I purchased 2 puppies on 6/10/12 & they were admitted into a vet clinic for the parvo virus on 6/14/12! The vet bill is $4,000!!

Given that animals are property, and can be and very often are considered to be "products" which are conveyed from one person to another in the course of trade, then -- as a consumer of a product -- you now have a claim for the purchase of a defective product from a merchant, and the legal right to one of three mutually exclusive remedies: a) recovery of the "loss of the benefit of the bargain", that is, the difference between the value of what you got and the value of what a reasonable purchaser would have expected to get, or b) the ability to compel the seller's "specific performance", that is, force the seller to provide you with what you actually bargained for, which are two healthy puppies, as opposed to what you obtained, or c) the ability to compel "rescission", that is, unwind the deal by going back in time and forcing the seller to take back the puppies and give you back the money you initially spent on them. You are required to make an election among those three remedies, and it may be that one of them is more appealing to you than the others - but all will likely require an attorney to help you pursue the path chosen.

New York has a so-called puppy lemon law, which spells out your rights. You can find more information on the law here: http://assembly.state.ny.us/comm/Consumer/20080501o/ You may also be able to sue in small claims court. However, you say you got the puppies from a "rescue" - it is unclear if the puppy lemon law applies to rescues. Your best course of action is to take all of the paperwork you signed when you got the puppies as well as the vet bills to a local attorney for review and advice as to your best course of action. The New York State Bar Association can give you a referral: www.nysba.org/

Your puppy lemon law likely applies as may other consumer protection statutes in your state. Find someone qualified to help here: http://www.naca.net

Yes, there is a lemon puppy law in Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, but not I am not sure what it says in your state. Basically, puppy lemon laws protect you from being stuck with a sick puppy that you buy from a breeder or pet store; not sure about a "rescue facility." Also, where the goods (here, the dog) is not as described, then your sales paperwork may control your legal rights and you should be able to use your state’s commercial and sales laws under a breach of contract or Udap Law theory. When you make a contract with someone, generally it is enforceable. But every state law that says that if more than a small amount of money (often as little as $500) is involved then the basic terms of the contract have to be in writing and signed. Technically, in a contract if one side does not live up to the agreement, then the other side can file a claim against them in court. At court they would have to prove there was a contract, that the other side did not do what they agreed to do (such as sell you a particular breed or a healthy puppy), and that they caused damage to occur (you didn’t get what you paid for). Some states, however, require that you give the other side a notice that they breached the contract before you can file a claim against them in court. That can be as simple as a note or letter or phone call, but the more money that is involved, the more careful you should be to see that the notice is being done right. Each state has a Udap Law too that makes it illegal for a business to do anything that is unfair or deceptive to a consumer. Some states also require that you give them a chance to “cure” the breach (make it right by replacing the puppy with the right breed) before you can file a claim in court too. If your puppy turns out to be different from what was represented to you when you purchase it, then first you should return and complain to the breeder. They should take it back and give you back your money. If not, then you may want to try to negotiate to get what you can live with, perhaps a partial refund. If that doesn’t work, you may want to contact your state attorney general’s office or the Better Business Bureau and see if they can help. If none of that works then you may have to talk to a private attorney for help or in some states you may be able to use your local small claims court process to get your money back. Because the law is different in each state you need to talk to a local Consumer Law attorney. You can go to this web site page for a Free Online 50 State National List of Consumer Law Lawyers (http://www.ohiolemonlaw.com/ocll-site/ocll-locate_local.shtml) and find one near you (lawyers don’t pay to get listed here and most of them are members of the only national association for Consumer Law lawyers, NACA.net). You can also look for one here on under the Find a Lawyer tab. Or you can call your local attorney's Bar Association and ask for a referral to a Consumer Law attorney near you. But act quickly because for every legal right you have, there is only a limited amount of time to actually file a lawsuit in court or your rights expire (it's called the statute of limitations), so don't waste your time getting to a Consumer Law attorney and finding out what your rights are. If this answer was helpful, please give a “Vote Up” review below. And please be sure to indicate the best answer to your question so we can all be sure we are being helpful. Thanks for asking and Good Luck. Puppy Lemon Laws? Click and Read Here http://www.malteseonly.com/lemon.html Did a business treat you unfairly? See what your Udap rights are to protect yourself, click here http://www.attorneyqna.com/legal-guides/ugc/the-unfair-and-deceptive-acts-law-can-protect-consumers-from-dishonest-merchants