Maltese Forum:
Bought Dog with False Papers

Hi, my name is Toni and I have a very big problem. In 1996 I bought a female Cocker with AKC papers from an individual who had placed an ad in the Classifieds. She was a gorgeous Cocker, and we bred her and had 4 litters before I retired her to a good home where she'd be the only pet and get all of the attention. Last year I got a phone call from the dog's breeder (not the person that I bought her from) in which she notified me that the dog that I was breeding couldn't be the one whose name was on the papers because that dog had died in 1994. The AKC has been notified and is doing an investigation. When they contacted the person whom I purchased the dog from she made up an outrageous story in which she claimed that I was an aquaintance who came to her house often and I must have stolen the papers from her home, and used them on a different dog. This is outrageous as I had never met her in my life except to buy the dog from her. This will affect hundreds of dogs as she was bred, her puppies were bred, etc. etc. I've done all that I can to prove that I was defrauded in this, including producing two witnesses who knew that she did, indeed, sell me the dog with those papers, but it looks like it's just going to be a question of whom they believe, me or her. I am worried about losing my AKC privileges, and about all of the dogs from this line losing their papers. It's a big mess and lots of people are going to get hurt. Has anyone ever been through a similar situation, and if so, what did you do? Toni

Basically, you've been "screwed" by an irresponsible back yard breeder. That's why getting dogs out of classifed adds for breeding is so dangerous. Most respected and responsible breeders in ANY breed do not have to advertise pups in classifieds. They are generally advertising their lines at dog shows and placing pups through word of mouth at the shows. Sorry, but that is what happens when you deal with people primarily breeding dogs just for pets and to make money. Sorry...the fact is the pups are of unknown linage and the resulting dogs from your bitch need to be removed from the registration database. It's a shame that a lot of people are going to be affected down the line from your inital mistake. There is little you can do about it now buy hope the AKC doesn't fault you too.

akc will most likely cancell all dogs from this line it's a shame but there are always some who will do this very few backyard breeders as they are called will do this most are responable breeders this will come from puppy mills more often akc had to go to dnaing males to stop this espically from show dogs who got a higk price for thier dogs so when the dog died they just used the show dogs papers and keep on selling under that dogs name sorry paul