with the [redacted]; unfortunately, they are not willing to refund the purchase price for the dog under the present circumstances. For your reference, I have enclosed a copy of the registration documents for [redacted] Ms. [redacted] is welcomed to go by the store to pick up the original documents.Please refer any additional correspondence concerning this matter to my attention at the address above.Sincerely,STORE RESPONSE:Ms. [redacted] purchased this puppy on Jan. 7, 2016. Her father called us the next day wanting to return the puppy because he thought it would get too big. Since then, he has been trying to get his money back and keep the puppy using a variety of reasons including this DNA claim. Ms. [redacted] has told us that her puppy had medical issues. Our puppies do come with a one year health guarantee against problems that are congenital or hereditary. We ask for a letter written by a veterinarian explaining the condition and documenting that the cause is either hereditary or congenital. While Ms. [redacted] has given us copies of veterinary bills for various testing, she has never presented us with a letter from a veterinarian showing that this puppy has a congenital or hereditary problem. Early on, we offered Mr. [redacted] to take the puppy back and let Ms. [redacted] select a different dog. But it seems she wants to keep the one she got from us and get her money back. Consumer Response I have got in contact with [redacted] explaining the situation. I have sent photos, the DNA results, and the contract over to them. Their response was that the [redacted] is not responsible for the Pet Pad for selling me a mixed breed dog. Fortunately the representative I talked to there, actually breeds miniature Australian dogs and she said my dog looks nothing like one but instead a mixture of a Chihuahua of some sort. She explained to me that the Pet Pad has had issues before with puppies being mixed breed and not pure bred. The [redacted] is currently doing an investigation towards the Pet Pad as well as the Breeder [redacted] I have got a panel of vets and miniature Australian breeders ready to explain that the Pet Pad's explanation of the genetic analysis, is nonsense. The pet pad had offered to take the my puppy back because they knew he had health issues and in [redacted]'s words (the pet pad owner), "The puppies don't mean anything to me, they aren't money that comes out of my pocket like the actual money I'd have to pay for these medical bills". I have invested my money and time for my dog. I will still be pursuing a legal case towards the Pet Pad and look forward to seeing them in court. Final Business Response The Customer has made a serious accusation that our store is under investigation by [redacted]. We contacted the [redacted] to ask about this. This letter is the response we received from them:July 5, 2016Dear [redacted],In response to your email of July 1, let me first thank you for bringing this to our attention. As to the matter of Ms. ____, no one in the office has spoken to her about this issue. If any of us had, we would have asked her to put her complaint in writing and send it to us with any supporting documentation. That has not happened. I know she says that we spoke with her after we had looked at pictures, but that is just not so. We have no record in our complaint file of any of her letters, pictures, or allegations of any kind.We have a saying here that we might not always know what someone here said at any given time, but we can be very sure of what they did not say. This is a rare example of what no one here would ever say. We would never suggest to anyone in a phone conversation that she had a mixed breed dog. Neither would we tell any customer that a pet shop or a breeder was "under investigation." First, we do not do those types of investigations; secondly, it is hard to imagine Ms.[redacted] would ever be the target of such a thing. She has been a stellar example of what [redacted] wants to see in the breeders it serves. In addition we have never had any complaints of any sort about The Pet Pad.Whatever Ms.____'s motivation is, we can say with assurance that no one here said the things that she is claiming. We are sorry that you are facing this issue, and we hope this correspondence helps.Sincerely,[redacted] Retail LiaisonThe Customer also attributed a quote to the store owner that "the puppies don't mean anything to me." This is also a total fabrication. Again, we invite The Customer to pick up her [redacted] registration paper and register her dog.