PRINTER'S NO. 1922
No. 1252 Session of 2006
INTRODUCED BY GREENLEAF, WENGER, FONTANA, WONDERLING, RAFFERTY,
COSTA, PILEGGI, LOGAN, PUNT, ERICKSON AND BOSCOLA,
JUNE 22, 2006
REFERRED TO AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS, JUNE 22, 2006
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of December 17, 1968 (P.L.1224, No.387),
2 entitled "An act prohibiting unfair methods of competition
3 and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of
4 any trade or commerce, giving the Attorney General and
5 District Attorneys certain powers and duties and providing
6 penalties," further providing for dog purchaser protection.
7 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
8 hereby enacts as follows:
9 Section 1. Section 9.3(b), (c), (d), (f) and (i) of the act
10 of December 17, 1968 (P.L.1224, No.387), known as the Unfair
11 Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, reenacted and
12 amended November 24, 1976 (P.L.1166, No.260), and added June 25,
13 1997 (P.L.287, No.27), are amended to read:
14 Section 9.3. Dog Purchaser Protection.--* * *
15 (b) If, within [ten] fourteen days after the date of
16 purchase, a dog purchased from a seller is determined, through
17 physical examination, diagnostic tests or necropsy by a
18 veterinarian, to be clinically ill or dies from any contagious
19 or infectious illness or any parasitic illness which renders it
1 unfit for purchase or results in its death, the purchaser may
2 exercise one of the following options:
3 (1) Return the dog to the seller for a complete refund of
4 the purchase price, not including the sales tax.
5 (2) Return the dog to the seller for a replacement dog of
6 equal value of the purchaser's choice, providing a replacement
7 dog is available.
8 (3) Retain the dog and be entitled to receive reimbursement
9 from the seller for reasonable veterinary fees incurred in
10 curing or attempting to cure the affected dog, subject to the
11 limitation that the seller's liability for reimbursement shall
12 not exceed an amount that is two times the purchase price, not
13 including sales tax, of the dog. This clause shall apply only if
14 the purchaser's veterinarian determines the dog's illness can be
15 treated [and corrected] by procedures that are appropriate and
16 customary. The value of these services is considered reasonable
17 if comparable to the value of similar services rendered by other
18 licensed veterinarians in reasonable proximity to the treating
19 veterinarian. Reimbursement shall not include the costs of the
20 initial veterinary examination fee and diagnostic or treatment
21 fees not directly related to the veterinarian's certification
22 that the animal is unfit for purchase pursuant to this section.
23 [If, however, the purchaser's veterinarian determines the dog's
24 illness is incurable, only the options in clauses (1) and (2) of
25 this subsection shall apply.]
26 For the purposes of this subsection, veterinary findings of
27 intestinal and external parasites shall not be grounds for
28 declaring the dog unfit for purchase unless the dog is
29 clinically ill or dies due to that condition. A dog shall not be
30 found unfit for purchase on account of injury sustained or
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1 illness most likely contracted subsequent to the date of sale.
2 If, within [thirty] ninety days after the date of purchase, a
3 dog purchased from a seller is certified through physical
4 examination, diagnostic tests or necropsy by a veterinarian that
5 the dog has or died from a defect which is congenital or
6 hereditary and which adversely affects or affected the health of
7 the animal, the purchaser may exercise one of the options as
8 provided in clauses (1), (2) and (3) of this subsection.
9 Remedies available under clauses (1), (2) and (3) of this
10 subsection shall also apply to replacement dogs.
11 (c) A veterinarian's certification of illness, congenital or
12 hereditary defects or death shall be necessary for a refund or
13 replacement or to receive reimbursement for veterinary costs if
14 the dog is retained by the purchaser and treated for illness or
15 congenital or hereditary defect as provided in this section. The
16 veterinarian's certification shall be supplied at the
17 purchaser's expense. The veterinarian's certification shall
18 state the following information:
19 (1) The purchaser's name and address.
20 (2) The date the dog was examined.
21 (3) The breed and age of the dog.
22 (4) (i) That the veterinarian examined the dog.
23 (ii) That the dog has or had an illness as described in
24 subsection (b) of this section or a defect as described in
25 subsection (b) of this section which renders it unfit for
26 purchase or which resulted in its death.
27 (iii) The precise findings of the examination, diagnostic
28 tests or necropsy.
29 (5) The treatment recommended, if any, and an estimate or
30 the actual cost of the treatment should the purchaser choose to
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1 retain the dog and seek reimbursement for veterinary fees to
2 cure or attempt to cure the dog.
3 (6) The veterinarian's name, address, telephone number and
4 signature.
5 Within [two] five business days of a veterinary examination
6 which certifies illness, defect or death, the purchaser shall
7 notify the seller of the name, address and telephone number of
8 the examining veterinarian. Failure to notify the seller or to
9 carry out the recommended treatment prescribed by the examining
10 veterinarian who made the initial diagnosis until a remedy as
11 provided for in subsection (b) of this section is agreed upon
12 shall result in the purchaser's forfeiture of rights under this
13 section. Subsection (b) of this section shall not apply where a
14 seller who has provided a health certificate issued by a
15 veterinarian discloses in writing at the time of sale the health
16 problem for which the buyer later seeks to return the dog. Such
17 disclosures shall be signed by both the seller and purchaser.
18 Where the seller has provided a guarantee of good health,
19 subsection (b) of this section shall apply regardless of whether
20 the seller disclosed the health problem at the time of sale.
21 (d) The refund or reimbursement required by this section
22 shall be made by the seller not later than fourteen days
23 following receipt of the veterinarian's certification that the
24 dog is unfit for purchase or has died from a condition defined
25 as unfit for purchase in this section. The certification shall
26 be presented to the seller not later than [five] seven days
27 following receipt thereof by the purchaser.
28 * * *
29 (f) (1) Any seller who advertises or otherwise represents
30 that a dog is registered or registerable shall provide the
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1 purchaser of the dog with the following information at the time
2 of sale:
3 (i) The breeder's name and address.
4 (ii) The name and registration number of the dam and sire of
5 the purchased dog's litter.
6 (iii) The name and address of the pedigree registry
7 organization where the dam and sire are registered.
8 (2) All documentation necessary to effect the registration
9 of the dog shall be provided by the seller to the owner within
10 one hundred twenty days of the date of sale. The one-hundred-
11 twenty-day period may be extended by the seller if the dog is
12 being imported from outside the United States by notifying the
13 purchaser in writing of the reason for the extension and a
14 reasonable estimate of the arrival date of the registration
15 documents.
16 (3) If the seller fails to provide this documentation within
17 one hundred twenty days of the date of sale or fails to notify
18 the purchaser of an extension under clause (2) of this
19 subsection, the purchaser may elect one of the following
20 remedies:
21 (i) Return the dog and receive a full refund of the purchase
22 price, not including sales tax.
23 (ii) Retain the dog and receive a refund from the seller in
24 an amount equal to fifty per cent of the purchase price[.],
25 unless the seller has misrepresented the dog's pedigree to the
26 purchaser, in which case the amount of the refund shall be the
27 full purchase price of the dog, not including sales tax.
28 (4) The seller may withhold the dog's registration
29 application until the purchaser supplies the seller with a
30 signed veterinarian's certificate stating that the dog has been
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1 spayed or neutered, provided that withholding of the application
2 was agreed to in writing by the purchaser at the time of sale.
3 The seller shall provide the registration application within ten
4 days of receiving the veterinarian's certificate if the
5 certificate is supplied beyond the one-hundred-twenty-day period
6 provided for in clause (2) of this subsection.
7 * * *
8 (i) As used in this section:
9 "Seller" means a kennel, pet shop operator or other
10 individual who sells dogs to the public and who owns or operates
11 a kennel or pet shop licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of
12 Agriculture or the United States Department of Agriculture. The
13 term shall not include nonprofit kennels as defined under the
14 act of December 7, 1982 (P.L.784, No.225), known as the "Dog
15 Law."
16 "Unfit for purchase" means any disease, deformity, injury,
17 physical condition, illness or any defect which is congenital or
18 hereditary and which [severely affects] has a significant
19 adverse effect on the health of the animal or which was
20 manifest, capable of diagnosis or likely to have been contracted
21 on or before the sale and delivery of the animal to the
22 consumer.
23 "Veterinarian" means an individual licensed under the laws of
24 this Commonwealth or any other state to practice veterinary
25 medicine and surgery.
26 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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