Did You Pay For A Puppy You Don't Think Is A Purebred? How Your Vet And The AKC Can Help You Find Out
Posted on: 22 June 2016
If you spent hundreds or thousands of dollars on a dog because you thought that they were a purebred, and because you wanted a specific breed of dog, you want to know that you got what you paid for. If your dog is growing and doesn't look like it should, it isn't unusual to be skeptical that the dog is 100 percent the breed you were told. There are a few things you can do to verify it's heritage, and to see if the dog was really what you wanted.
Confront the Breeder
Confront the breeder to make sure there isn't any way that the dog could have accidentally mated with a dog of a different breed, and that the puppies may not have been purebreds. If you aren't the first buyer to come back with complaints, the breeder may acknowledge that there could have been problems with the breeding.
Ask for Copies of the Parents Papers
Call the breeder and ask for copies of both the parents AKC parents, to make sure that they match up with the AKC papers that you have for your dog. Call the AKC to verify when the parents were bred and that their papers are legitimate, and then verify that your puppy is the breed that you thought it was based on its AKC identification number. You may find that papers were forged, or that there was a mistake somewhere.
Get a DNA Test at the Veterinarian
Take your puppy to the veterinarian and have them do a DNA sample and test. The DNA sample will show what their heritage is, and what type of breed they are. The cost for this service may not seem ideal, but if you are planning on breeding the dog that you have or putting it in a dog show, you need to verify that your dog is 100 percent the breed that you think it is.
If you think that the breeder sold you a dog that they knew wasn't 100 percent purebred like you thought, or that they tampered with the paperwork to increase the price of the puppies, you could take them to small claims court to get refunded for the investment. You should be compensated if you were misled to purchase the puppy. You will have to decide if you want to keep your puppy or if you want to find another that is the breed that you originally wanted.
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