PRINTER'S NO. 1180
No. 1043 Session of 1991
INTRODUCED BY ARMSTRONG, SCHEETZ, HARPER, SCHULER, KOSINSKI,
NICKOL, BILLOW, NOYE, MAIALE, BARLEY, ITKIN, HERSHEY,
RICHARDSON, R. C. WRIGHT, VEON, VROON, TRELLO, FARMER,
CIVERA, SERAFINI, RAYMOND, E. Z. TAYLOR AND STAIRS,
APRIL 8, 1991
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS,
APRIL 8, 1991
AN ACT
1 Imposing duties on kennels and pet shops licensed by the
2 Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture or the United States
3 Department of Agriculture; providing for misrepresentation of
4 pedigree and health of dogs bred for sale; providing for
5 enforcement by the Attorney General; and imposing penalties.
6 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
7 hereby enacts as follows:
8 Section 1. Short title.
9 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Dog Purchaser
10 Protection Act.
11 Section 2. Definitions.
12 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
13 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
14 context clearly indicates otherwise:
15 "Seller." A kennel, pet shop operator or other individual
16 who sells dogs to the public and who owns or operates a kennel
17 or pet shop licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of
1 Agriculture or the United States Department of Agriculture.
2 "Unfit for purchase." Any disease, deformity, injury,
3 physical condition, illness or any defect which is congenital or
4 hereditary and which severely affects the health of the animal,
5 or which was manifest, capable of diagnosis or likely to have
6 been contracted on or before the sale and delivery of the animal
7 to the consumer.
8 "Veterinarian." An individual licensed under the laws of
9 this Commonwealth or any other state to practice veterinary
10 medicine and surgery.
11 Section 3. Sale or representation without license prohibited.
12 A person may not sell, hold for adoption, advertise or
13 represent the health or registrability of a dog within this
14 Commonwealth without possessing a kennel license issued by the
15 Department of Agriculture of this Commonwealth or the United
16 States Department of Agriculture.
17 Section 4. Record of purchased dog's health.
18 (a) General rule.--A seller shall provide a purchaser of a
19 dog with a health record for a dog at the time of sale. In
20 addition, the seller shall provide to the purchaser a health
21 record.
22 (b) Contents of health record.--The record of health shall
23 set forth the following:
24 (1) The dog's breed. If the breed is unknown or mixed,
25 the health record shall so indicate. If the dog is advertised
26 or represented as registrable, the name and address of the
27 pedigree registry organization where the dam and sire are
28 registered shall be indicated.
29 (2) The dog's date of birth. If the dog is not
30 advertised as or sold as purebred, registered or registrable,
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1 the date of birth may be approximated if not known by the
2 seller.
3 (3) The dog's sex.
4 (4) The dog's color and markings.
5 (5) A list of all vaccinations administered to the dog,
6 the date of the vaccinations and the name of the person who
7 administered them, if known, up to the date of sale.
8 (6) The date and type of any parasitical medicine that
9 was administered to the dog.
10 (7) The name, address and signature of the seller along
11 with a statement affirming all of the information provided in
12 this subsection is true.
13 (8) The health record shall be signed and dated by both
14 the seller and purchaser.
15 (c) Certification of purchased dog's health.--The seller
16 shall certify each dog sold to be apparently free of any
17 contagious or infectious illness, defect which is congenital or
18 hereditary, or not clinically ill from parasitic infestation.
19 The certificate of health shall include the name, address and
20 signature of the seller, and the date the dog was examined.
21 (d) Return of dog for illness.--If, within three days after
22 the date of purchase, a dog purchased from a seller is
23 determined, through physical examination or necropsy by a
24 veterinarian, to have died from any contagious or infectious
25 illness or becomes clinically ill or dies of any parasitic
26 illness which renders it unfit for purchase or results in its
27 death, the purchaser may exercise one of the following options:
28 (1) Return the dog to the seller for a complete refund,
29 including sales tax.
30 (2) Return the dog to the seller for a replacement dog
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1 of equal value, providing a replacement dog is available.
2 For purposes of this section, veterinary findings of intestinal
3 and external parasites shall not be grounds for declaring the
4 dog unfit for sale unless the dog is clinically ill due to such
5 condition. A dog shall not be found unfit for sale on account of
6 injury sustained or illness contracted subsequent to the date of
7 sale. Remedies available under this act shall also apply to
8 replacement dogs.
9 (e) Return for treatment.--If the purchaser's veterinarian
10 determines the dog's illness can be treated and corrected, the
11 purchaser shall return the dog, within 24 hours, to the seller
12 for treatment by a licensed veterinarian of the seller's
13 choosing. All costs of the treatment by the veterinarian up to
14 the original cost of the dog, including sales tax, shall be
15 borne by the seller and shall not include the costs of the
16 initial veterinary examination fee and diagnostic or treatment
17 fees not directly related to the veterinarian's certification
18 that the animal is unfit for purchase pursuant to this section.
19 If, however, the purchaser's veterinarian determines the dog's
20 illness is incurable, only the options in subsection (d)(1) and
21 (2) shall apply.
22 (f) Return of dog for poor health.--If, within 30 days after
23 the date of purchase, a dog purchased from a seller is certified
24 through physical examination or necropsy by a veterinarian to be
25 in poor health, or to have died, due to a defect which is
26 congenital or hereditary, the purchaser may exercise one of the
27 options as provided in subsection (d) or (e).
28 (g) Certification required.--A veterinarian's certification
29 of illness, poor health or death issued by a licensed
30 veterinarian shall be necessary to return a dog for a refund or
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1 replacement or to receive treatment if the dog is retained by
2 the purchaser and treated for illness as provided in this act.
3 The veterinarian's certification shall be supplied at the
4 purchaser's expense.
5 (h) Contents of certification.--The veterinarian's
6 certification shall state the following information:
7 (1) The purchaser's name and address.
8 (2) The date the dog was examined.
9 (3) The breed and age of the dog.
10 (4) (i) That he examined the dog.
11 (ii) That the dog has or had an illness as described
12 in subsection (d), or is in poor health as described in
13 subsection (f), which renders it unfit for purchase or
14 which resulted in its death.
15 (iii) The precise findings of the examination or
16 necropsy.
17 (5) The veterinarian's name, address, telephone number
18 and signature.
19 (i) Notification.--Within 24 hours of a veterinary
20 examination which certifies illness, poor health or death as
21 outlined in subsections (d), (e) and (f), the purchaser shall
22 notify the seller of the name, address and telephone number of
23 the examining veterinarian. Failure to notify the seller and to
24 return the dog to the seller for treatment shall result in the
25 purchaser's forfeiture of rights under this section.
26 (j) Limitation on returns.--Subsections (d), (e), (f) and
27 (g) shall not apply where a seller, in certifying the health of
28 a dog in accordance with subsection (a), discloses in writing at
29 the time of sale the health problem for which the buyer later
30 seeks to return the dog. Such disclosures shall be signed by
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1 both seller and purchaser.
2 (k) Time for refund.--The refund or replacement required by
3 this section shall be made by the seller not later than 14 days
4 following receipt of the veterinarian's certification that the
5 dog is unfit for purchase or has died from a condition defined
6 as unfit for purchase in this act, along with the dog's
7 registration papers. The certification shall be presented to the
8 seller not later than five days following receipt thereof by the
9 purchaser.
10 (l) Contesting a request for refund or replacement.--In the
11 event that a seller wishes to contest a demand for refund or
12 replacement made by a purchaser pursuant to this section, the
13 seller shall have the right, within 24 hours of notification by
14 purchaser of a condition which renders the dog unfit for
15 purchase as required in subsection (i), to require the purchaser
16 to produce the dog for examination by a licensed veterinarian
17 designated by the seller. The costs associated with this
18 examination, including the veterinarian's fees, shall be paid by
19 the seller. If the dog is incapable of being transported because
20 of being hospitalized, the purchaser's attending veterinarian
21 shall provide all relevant information regarding the case as
22 requested by the seller's veterinarian. Unless the dog is
23 hospitalized, failure to produce the dog within 48 hours for
24 examination by the purchaser will nullify any obligation to
25 replace, refund or reimburse by the seller. Upon such
26 examination, if the purchaser and the seller are unable to reach
27 an agreement which constitutes one of the options set forth in
28 this section within 14 days following receipt of the dog for
29 such examination, either party may initiate an action in a court
30 of competent jurisdiction.
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1 Section 5. Certification of purchased dog's registration.
2 (a) Required information.--Any seller who advertises or
3 otherwise represents that a dog is registered or registrable
4 shall provide the purchaser of the dog with the following
5 information at the time of sale:
6 (1) The breeder's name.
7 (2) The name and registration number of the dam and sire
8 of the purchased dog's litter.
9 (3) The name and address of the pedigree registry
10 organization where the dam and sire are registered.
11 (b) Time for providing information.--All documentation
12 necessary to effect the registration of the dog shall be
13 provided by the seller to the owner within 120 days of the date
14 of sale. The seller may claim an extension of the 120-day period
15 by notifying the purchaser in writing of any circumstances
16 beyond his control which may preclude delivery of the
17 registration document within the 120-day period. The seller
18 shall provide the purchaser with a bona fide estimate of the
19 time needed to provide the documentation for registration.
20 Failure of the seller to so notify the purchaser will grant the
21 purchaser the immediate right to request a refund provided by
22 subsection (c).
23 (c) Failure to provide information.--If the seller fails to
24 provide this documentation within 120 days of the date of sale
25 or to notify the purchaser of any extension provided under
26 subsection (b), the purchaser may elect one of the following
27 remedies:
28 (1) Return the dog and receive a full refund, including
29 sales tax.
30 (2) Retain the dog and receive a refund from the seller
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1 in an amount equal to 50% of the purchase price.
2 (d) Limitations on registrations.--The seller may withhold
3 the dog's registration application until the purchaser supplies
4 the seller with a signed veterinarian's certificate, stating
5 that the dog has been spayed or neutered, provided that
6 withholding of the application was agreed to, in writing, by the
7 purchaser at the time of sale. The seller shall provide the
8 registration application within ten days of receiving the
9 veterinarian's certificate if the certificate is supplied beyond
10 the 120-day period provided for in subsection (b).
11 Section 6. Posting and notice.
12 The provisions of this act shall be conspicuously posted in
13 the place of business of persons subject to the provisions of
14 this act. At the time of sale, the seller shall provide the
15 purchaser with a written notice setting forth the rights
16 provided under this act in such form and manner as shall be
17 prescribed by the Attorney General by regulation. A summary of
18 the provisions of this act shall be conspicuously posted in the
19 place of business of the seller in such form and manner as shall
20 be prescribed by the Attorney General by regulation. In
21 addition, the posted notice shall state that health record
22 information is available on request.
23 Section 7. Penalties.
24 A violation of any provision of this act shall be deemed to
25 be a violation of the act of December 17, 1968 (P.L.1224,
26 No.387), known as the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer
27 Protection Law.
28 Section 8. Enforcement.
29 The Attorney General shall enforce this act and shall
30 promulgate rules and regulations that the Attorney General deems
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1 necessary for that enforcement. All penalties which are
2 collected for violations of this act are hereby appropriated to
3 the Attorney General to cover the costs of enforcing the
4 provisions of this act.
5 Section 9. Suspension or revocation of kennel license.
6 The Attorney General may recommend to the Secretary of
7 Agriculture that the license of a kennel or pet shop be
8 temporarily suspended or revoked for violations of or for
9 noncompliance with this act.
10 Section 10. Effective date.
11 This act shall take effect in 90 days.
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