Frustration over puppy prompted push for bill

By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
UNTIL LAST WEEK, 9-MONTH-old Savannah was able to get up and down a flight of stairs by herself. But now, the swelling in her limbs and joints is too severe.
Her maneuverability is also restricted by her eyesight. Savannah was born with cataracts. Surgery could remove them, but they are so thick her retinas never really developed; even with an operation her eyes would never work correctly.
Despite her health problems, Savannah never complains. Her doctors say she's in no pain, though they cannot explain why.
Savannah can't explain it to them, either; she is a Great Pyrenees puppy.
Savannah's owner, Cindy Best of Poland, said she's paid thousands of dollars in medical bills since Savannah started showing signs of health problems at the age of 8 weeks.
Sympathy
Leslie Amendola, who lives in Cleveland but works throughout the Mahoning Valley as a pharmaceutical sales representative, sympathizes with Best's situation.
She bought her 3-year-old golden retriever, Nittany, from a licensed breeder when he was only 8 weeks old.
"This was our first dog, so we wanted to be very thorough," she said. "We did all kinds of research, we talked to vets, we looked up things online, and we had an extensive phone conversation with what we believed to be a reputable breeder."
Amendola said when she and her husband met with the breeder, "we were flashed all kinds of papers we had never seen before."
She said they were shown the mother and pictures of the father, who were both registered with the American Kennel Club, as well as papers certifying the health of the puppy's hips and eyes.
Within a few months, however, he developed hip dysplasia; by 6 months old he was unable to walk up a flight of stairs.
The couple took Nittany to a specialist, who told them it was unusual for a young dog to have such pronounced hip dysplasia.
"We called the breeder once we got the diagnosis, and she acted like she was surprised something like that could happen," Amendola said.
No options
After the breeder declined to help pay for any of the medical costs or offer a replacement animal, Amendola started to investigate her options.
"I did some checking, but basically found out there was nothing I could do," she said. "It's such a shame, because this is one of the few cases I know of where someone can sell you something and not be responsible for it."
For Best, when Savannah was diagnosed with her health problems, she contacted the woman she bought Savannah from to talk about the problem.
"I told her I wanted my money back," Best said. "She told me to bring the dog back, but I said I didn't want to do that. She had been with us since the day before Thanksgiving, and she was part of our family. We love her too much to let her go."
The matter between the two women is at a standstill.
Lemon laws
But out of Best's frustration grew a grass-roots drive for new legislation.
"I saw other states had lemon laws for puppies, but Ohio didn't," she said.
After researching puppy lemon laws -- laws that give buyers recourse for refunds or returns when a puppy experiences health problems within a reasonable amount of time -- in other states, she contacted state Rep. Kenneth A. Carano of Austintown, D-65th, who agreed to sponsor a bill.
"We submitted a request to the Legislative Service Commission, who will draft the bill, on June 4," said Sara Hall, Carano's administrative assistant. She added the bill is modeled after a similar puppy lemon law in Pennsylvania.
Hall said the bill should go to the speaker for a number assignment by the end of July.
Even if passed, though, the law would not help in all situations. The Pennsylvania law, and others like it, apply only to licensed kennels or operations that deal with more than 26 dogs per year.
In Best's case, she purchased Savannah from a woman who bred the dogs as a hobby; the dogs were never advertised for sale; and they were not registered with the AKC.
No matter, Best said. As much as she loves Savannah, she doesn't want to see anyone go through something like she and Amendola have.
"These are living creatures; part of the family," Best added. "People need to be responsible for what they are selling."
slshaulis@vindy.com