A dog breeder from Gaspésie was ordered to reimburse $1,700 to a client who was forced to euthanize her puppy screaming in pain because of a hidden defect that prevented him from walking and even eating.
“He had however guaranteed me that the dog had no problem and that everything was fine,” sighs Jacynthe Lee in an interview with The newspaper.
Jacynthe Lee and Paco, shortly before his euthanasia.
Photo provided by Jacynthe Lee
This Rimouski resident had long dreamed of adopting a Bordeaux Mastiff. In April 2022, she came across an ad from breeder Patrick Gaudreau, who was selling a puppy of this breed named Paco. The man from Cap-Chat, in Haute-Gaspésie, however, tried to “spend a little quickly” with this transaction of $ 1,500.
“I was really sick, too, and testing for possible lymphoma during the adoption. […] Looking back, I promised myself that I would never, ever, ever again adopt a dog without having all its tests and certifications from an ethical breeder,” says Ms.me Lee.
• Read also: Animal cruelty: a cat was almost skinned alive
• Read also: “Animal abuse”: 40 sheep locked in an apartment transformed into a slaughterhouse
Her hips are slapping
Just a few weeks after adopting Paco, the Quebecer notices that her pup’s hips click when he walks.
“At first we thought it was normal because he was developing…But we started to really worry when he refused to get up even to eat a treat,” the girl painfully recalls. Rimouski.
Portrait of Paco, who suffered from severe hip dysplasia.
Photo provided by Jacynthe Lee
His veterinarian’s diagnosis is clear: Paco has severe hip dysplasia. According to the veterinarian’s report, the problem is related to the genetics of the puppy.
“It’s been almost a year since it happened and it still troubles me a lot. I had bet a lot on this dog to get better and start a new life,” says Jacynthe Lee.
He refuses to pay her back
However, she was not at the end of her troubles. She contacted breeder Patrick Gaudreau as soon as she received the diagnosis.
The Cap-Chat resident did not want to reimburse her or provide her with another dog. Mr. Gaudreau even blocked his client on Facebook. Jacynthe Lee therefore decided to file a small claims suit against him.
Patrick Gaudreau and one of his dogs of the Dogues de Bordeaux breed.
Photo taken from Patrick Gaudreau’s Facebook
“However, after analyzing Paco’s condition, the chances of success and the cost of surgery of nearly $8,000, the best option for him is to resort to euthanasia. […] The problem of hip dysplasia is therefore a serious defect, unknown to the buyer at the time of the sale, this defect is not apparent and predates the sale since it is a genetic condition at Paco’s. , we read in the judgment rendered on this subject last month.
28 more puppies sold
Judge Lucie Morissette therefore ordered Patrick Gaudreau to reimburse nearly $1,700 to his client for this hidden defect.
The breeder did not respond to interview requests from the Log at the time of publishing this text. According to the Tribunal, he would have sold 28 other puppies of the Dogues de Bordeaux breed in Quebec.
“It made me angry all that. So much the better if it can make other people aware of him and other unethical breeders, ”concludes Jacynthe Lee.
Many others like him
Peter Muth, vice-president of the Club canadien des dogues de Bordeaux, also hopes that this judgment will serve as a lesson to people who wish to adopt a dog in the future.
“We have nearly 100 Dogues de Bordeaux breeders in Canada, but only 20 have the necessary certification. It’s really important to go see ethical breeders to avoid finding yourself in this situation,” he says.