Tammie Christopher - Top Dog Basenjis - Top Dog Blood Hounds, Bad Business! Stollen Money! Dirty! Wakdron ARKANSAS

I Tammie Christopher owner of Top Dog Basenjis have a contract on my web site for all the world to see. In this contract it states NON- REFUNDABLE DEPOSIT.

The deposit is non refundable for any and all reasons stated in the contract.
I as the breeder feel a basenji has to have the right personality for the right home.
There is Bad temperment in the breed and needs to be noted by the breeder.

I felt this customer was not concerned with temperment or personality in this puppy in making a choose for pick of the litter. Most all breeders give guidence to the new owner on the pick of the litter.

I felt if this client was watching other breeders litters on the net then they were not truely purchasing from me anyways. I felt that once when they started the process with us that they should have not been looking other places and other puppies.
I canceled this sell due to I felt my puppy was not being placed in the right home. I do SARS with a Police certifed Russian Import and conformation AKC showing with my other breed and it does not change the facts about our Basenjis being Fanconi tested and OFA certifed, vet checked, shots and being healthy.

I have repeat buyers and International Buyers I do not sell to pet shops or Brokers
and my pups are country home raised not in a kennel with my kids and a house cat.
I do not line breed or Inbreed any of my k-9 or Horses.

As a 25 year Quarter Horse breeder as well I fell I made all the right judgements in cancelling this sell with this buyer in every way. I did not steel money nor did I rip anyone off.

You BOTH say you backed out of the agreement? You certainly don't see this too often. As things stood, it looked like the buyer had cancelled the agreement, and could not reasonably expect to have her deposit returned. While she can decide she no longer is comfortable with you or likes another puppy better or something, she wouldn't have any right to expect her deposit back unless there was a clause and conditions in your contract, which she didn't mention (and do not appear to be there upon reviewing that portion on your site). Most contracts say non refundable. That's standard. There are very few situations in which someone whom places a deposit could reasonably expect it back.

The breeder here however, has stated that she can just change her mind for any reason and have no intention of selling the agreed upon or a different puppy and keep the deposit? Yes, you also have the right to decide that you aren't comfortable placing your puppy somewhere. But it WOULD be reasonable to expect at least some of the deposit back in the situation as stated. If you broke the agreement and have no intention of fulfilling the agreement. You do not intend to place a puppy with this buyer ever. There is a question of how long the entire litter was held for this buyer to make a choice and whether or not that was a reasonable time frame, but your policies on pick of the litter are not explained on the site or in your rebuttal in full, only that it is $100 more for the deposit and is non-refundable. The concern here is that you could conceivably make even double here by changing your mind arbitrarily on several people after accepting their deposits and not refunding them. That is not good business, and that is coming from someone who thought the original report was not exactly reasonable. There is also the fact that yes, your contract does say non-refundable, BUT guarantees that the person placing a deposit will be sold a dog (the dog the deposit was placed on actually.) So, good business might actually indicate providing even a partial refund since you say YOU breached the agreement.

Solution: As both parties say they broke the agreement, LOL, how about refunding $150 of the $300 in the interest of fairness and good business?

I also feel I have to add there are a few other things on this site that concern me, which would lead me to not recommend a purchase from you if someone asked. I have seriously been considering trying to find some sort of way to help people on their search for a puppy (Alot of these reports could have been stopped AT the site, upon someone with a little more inside info and experience reviewing the site and the contracts, to read between the lines of the breeders answers to questions, or even letting them know what to expect when purchasing a puppy or a specific breed and HOW to cover their bases concerning the purchase and afterward). Anyone that wants to can email me at yahoo. You have a shopping cart where folks can simply purchase dogs? You do not do anything ahead of time to make sure they are even remotely choosing the right breed? You just decide this later and keep the deposit? You do not cover breed information on your site. You do not cover what might make them not right for everyone and it should be done anyways but we are talking about Basenji's here. You do not even ask if they feel they have researched the breed properly? On a Basenji no less? Yes, you do offer a basenji book for sale. Maybe some of this happens after they click the purchase button? This does not bode well for your puppies, much less the buyers, and what about the possibilities for other pets in the home? Maybe I am missing something, am I? *just my opinions*