A Port Alberni dog breeder has lost her fight to get paid for puppies born after the pregnant mother was adopted out.
Claimants Ziggy’s Rescue and Laura Snoek say Maddie the dog’s adoption wasn’t fully completed as she had to be spayed for the adoption to be complete. However, Maddie could not be spayed until after she gave birth. So, Snoek argued in provincial court that the puppies belong to her.
In his decision, Judge Alexander Wolf suggested the case was about Snoek wanting to make money and vindictiveness.
Snoek sued Allison Penko and Herbert Dwyer, saying they agreed to give Maddie back to Ziggy’s when it came time to give birth to the puppies.
In her June 21, 2021 notice of claim, she said she wanted the “return of dog and litter of puppies immediately or $9,000.” She also claimed $1,000 for vet bills and $5,000 for court fees and legal services.
In November, she revised that as she was able to obtain and sell seven of the nine puppies to mitigate her revenue losses. However, she still claimed $1,400 for two of the puppies that died at birth and $5,000 for loss of revenue. She abandoned her request for vet bills.
The couple gave the surviving puppies to the SPCA to be adopted out. And Snoek adopted them.
“Even though it has been nearly a year and a half since Maddie was transferred to the defendants, the claimant still wants Maddie back,” Wolf said in his Oct. 5 decision.
Moreover, he said, “Why would Laura Snoek make efforts to take the puppies from the SPCA? After all, they would be safe there. The SPCA would find them good homes. This would lower the cost for Ziggy’s and allow them to focus on other dogs that were in need.”
Wolf noted some confusion as to what Ziggy’s is.
“Laura Snoek, dba (doing business as) Ziggy’s Rescue was not very forthright in her interactions with the court, with vague responses about her being in business or operating officially as a non-profit organization.
“Her responses came across as intentionally vague,” the judge said.
And that’s what Penko and Dwyer focused in on.
“We signed a contract with claimants who presented themselves as registered, non-profit animal rescue society, not a dog breeder,” the pair’s claim reply said.
They said they purchased Maddie and there was discussion about her being pregnant.
“They deny that any agreement was made with respect to the birth of the puppies,” Wolf said.
Penko and Dywer counterclaimed for $4,900 for breach of contract, $268 for court filing fees, and $709 for vet bills.
The judge suggested Revenue Canada might be interested in looking at Snoek’s finances.
“Simply self-identifying yourself as a non-profit organization does not mean you are one,” the judge said.
Wolf's ruling noted Snoek’s version of the dead puppies tale changed.
“At one point in these proceedings, she claimed that the defendants were hiding two puppies by giving them to their family members,” Wolf said.
Penko and Dwyer said they felt pressured to act quickly to adopt Maddie.
“We feel she uses the contract as a weapon,” testified Penko.
“She described how Laura Snoek put personal information of theirs on social media and how the defendants felt so unsafe they put locks on the gates,” Wolf said.
The judge added the contract was "unreasonable" as it said someone from Ziggy’s could show up at any time to check on Maddie.
“In fact, that appears to be exactly what Laura Snoek did,” Wolf said. “She showed up, called the defendants’ names, caused a disturbance, and frightened them to the point that they felt unsafe in their own home.”
In the end, Wolf said, “The only motivation seems to be Laura Snoek dba Ziggy’s wants money.”
The judge concluded his ruling by saying every dog must have his day "and today is Maddie's day."
“The time has come for Maddie to finally know she is in her forever home and that the defendant’s family are made whole,” he said.
Wolf considered whether the monies for selling the seven living puppies should be paid to the defendants, the $4,900 counterclaim.
"The defendants chose to transfer the puppies to the SPCA, and for their own reasons, the SPCA chose to transfer them to Laura Snoek (doing business as) Ziggy’s Rescue. It is not the claimants' ‘fault’ that she made money off this transfer," Wolf said.
