Adoption gone wrong: Untrained dog leads BC woman to file lawsuit against seller
Adopting a pet is supposed to be a joyous occasion, but this wasn’t the case for Katherine Strongwind when the dog she adopted turned out to be hostile.
According to BC Civil Resolution Tribunal documents, Strongwind sued seller Corey Namura for the refund of the $800 adoption fee when the dog turned out to be untrained despite promises that it was.
Screenshots obtained by the tribunal showed that Namura advertised the dog for sale in late 2022 as “good with other dogs with an introduction.” Text messages and photographs showed Strongwind adopted the pet in early December 2022 for $800.
However, once Strongwind had the dog, it all went wrong.
Strongwind told the court that the dog was hostile to other dogs and claimed it had even attacked another dog at a park. The dog’s aggressive behaviour was seemingly irreparable, with Strongwind sharing that two separate dog trainers found the pet “impossible” to train.
Afterward, Strongwind texted Namura with the complaints about the dog, and the two agreed on the return of the pet to Namura. In text messages presented to the court, a written deal was made with the seller writing, “We want you to give us [the dog]” and “then we can give you your fee back.”
- You might also like:
- Vancouver woman sues for $30K claiming neighbour ruined her view
- Tim Hortons sued by Canadian woman claiming cream in tea led to hospitalization
- BC moving company arrives to client with truck half full, gets sued
Despite Strongwind returning the dog, the seller refused the refund. Namura argued to the tribunal that the “refund is not warranted” because the dog was returned overweight and needed to be retrained.
The court decided against the seller’s claim, detailing that Namura failed to provide evidence “to prove the dog gained an unhealthy or unreasonable amount of weight” and that no invoices or receipts were shared to prove the retraining.
Namura was ordered to refund the $800 adoption fee to Strongwind, $27.85 in pre-judgment interest and $125 in Civil Resolution Tribunal fees. In total, that’s $952.85.