b'Did You Know Florida HasA Puppy Lemon Law?Florida Pet Law exists to protect consumers, but protections arelimited and enforcement is obnoxious. Why roll those dice?Deal only with known, vetted providers to get the healthiest pets.By Diana DobosWarranties and medical bills are the last That all sounds reasonable at firstthingaprospectivepuppy(orkitten) glance,butacloserlookrevealstheparentthinksaboutwhenplanning rulestobetoothlessandlow-key fortheirnewfamilymember. horrifying. Who could exchange a sickUnfortunatelytheretailpettradeis puppyorkittenlikeausedblender?fullofpredatorypracticesand Plus,manypetstoreshaveyousignunhealthy animals.theirwarrantywhichdisregardstheThis is enough of a problem that law in favor of the pet store.Florida has a Puppy Lemon Law (Fla. MostgeneticconditionswillnotLaw828.29)thatprovidessome show up in the first year of life. Not allrecourseforpeoplewhopurchase genetic issues, including expensive onesunhealthy cats or dogs. The law applies likecataracts,willrenderananimaltoanyonewhosellsmorethan20 unfit for sale.animals or two litters per year, whichever Parasitesdontmakeananimalis greater. The full text of the law is five unfitforsaleunlesstheanimalisdetailed pages, but the big picture is: clinically ill because of the infestation.l The time window to act isReimbursement for medical expensesextremely short. cant exceed the sale price. The seller canl Buyers have 14 days from the sale also contest the veterinarians finding. Ifto document illness, and one year thathappens,thenextstepissmallto document hereditary issues. claims court. Within that window, a veterinarianPetstoreshavetheircountermea-Charlotte after her rescue and must certify that the animals were sures.Theywilloftenrequirebuyersgroom. She was one of 66 small unfit for sale at the time of the sale.signawaiverforgeneticissuesasaPoodle/Maltese/Shih-Tzu dogsfrom a Walton County, Florida l Buyers must notify the seller condition for sale. This is so shady, aspuppy mill. Charlotte was within two days of the vets the only possible purpose is to shortenfostered by VIP Rescue Florida. determination and provide written the time available to detect issues.www.VIPRescue.org proof within three days.Ifthedogsgeneticsaredefectivel If the seller agrees that the at the time of sale, time doesnt matter.animal was not fit for sale, the buyer Thestatuteguaranteesbuyersahas three options: whopping48businesshourstofind1. Return the animal for a full genetic defects, even with a waiver. Butrefund, plus medical expenses; read the waiver carefully. 2. Exchange the animal for a If a genetic condition is specified,healthy one, plus medical expenses; or then the buyer has no recourse for that3.Keeptheanimalandbereim- condition,eveniftheysignedunderbursed for reasonable medical expenses. duress from their screaming children. 54THE NEW BARKER www.TheNewBarker.com'