Health Testing and the Guarantee

What the Parents Are Tested For

Both parents of every litter are tested for the four conditions that matter most in the Maltese. The certificates are shown on request.

• Patellar luxation: kneecaps that slip out of place, the commonest orthopedic problem in toy breeds.
• Cardiac examination: a check for heart defects, including murmurs that can point to conditions present from birth.
• CAER eye examination: by a veterinary ophthalmologist, for inherited eye disease.
• Bile acids: a blood test for liver shunt, a condition seen more often in small breeds.

Testing lowers the risk; it cannot remove it, and no honest breeder will tell you otherwise. That is what the guarantee is for. More on the conditions themselves: Maltese health problems.

What Every Puppy Leaves With

• A veterinary examination, by our veterinarian before the puppy leaves, with the certificate of health.
• Vaccinations and worming, up to date for its age, with the written record of every date.
• AKC registration papers, on Limited Registration for a pet puppy, with a spay or neuter agreement.
• A week of its food, so the first days at home start on what the puppy already eats.
• Health-tested parents, checked for patellar luxation, examined for heart defects and by a veterinary ophthalmologist under CAER, and bile acid tested for liver shunt.
• A written health guarantee, and a promise to take the dog back at any age, for life.

The Guarantee

1. Your vet examines the puppy within one weekThat examination activates the guarantee. Without it there is no independent record of the puppy's condition on arrival, and so no guarantee.
2. If a serious defect is foundIf your vet finds a serious congenital or hereditary defect that materially affects the dog's quality of life, tell us within 48 hours, with the veterinarian's written findings.
3. You choose the remedyA replacement puppy from a future litter, or a full refund of the purchase price. You are not asked to return the dog: by then it is yours.

What It Does Not Cover

• Parasites, minor conditions and conditions that clear up on their own.
• Injury, and anything that arises after that first veterinary examination.
• Veterinary bills. The guarantee covers the purchase price; pet insurance covers vet costs.

Your Part

Have the puppy examined within a week, finish its vaccinations on your vet's schedule, and give it good food, shelter, grooming and care for life. Pet puppies are sold on AKC Limited Registration with a spay or neuter agreement; the timing is for you and your vet to decide.

For Life: The Take-Back

If you can ever no longer keep the dog, at any age and for any reason, contact us first. We will take back any dog we bred, with no time limit. Nothing bred here may be sold on, given away or surrendered to a shelter without talking to us. The full wording is in the puppy contract.