Trust
The Health Guarantee
What it covers, what it does not, the one condition that activates it, and why it is narrower than some kennels advertise.
Every puppy is examined by Bell Rock Veterinary Clinic before it leaves and is healthy on that examination. If your own vet finds a serious congenital or hereditary defect at a first visit within one week of arrival, you get a replacement puppy or a full refund, your choice, and you keep the dog. That is the whole guarantee, stated plainly.
The one condition
Your own licensed veterinarian must examine the puppy within within one week of collection. Book that appointment before the puppy arrives.
This is not paperwork for its own sake. It establishes the puppy’s condition on arrival with an independent professional, and without it there is no way to distinguish a problem that travelled with the dog from one that started in your care. It also puts a local vet on the record from day one, so if something appears at four months you have somebody who has already seen the dog healthy.
Miss that window and the guarantee lapses. I am not going to pretend otherwise, because a guarantee with no verification point is not a guarantee, it is a slogan.
What it covers
- A serious congenital defect: something the puppy was born with.
- A serious hereditary defect: something inherited from the parents.
- In both cases, one that materially affects the dog’s quality of life.
The remedy: a replacement puppy from a future litter, or a full refund of the $700, whichever you prefer. You keep the dog either way. Some kennels require the animal to be returned to claim, and I think that is an appalling thing to ask of a family four months in.
What it does not cover
- Veterinary costs. The guarantee covers the purchase price, not treatment. That is what pet insurance is for, and it is worth pricing before the dog arrives.
- Parasites. Coccidia, giardia and worms are common in puppies, treatable, and usually stress-related after a move.
- Minor or self-resolving conditions. Umbilical hernias, retained testicles, cherry eye, demodex.
- Anything acquired after arrival: injury, infection, parvo contracted from your environment.
- Consequences of care: obesity, joint damage from over-exercise while the growth plates are open, heat stroke.
- Allergies, which typically appear from six months to three years and are the most common health issue in the breed. No test predicts them and no breeder can guarantee against them. What they involve.
Why it is narrower than some you will see
Because a wider one would be a lie, and you would find that out at the worst possible moment.
You will see kennels advertising ten-year genetic guarantees. Ask what actually happens when you claim in year six. Frequently the answer involves returning the dog, or a replacement from a waiting list, or a clause requiring a specific food purchased from the seller for the dog’s entire life. A guarantee is only worth what it pays out.
And the thing I will not claim: I do not screen or certify the parents. No hip scoring, no genetic panel, no certification. A general veterinary examination and daily observation from birth is what happens here, and it is all this site will ever say. A ten-year hereditary guarantee from a kennel that does not test the parents is a marketing line, not a protection. Mine is short because it is real.
How to claim
- Have your vet examine the puppy within one week of arrival.
- If they find something serious and congenital or hereditary, contact me within 48 hours.
- Send the veterinarian’s written findings, and give me permission to speak to them directly.
- I will speak to your vet, and to mine if it helps.
- Choose a replacement or a refund. The dog stays with you.
Ring me first, before anything else. Every problem this kennel has had was fixable, and the ones that were not fixed were the ones nobody mentioned until afterwards.
My vet is Bell Rock Veterinary Clinic in Sedona. Every puppy is examined there before it travels and the dates go on the health record.
The full contract · Sales policy summary · The veterinary protocol
And the guarantee that has no conditions
I’ll take back any dog I’ve bred, at any point in its life, with no time limit and no questions asked. No time limit, no questions, and nothing on this page changes it.