Bill Text: VA SB228 | 2014 | Regular Session | Prefiled
Bill Title: Pet dealers; reimbursement of certain veterinary fees to consumer.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Passed) 2014-03-31 - Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0448) [SB228 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2014-SB228-Prefiled.html
14101219D Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia: 1. That §§3.2-6512, 3.2-6514, and 3.2-6515 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows: §3.2-6512. Sale without pet dealer's animal history certificate violation of Consumer Protection Act; contents of certificate. It shall be a violation of the Virginia Consumer Protection
Act (§59.1-196 et seq.) for any pet dealer to sell a dog or cat within the
Commonwealth 1. The animal's breed, sex, age, color, and birth date; 2. The name and address of the person from whom the pet dealer purchased the animal;
The information contained in the pet dealer's animal history certificate required herein shall be informative only, and the pet dealer shall not be responsible in any manner for the accuracy of such information unless he knows or has reason to know that such information is erroneous. A copy of the pet dealer's animal history certificate signed by the consumer shall be maintained by the pet dealer for a period of one year following the date of sale. A pet dealer that is also a pet shop shall post in a conspicuous place on or near the cage of any dog or cat available for sale the breeder's name, city, state, and USDA license number. A pet dealer advertising any dog or cat for sale in the Commonwealth, including by Internet advertisement, shall conspicuously display the breeder's name, city, state, and USDA license number, if applicable, on the advertisement or website. §3.2-6514. Consumer remedies for receipt of diseased animal upon certification by veterinarian. A. If, at any time within 1. The right to return the animal
within three business days of certification and receive a
refund of the purchase price including sales tax 2. The right to return the animal
within three business days of certification and to receive
an exchange animal of equivalent value from the dealer, subject to the choice
of the consumer 3. The right to retain the animal and to receive the reimbursement of reasonable veterinary fees, including the cost of the veterinary certification. B. The
refund or reimbursement required by §3.2-6515. Written notice of consumer remedies required to be supplied by pet dealers. A pet dealer shall give the notice hereinafter set forth in writing to a consumer prior to the delivery of a dog or cat. Such notice shall be embodied in a written contract, the pet dealer's animal history certificate, or a separate document and shall state in ten-point boldface type the following: "NOTICE The sale of certain dogs and cats In order to exercise these rights you must present a written veterinary certification that the animal is unfit to the pet dealer within three business days after receiving such certification. If the pet dealer has promised to register your animal or to provide the papers necessary therefor and fails to do so within 120 days following the date of contract, you are entitled to return the animal and receive a refund of the purchase price or to retain the animal and receive a refund of an amount not to exceed 50 percent of the purchase price. You shall be entitled to be reimbursed an amount for veterinary fees up to and including two times the purchase price, including sales tax, of the live or dead animal." |