The agreement
Puppy Purchase Contract
Read it in full, then sign it here. Nothing in it is held back until collection day, and if a clause does not sit right with you, write to me before you sign rather than after.
This is the agreement between Royal Silk Shih Tzus and you. It covers what I guarantee, the one-year health guarantee and the vet check it depends on, what you take on, and what happens if the placement ever fails. You sign it electronically below and I am emailed a copy with your signature attached.
Before you sign
Three things worth knowing, because they are the ones people ask about after the fact rather than before.
The one-year health guarantee runs on the vet check. Have your own vet see the puppy within three days of it coming home; book the appointment before it arrives.
Travel is priced separately. Collecting in Sedona is free; flying in costs your ticket and the airline’s pet fee; a flight nanny is quoted for your airport. How delivery works.
If it ever goes wrong, you tell me first. At any age, for any reason. That is a term of this contract rather than a nice sentence on a website.
If you have not read them yet: how the whole process runs, and what comes with the puppy.
The terms
What I guarantee
- Health at the time of sale. The puppy is in sound health when it leaves me, is eating well, and has no condition known to me that has not been disclosed to you in writing.
- Vaccinations and worming. The core puppy vaccinations and worming, each given at the age that is right for it, with the written record and the dates on it. Seen by our vet before going home.
- Honest description. The photographs on the website are of the actual puppy. Its sex, age and colour are stated correctly, and I will tell you what I have seen of its behaviour in the litter, including anything that does not help the sale.
- Age. The puppy is at least 8 weeks old on the day it leaves me.
The one-year health guarantee
- The guarantee. A one-year health guarantee against life-threatening genetic and hereditary conditions, running for 1 year from the day the puppy comes home to you.
- The vet check. You agree to have the puppy examined by your own licensed veterinarian within three days of collection or delivery. An independent vet seeing the puppy in its first days with you is what establishes its condition at the time of sale, and it is the condition the guarantee runs on.
- If something is found. If your veterinarian diagnoses a life-threatening genetic or hereditary condition within the guarantee period, contact me in writing with the veterinary findings and we will agree a remedy directly. Injury, parasites, illness contracted after the puppy leaves me, and conditions arising from care are not covered.
Your responsibilities as the buyer
- Care. You agree to keep the dog humanely, indoors as a companion, with adequate food, fresh water, exercise, company and veterinary attention for the whole of its life.
- The coat. A Shih Tzu coat mats if it is not brushed and groomed regularly. You agree to keep it groomed, by a professional or yourself, so that the dog is never left matted.
- Heat. This is a flat-faced breed. You agree not to leave the dog in a vehicle, and to keep it out of heat and humidity that it cannot cope with.
- Payment. You are responsible for the agreed purchase price and for any travel cost, which is quoted separately and is not included in the price of the puppy.
- Permission to keep a dog. You confirm that you are permitted to keep a dog where you live, and that you have checked your lease or HOA rules where those apply.
If the placement does not work
- Tell me first. If you can no longer keep the dog, at any age and for any reason, you agree to notify me before taking any other step, and to give me the first option to take it back or to help place it.
- No dealers or laboratories. The dog must never be sold, leased, traded, surrendered or given to any pet shop, dealer, research facility, or similar establishment.
Limits of what I promise
- No guarantee of adult outcome. I do not guarantee an adult weight, height, coat colour, coat texture or temperament. My adult dogs are about 8lb and the puppy is likely to finish near that, but nobody can honestly promise a number from an eight-week-old.
- After the sale. Once the puppy is in your care, I am not responsible for damage, loss or injury caused by or to the dog.
- Staying in touch. You agree that I may contact you from time to time to ask how the dog is. I would rather stay in touch than not.
Complete and sign
Fields marked with an asterisk are required. Your signed copy is emailed to me and stored against a reference number that you will be shown.
Questions before you sign?
Write and I will go through any clause you are unsure about. I would far rather answer ten questions now than have this signed by somebody who did not read it.