I sold a puppy and now there are problems

[cassmctay]

I sold a puppy to a lady. She could not afford the asking price so we agree on $575 for the puppy and flight (flight expenses are around $250 for a puppy ie crate, flight, health cert). I told her I fly the puppy at 10 weeks of age. Puppy turned 8 weeks in Mid March. I e mailed her March 27th to fly the puppy and she said she was going out of town until mid April. I e mailed her in April and she did not respond until the 3rd of May. Her sister had passed away. At the time she asked me to hold the puppy until "some time in June". I have a full life, so I told her ok. In June I e mailed her to fly the puppy and she asked me to hold him until the end of June. I told her I couldn't as I was starting another job and would be too busy to fly him. The "puppy" is now 6 months old and about 12lbs heavier then when the agreement was made. I informed her of the added expenses for the shots he would need and also the added price for flight.....all of which was due to his extensive stay. She flat refuses to pay the fees even when I offered to let her pay to the vet and airline directly. I am now out the original price of the puppy, the money I did get for him I spent taking care of him for 4 months, and now she is wanting a refund or to have me cover the extra costs. She threatened to sue me and I told her she could, she says that it is beyond "small claims court". Is this true? What is my stand and legal rights and obligations in this situation? She is trying to say I am a criminal and stole her dog. I have all of the info in this letter also in e mail form back and forth from her and I.

 

[army judge]

I sold a puppy to a lady. She could not afford the asking price so we agree on $575 for the puppy and flight (flight expenses are around $250 for a puppy ie crate, flight, health cert). I told her I fly the puppy at 10 weeks of age. Puppy turned 8 weeks in Mid March. I e mailed her March 27th to fly the puppy and she said she was going out of town until mid April. I e mailed her in April and she did not respond until the 3rd of May. Her sister had passed away. At the time she asked me to hold the puppy until "some time in June". I have a full life, so I told her ok. In June I e mailed her to fly the puppy and she asked me to hold him until the end of June. I told her I couldn't as I was starting another job and would be too busy to fly him. The "puppy" is now 6 months old and about 12lbs heavier then when the agreement was made. I informed her of the added expenses for the shots he would need and also the added price for flight.....all of which was due to his extensive stay. She flat refuses to pay the fees even when I offered to let her pay to the vet and airline directly. I am now out the original price of the puppy, the money I did get for him I spent taking care of him for 4 months, and now she is wanting a refund or to have me cover the extra costs. She threatened to sue me and I told her she could, she says that it is beyond "small claims court". Is this true? What is my stand and legal rights and obligations in this situation? She is trying to say I am a criminal and stole her dog. I have all of the info in this letter also in e mail form back and forth from her and I.

First of all, no state has a small claims limit less than $1,500 (that state is KY).
Your state, NV, has a limit of $5,000.
Here is a listing of small claims limits by state.

http://law.freeadvice.com/resources/smallclaimscourts.htm

Where does the buyer reside?
Not that it matters, I'm just curious.

You see, the problem for her is that she can sue you in her state (whatever that state may be), but that state has no jurisdiction over you.
She'd have to come to NV to sue you in small claims court.

You can keep her money, if you think its the right (or moral) thing to do.
Or, you can refund it to her (or offer her a portion of it).
Bottom line, her threats are empty.
She can sue you, but she'll never get a dime.

 

[cassmctay]

she is in Mass. I offered her a portion back, but she threw a fit and wanted more. Now she is saying that "what I am doing" is criminal. All I wanted her to do was cover the extra cost of his flight and shots that is a result of her declining him at the agreed age. If she does try to sue me in Mass. What will happen? Will I get papers? I doubt she will come to Nevada. If she does, can I then turn around and counter sue for boarding her dog for the last 4 months even if we did not have a contract? Thank you so much for your advice. I also run a rescue and have never had such a headache except for the few times I was taken (never recieved the adoption fees and flight expenses). I know when that happened once, I would have had to go to where the adopter lived to regain my money, but the travel alone cost more then the $625 I lost. So I figured lesson learned.

 

[mightymoose]

You can keep the money if you want. It is highly unlikely she will figure out how to sue you.
If you want, decide on a reasonable amount to deduct from her payment that accounts for your feeding and caring for the dog during the period that she delayed the delivery. Refund the rest.

If it were me... just because I am cranky and don't have much tolerance for this sort of nonsense... I would keep the money. Find a new buyer for the dog.