Get it in Writing!

      People ask me rather frequently if it is important to have "papers" for a pet dog. Some are concerned the absence of certification might suggest inferior quality. Dogs adopted from shelters, even purebred dogs, always come without registration papers, though they are transferred with a long legal contract outlining the conditions of the adoption. When it comes to purchasing purebred dogs, several sorts of "papers" are significant. Registration papers, from the AKC or the UKC for American bred dogs, are required for dogs to be entered and compete in sanctioned shows. During showing, "points" are earned toward titles that help establish a dog as being of desirable breeding and working quality. This can make the dog more valuable as a sire or dam, and can help establish the dog's breeder as someone who is helping benefit the breed. In addition to the puppy's registration certificate, good breeders will provide puppy purchasers with papers that rate the health of the parent dogs' hips, eyes, and hearts. They may also provide a contract that binds the purchaser to agreements to breed or never breed the dog they are purchasing, or to show or allow it to be shown by the breeder.

       Pet dog owners may have no aspirations toward showing, breeding, or competing in sanctioned activities with their dogs, and may shun contracts when purchasing their pet. One frequently overlooked aspect involving "papers" for dogs are those which show proof of ownership.

       I have a friend, a person I've known for years and greatly respect. I will call her "Mickie," though that isn't really her name. Mickie has been very involved in dogs since childhood, and is a devoted and caring pet owner. Her nine year old golden retriever, Knickers, still a fit, healthy, and happy dog, was recently put to sleep by her ex-husband, who had been awarded canine custody during their recent divorce. My friend loved, fed, groomed, walked, and tended to Knickers. Knickers had no registration papers, but because his name was oon the check used to purchase her nine years earlier, she legally was "his" dog. THE SAME DAY he claimed her away from devastated Mickie he brought Knickers to the family's long time veterinarian and had her euthanized. To make this story even more horrible, if you can bare it, this charming fellow (she is well rid of him, you are right) proceeded to turn around and buy a puppy for his new girlfriend; a female bulldog from a local pet shop, which he named after his ex-wife!

       Well, every dog has its day, or so I've heard. The bulldog, who I'll also call "Mickie," didn't get too many days in her new home. A few weeks after she was purchased, the new girlfriend dumped the loser, and he in turn decided to lose the second "Mickie" in his life. He scheduled yet another euthanasia, but he was silly enough to try to use the same vet, one both my friend and I frequent, and who was now wise to the whole sad story. When Mr. Wrong showed up with the dog, the vet offered to take her for free (she was five months old at this time), rather than put her down. Seeing an opportunity to get rid of a problem and save some cash he agreed to sign the dog over to the vet.

       This wise veterinarian knew how sad Mickie was about the loss of her pet, and what a caring owner she had been. He called me and explained how he had happened to come into legal possession of a certain Bulldog puppy by the name of Mickie, and wondered if offering the dog to my friend would seem insensitive. I thought quite the opposite, and congratulated him on his quick thinking.

       Though still heartbroken about Knickers, Mickie recognized an opportunity to make indirect amends in honor of her dog, by caring for another that had nearly come to the same untimely end. The vet sold her little Mickie for a dollar, with a contract that gave her legal ownership of the dog, whose name she decided not to change.

        These days both Mickies enjoy riding around in big Mickie's convertible, with the top down and the wind blowing in their hair and flapping jowls when the weather is nice. My friend especially enjoys driving past her ex's place of business, where his desk faces a large ground floor picture window overlooking the street. She always makes sure to slow down, honk, and wave as they go by.

       I love a happy ending to a sad story, don't you? Just don't forget the moral: get it in writing!