Owner wins money back from breeder after DNA test proves dog wasn't purebred

A BC dog owner recently won $500 from the breeder in small claims court after a DNA test showed the canine wasn’t what the seller advertised it as.

Dusty is the dog in question and he was advertised by Sandra Ensign as being a nearly-purebred Australian Shepherd — with one great-grandparent being a Border Collie.

Cathryn Redford purchased Dusty from Ensign in June 2021 for $2,500. But when she used an at-home DNA test, the results came back showing Dusty was 50% Australian Shepherd, 34% Border Collie, and 16% Collie.

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Redford didn’t want to give Dusty back because she’d already bonded with him, but she took the seller to small claims court. She asked for a partial refund of $2,000 because she only agreed to the purchase price thinking Dusty was “close to a purebred dog.”

Civil Resolution Tribunal member Leah Volkers sided with Redford in her April 22 decision, saying the breeder broke the parties’ sale contract. Although Dusty was never thought to be a purebred dog, and never registered as such, prices for purebred dogs are much higher than for mixed-breed dogs.

Volkers didn’t accept that Dusty’s owner overpaid by $2,000 — saying she overpaid by $1,000 at most. In the end, Ensign was ordered to repay $500 to Redford plus tribunal fees.