Many of you have come to know my 1.3yr old Bichon. Well, just the other day I noticed she had developed a grayish tint in one eye. We brought her in and the vet confirmed she has catarac in both her eyes. Medical bills the vet said will be $2500 per eye!!! The vet also confirmed Phoebe to not be a pure bred as was advertised. So, do I have a chance in recouping my medical bill from the seller?

 

nevar heard of "bichon" breed, but anyway.. go talk to the seller w/ a 9mm in your hand and make an offer he cant refuse

 

only 1.3 year and have cataracts already???
Must be congenital cataracts. Also check around, $2500 per eye is pretty pricey. I know some docs in socal did it for as low as $1200/eye.

 

poor phoebe!! like all medical diagnosis, you should get a second opinion.

purebred or not, she's still a cutie though!

 

My little puppy is only about 4 months and she wasn't keeping food down so we had her checked out and it turned out that the opening to her small intestine was too small. We called the breeder and told him the vet told us that it was a hereditary problem (truth) and wanted to hear what he thought of it. He weezled a bit but agreed to pay half the fees which we're happy with.

If I were you I'd talk to your vet and see if you can get a statement from him then give the breeder a call and threaten legal action and see if he comes to the party then.

Sorry to hear phoebe aint doin well Ev

 

^ Thanks Aust. I'll keep you all updated!

 

Well, you have a few choices here.

1. Go back to the breeder and demand a refund and return the dog. Problem solved.

2. Go back to the breeder, demand a refund, and keep the dog. Still have to pay for bills.

3. Go back to breeder, demand payment for bills. Most reputable breeders (of any dog, including a Bichon Frise) guarantee the dogs to be free of defects (aside from natural aging "defects) for life. Most will just take the dog back as opposed to pay for vet bills, but you might get lucky.

Sorry, but $5K on a dog is a bit much in my mind. I love pets, but I'd be hard pressed to spend more than $1K on mine.

 

but once they become part of your family, it's hard not to care for them.

 

^ exactly

 

I don't think you'll be able to recoup the medical costs from the seller, but you should see if the breeder will give you any compensation since the dog isn't a purebred. As you know, purebreds command a huge premium over mixed breeds, and that difference is what I would demand back. A breeder should never label an animal a purebred when it isn't, that's a core part of their business.

Btw, how did the vet determine that it's not a purebred? Through visual inspection or something like DNA testing?