415 – Legal Beagles Bring Support to Dog Breeders
Legal Beagles Bring Support to Dog Breeders
The legal beagles at Good Dog join host Laura Reeves to talk about their brand-new legal Resource Center. Ivy League-educated, top Manhattan legal firm attorneys are putting together an entire package of legal services for dog people.
“Dog breeders can and should be empowered with the law,” said Cat Matloub, Good Dog’s Head of Partnerships & Legal Affairs.
“When we started out at Good Dog, we very quickly realized the need for legal support for dog breeders in a few different areas. We identified five key areas where we can provide real valuable legal support and protection to breeders and help them protect their rights, their dogs, their programs and all of that. The five key areas are number one, how to protect breeders’ legal rights and that’s anything from support if there are ever any issues with animal control or breeders being unfairly targeted or their dogs being targeted.
“We do a lot of assisting with stolen photos and content that’s stolen from breeders. That is an enormous area where the public is continually misled and scammed. It’s contributing to the sort of horrible state of affairs that it is out there for a lot of puppy buyers. So we actually are able to get that content taken down on our breeders’ behalf. We have direct lines to the hosting companies of all these websites now and so breeders can come to us anytime.
Defense from scammers
“We help provide protection to our breeders if they’ve been scammed. If they’re worried about being scammed, we provide secure payment systems so that no breeders can ever be scammed.
“We also create things like ongoing rights to a dog, so if it’s breeding rights or rights to not have the dog bred, or co-ownership, how you can protect yourself and make sure that those rights are protected under the law.
Public Education
“With respect to protecting legal rights, we do a lot of educating the public in terms of helping them understand why breeders do things and why they shouldn’t get upset or unfairly attacked.
“Another huge area for us is legislation advocacy and overreaching regulation. What we do is we provide materials in our legal Resource Center. Letters, statements of fact, an advocacy sort of explaining why regulations are harmful, template letters that can be sent to folks that are breeders in the area and they can go speak at the council.
Contract assistance
“The other three big categories (include) contract assistance. There are so many contracts in the dog world. So sample contracts, annotated with explanations, different provisions calling out where state law applies, all of that in our legal Resource Center. What provisions to include, health care and deposit agreements, all that.
“Another big area that we provide support in is mediation services and support. Whether it’s amongst breeders or club members or breeders and puppy buyers, having an objective third party there has been enormously helpful in those situations. And then a general category of legal support more broadly, with questions around regulation and things like that.”
311 – Rescue Overreach: Prevention Best Recourse
Rescue Overreach: Ounce of Prevention Worth a Pound of Cure
Jen Amundsen, Clumber Spaniel breeder and exhibitor, is the Dog Savvy Lawyer.
Dog Savvy Lawyer Jen Amundsen joins host Laura Reeves for a frank and, frankly, frightening conversation about what recourse we have as breeders if one of our dogs lands in a shelter or rescue which refuses to return it to us.
What happens when a dog you bred or co-own winds up in a shelter or rescue, despite all your best efforts? It happens more often than many realize. Whether it is death of the owner, an escaped dog or any other series of events, shelters and rescues *should* return the dog to the breeder or co-owner but they are not necessarily legally required to do so.
“If you don’t own the dog, you don’t have much legal recourse,” Amundsen said. “Assuming your contract requires a dog be returned to you, the contract is with the owner and is not enforceable against the shelter.”
When the breeder has an ownership interest, she has some recourse, Amundsen noted, but it takes a *lot* of time, energy and money.
Common sense steps
- Microchip puppies before they leave. Register the microchips to yourself.
- Co-own dogs – This requires thought about the balance of being seen as micromanaging new owners as well as questions of “ownership” numbers.
- Contractual recommendations – include a clause that the owner must take steps to include ownership transfer back to breeder as part of will.
- Talk puppy buyers through contract – it’s only as good as the party’s understanding of it.
- Have a “read if dead or incapacitated” folder in case of emergency – keep *updated*.
- Add a copy of the MAAP plan to puppy kit with every litter.
- Talk to your neighbors and friends to make sure they know that there is a plan for the dogs. They don’t have to wind up in a shelter.
- Follow up with previous puppy owners.
- Preservation breeders provide lifetime support to owners.
“It gives us peace of mind knowing we’ve done something, that we’ve done the maximum we can to be sure our dogs wind up where we want them to be,” Amundsen said.