To refuse to sell this lady a puppy?

[ensete]

I have a litter of working golden retrievers, i collated a waiting list before I had our bitch mated and I spent a long time speaking to interested parties to find the best homes I could do - this is how I have dealt with previous litters.
Both parents are working gundogs and I stated that whilst I didn't need working homes I would only consider active homes with the space to accommodate a large working breed.
One of the families who is on my list contacted me today just to say "hi, my husband and I have decided to split up, I will still be wanting the puppy but my address will now by Flat4a XYZ Town"
I messaged back to enquire what sort of set up it was and she confirmed it's a flat on the top floor with no garden or outside space. I've confirmed with her that I'm not happy to sell a puppy to a home without any outside space and I will refund her deposit immediately and advertise the puppy. She's refusing to give me her bank details and says she wants the pup and will take legal action if required. My argument is that the home I vetted is no longer the home she's offering and therefore I'm not willing to sell her the puppy. To me, changing the home on offer isn't dissimilar to her changing the amount of money she is willing to pay for the pup. The homes I find for puppies are very important to me, I'm not a big breeder, I've just had a litter for my own purposes to keep the next generation and I need to know my puppies are going to the right sort of home.

[Beautiful3]

You are responsible and correct. Send her a cheque to her new address.

[Trustynickname]

Your doing the right thing. I actually admittedly took on a puppy whilst living in an apartment, although a very small breed and although I was so happy and in love with my beautiful pooch, it was seriously hard with toilet training and also really unfair that he didn't have access to adequate outdoor space all of the time, I moved a few months later due to this and now he has a garden and all of the access he needs for toileting etc and he loves it. I would never have a dog in a flat again and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. You have a right too refuse the sale, It would not be fair on the pup! Good luck with it all

[Floralnomad]

@ensete thanks for clearing that up , hope pup finds a lovely new home .

[Procrastination4]

You are definitely not being unreasonable. It is great to hear about someone who is very careful about placing puppies in suitable homes. That lady should be thanking her lucky stars that you are not insisting she go ahead with the purchase of the pup given her change in circumstances. It is disappointing for her and for her children, yes, but so much better to not have to possible face the decision of rehoming a dog to whom they’ve grown very attached.

[mam0918]

So what would happen if you sold her the dog and THEN she split with her partner and had to move?

You can say you want these things for the animals you are selling and vet all you want but life happens and things arent always perfect and you would have zero control if this happened later.

[RuddyHellItsSoftCell]

I have a puppy that due to size/energy levels/temperament has been described as suited to 'apartment living' (I'm in a house with an enclosed garden) and still wouldn't want to bring him him up in a flat/apartment. YADNBU. In all of my conversations with the breeder, it was always about whether we could give the puppy an appropriate, happy home, and if my circumstances had changed and I could no longer do that, I would have let the breeder give our puppy to a different household; their welfare should be paramount.

[waitingforthenextseason]

Stand firm; you're doing the right thing. My breeder friend of golden retrievers would do exactly the same as you.

[BelleBlueBell]

@mam0918

So what would happen if you sold her the dog and THEN she split with her partner and had to move?

You can say you want these things for the animals you are selling and vet all you want but life happens and things arent always perfect and you would have zero control if this happened later.

What's the point of making up scenarios, the OP knows the lady now lives in a flat, what have hypotheticals got to do with anything?


Are you saying someone should send a dog to a home they already don't consider suitable on the basis of a random future event for a hypothetical dog

[Volcanoexplorer]

I wish all breeders were as responsible as you. You’re doing the right thing. As others have said, send a cheque in the post that requires a signature on delivery.

[RuddyHellItsSoftCell]

Also one of the main reasons I went with this breeder was because I had to provide a lot of information about our situation, including a vets reference. I can't believe how many people are happy to sell puppies without knowing where they are going to. I'm still in contact, provide updates/pictures etc, and our breeder was keen to stress, and have worded in the agreement, that if we needed to rehome puppy at any point (I'm really not anticipating this to happen at all) then they would take him back.

[GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER]

I wouldn’t. Keeping any dog in a flat with no outside space is crazy. Even more so if it’s a big one.

[Anotherlovelybitofsquirrel]

YANBU at all. She's a total twat. I hate people that think it's ok to do this to a dog. She's breaking the terms the sale was based on. I'd refund her and tell her what I thought of her.

[NameChangeForThis2]

What legal action can she take, for you refusing to sell a puppy to her, which sounds like a completely unsuitable environment. No such laws exist. If she doesn’t give you her bank details, then just ignore her and take screen shots of her refusal to engage.
My Mum rehomed a dog which was kept in a flat, it was locked in the kitchen during the lady’s working hours and as a result had lots of behavioural problems, due to lack of physical and mental stimulation. If you are going to breed, a suitable home should always be your first priority, so you’re doing the right thing.

[luccyloo]

We've got working spaniels - no way are they suited to living in a flat with no outdoor space.

She's understandably disappointed but you've got to do what's right for the puppy.

[toocold54]

Were you planning on dropping the puppy off?
Just wondering why she gave you her new address.

[Roselilly36]

You have made the right decision, no doubt about that. Return the cheque, you won’t hear another word.

[Hoppinggreen]

@mam0918

So what would happen if you sold her the dog and THEN she split with her partner and had to move?

You can say you want these things for the animals you are selling and vet all you want but life happens and things arent always perfect and you would have zero control if this happened later.

Well as this hasn’t happened it’s irrelevant really
OP can only act on the info she has

[ED81]

Wow. I love people like you who are responsible for an animals welfare. Well done!
A top floor flat with a puppy? No way! And if it’s rented does the landlord even know? She is being unreasonable. It would make me question her intentions with said puppy is she is willing to do this.

I agree with others. Send her a cheque to her new address - recorded delivery.

[Itgetsthehoseagain]

@mam0918

So what would happen if you sold her the dog and THEN she split with her partner and had to move?

You can say you want these things for the animals you are selling and vet all you want but life happens and things arent always perfect and you would have zero control if this happened later.

Wow. We must never do the right thing now because hypothetical events mean that the right thing is not always possible to do without the benefit of a time-machine? Well, that's it - my life just got a whole lot easier.

[AuntieStella]

OP: YABVVU to be talking about 5week old puppies without any pictures!

[TheFlis12345]

I am in the process of buying a puppy of a small, and reputably quite lazy breed. The breeder still wanted proof that we had a garden suitable for a dog and told us he had refused any applications from people in flats. You are are 100% doing the right thing op.

[Volcanoexplorer]

Oh god there’s always one The situation has already changed, the OP knows about it and so is doing the right thing under the current circumstances.

[WiddlinDiddlin]

There'd have to be some serious mitigating circumstances for me to let her have a dog or puppy I was responsible for rehoming.

Such as, she is out all day in an outdoor job where the dog could come with her, and the flat is next to a dog friendly park...

But realistically, this isn't the right owner for this pup, as you say, it's not the home that was originally offered so its fair to refund and forget about it.

Remember if you send her a cheque, she could simply destroy it/not cash it - so I would take some steps to document that you have sent her a cheque and attempted to refund her deposit in a variety of ways should she attempt to do something stupid down the line (like small claims court for example).

She does sound batty enough to do that!

You sound like you've taken all the necessary steps and more, I don't think theres anything else you can do to ensure you are selling puppies to the right owners.

To a certain extent you do have to discover who people are, and trust that they are the right home and will do right by the puppy they take on. Otherwise, if we all had to be able to see the future, and some how prove things would NEVER change... no one could ever have a dog!

[Barton10]

I would bet her Lease prohibits her having a dog in the flat anyway. Most landlords don’t allow it as flats with no gardens are not suitable for dogs. Plus barking etc is a nuisance to other owners. You are doing the right thing.

[godmum56]

Definitely YANBU and a shining example