These guarantees apply to puppies that were paid for in full for normal prices. Improperly-handled payments on the part of the buyer and puppies sold at discounted prices do not qualify for this guarantee. Receipt of your information on the puppy information form is also required for my record keeping.

ALL DOGS BRED AND SOLD BY CHERYL'S COCKERS WILL BE HONESTLY REPRESENTED AND EVALUATED AS ACCURATELY AS POSSIBLE AT TIME OF SALE. If there is something wrong with a puppy that I know of, I will not hide it.  If a puppy is determined to have an issue at the time of its health check, you may be offered the opportunity to get your money back, or even to buy the puppy at a lower price (depending upon the nature of the veterinarian's discovery).

ALL DOGS bred and sold by Cheryl's Cockers are under veterinary supervision. They first typically see the vet between 3 to 5 days of age, when their dew claws are removed as a future injury prevention and tails are docked. Puppies are again checked by a veterinarian between 6 and 8 weeks of age to ensure that they are sound and in apparently good health at that time.

Puppies are given preventative medicines at prescribed intervals to treat and prevent issues such as worms, coccidiosis, skin/ear pests, giardhia, etc. They also receive their first vaccination before leaving. I give vaccinations here at home, having received instruction through my veterinarians and years of experience with with animal health care. If you would like your puppy to receive his/her vaccination from a veterinarian (instead of from me), I will be happy to take him/her to the veterinarian at your expense. This is probably close to $20 per puppy per vaccination, but I will confirm a cost if you request veterinary administration due to changing costs as time passes.

Our puppies will be dewormed several times, and will have received vaccinations beginning typically at 5 1/2 or 6 weeks of age while in my care, and it will be up to the new owner to continue its health program. Until this series of inoculations has been completed at about 16 weeks of age, the puppy should not be exposed to premises known to be or suspected of being contaminated, or to unhealthy animals (dog parks, interstate rest areas, the floors of veterinary offices, groomers, obedience classes, or any place with a lot of dog traffic, for example). Ask your vet for the recommended health care regimen for your geographic location.

Most states allow puppies to leave at 6 or 7 weeks of age. We prefer that our puppies stay with us until they are 8 weeks old, but do allow some to leave a few days early if all goes well with weaning. Our guarantees apply only to puppies that stay with us until at least 7 weeks 4 days of age unless otherwise agreed upon in writing with the puppy's new owners.

Short-term health: Buyers have 72 hours from the time of purchase/exchange of hands to have the puppy inspected by a licensed veterinarian (at buyer's expense).  If a puppy is determined to have an unacceptable health problem by the buyer's veterinarian in that time frame that will significantly affect its long-term quality of life (not including illnesses/conditions such as colds, viruses, retained testicles, mange, coccidiosis, worms, etc.), and which is confirmed by the seller's veterinarian, the buyer may return the puppy at the buyer's expense. In the event of a puppy death in this time, a veterinary report from the veterinarian treating/examining the puppy must be submitted to my veterinarian for inspection.  A refund or a trade for a different puppy of the same gender and approximate price will be arranged.

No refunds/reimbursements for travel costs or health care are offered. No refunds/reimbursements for loss of puppy due to owner negligence or an accident will be offered.

Long-term health: My dogs are all healthy and as far as I know are free of genetic health problems. However, if a puppy develops a genetic health problem within one year of its birth that significantly and negatively affects its long-term quality of life (such as hip displasia or epilepsy), diagnosed by the buyer's licensed veterinarian within that first year of age and that is confirmed with the seller's veterinarian, I want to resolve the issue with you. If both veterinarians agree that the condition is genetic, permanent, and significantly affects the quality of life of the dog, I may be able to offer to trade a different puppy of similar price and gender. Buyer would pay travel and veterinary costs.

Any medicating or care of any kind that the buyer provides the puppy will be at the buyer's expense. The buyer may choose to provide medical care or to euthanize a critically ill puppy. Cheryl's Cocker Spaniels will not reimburse for medical care.

Refunds/exchanges are only given for puppies determined to have an unsoundness/unhealthiness that will significantly affect its quality of life that was not preventable, and agreed upon by both buyer's and seller's veterinarians. Buyer would pay travel and veterinary costs, and is required to return registration papers, signed over to me, before a refund/exchange occurs.  Injuries received or illnesses occurring in puppies after leaving Cheryl's do not apply to this guarantee.

Reduced-Price or Free Puppies: Puppies offered for sale at a reduced price due to a defect or those given away for free due to a defect are rare. In the event that I have this occur, those puppies are offered "as is," without guarantees related to the cause of its reduced price or free state. If you purchase a reduced-price puppy that develops an issue during its first year, contact me. Free puppies are without warranty of any kind. I will not replace a puppy with another puppy if the original puppy was free, for example.

Color:  I try to predict puppy color accurately, but with some colors, it is difficult to be 100% correct while puppies are young. I do not guarantee that the color I predict will be correct at the puppy's maturity, and do not offer refunds if the color is not correct.

Size:  I try to predict puppy size accurately, but it is difficult to be 100% correct while puppies are young. I do not guarantee that the size I predict will be correct at the puppy's maturity, and do not offer refunds if the size is not correct. Final size can be affected by gender and nutrition as well as genetics.

Breeding Quality: It is my intention to try to sell puppies to non-breeding homes. However, due to the high quality of my cocker spaniels, I know that show homes and families with an interest in breeding will inquire. Please understand that although a puppy's parents may be successful showing, I can not guarantee that all puppies will be potential champions.

Returned/Unwanted Puppies: From time to time, a life situation requires a new puppy's family to not be able to keep their new puppy. In this situation, I want to be notified so I can help find the puppy another good home.

If you determine that you can not keep your puppy after receiving him/her, I will try to help you find a new home for your puppy. I can not guarantee that you will recoup your money, as the puppy's advancing age generally causes a reduction in the price people are willing to pay. I also can not represent the puppy's health care and human socialization beyond the date the puppy left me, and therefore can not claim the puppy belongs to me in order to increase potential buyers' confidence.

If you want to return the puppy, shipping/transportation are at your expense. The puppy must visit my veterinarian at your expense before re-entering my property due to my desire to eliminate outside introduction of contagious diseases. This is because of my lack of control over what your puppy has been exposed to since initially leaving. If my veterinarian approves the puppy's health, and if I have a place to quarantine him/her, I will keep the puppy while trying to find a new home for him/her for a limited time.

If the puppy sells within 3 weeks, I will forward the money to you, minus expenses such as vaccinations/health care costs incurred during that time the puppy was boarded with me. If after 3 weeks I have not found a new home, I may have to offer the puppy "free to a good home" because I have limited places to keep puppies other than the newborns or recently-weaned puppies.

Legal Notes: All puppies/dogs purchased from Cheryl's Cocker Spaniels will be considered sold in Taylor County, Iowa, regardless of the location of the buyer. Therefore, the transaction location is Taylor County, Iowa.

Under Iowa Law (and almost all states' laws), a domesticated animal professional is not liable for damages suffered by, an injury or illness to, or the death of a participant resulting from the inherent risks of domesticated animal activities, pursuant to Iowa Code Chapter 673 or similar code. You are assuming the inherent risks of participating in this domesticated animal activity when you interact with, buy or own any animal purchased in the state of Iowa.

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Cheryl Walston
Bedford, IA  50833
712-621-4464
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