Puppy Deposit / Refunds

Non-Refundable Puppy Application Fee and Deposit Agreement

Here is the breakdown of your deposit and what it entails for you.

PLEASE NOTE: We do not schedule in-person puppy visits or meet-and-greets before an application has been approved and the applicable Litter Placement Fee has been received. Once a puppy or litter placement is committed to a family, that placement is no longer offered to other approved families. For this reason, we cannot hold a puppy or placement while a family visits in person and decides whether they would like to move forward. We understand that choosing a breeder and future puppy is an important decision, and approved families are welcome to schedule a video call with us before placing their Litter Placement Fee so they can ask questions, meet us virtually, and feel comfortable with their decision before making a financial commitment. In-person puppy visits take place at the appropriate stage of our placement process, including Puppy Pick Day at approximately six weeks of age.

RED VALLEY RETRIEVERS MASTER WAITLIST & LITTER PLACEMENT FEE AGREEMENT

This Agreement is between Red Valley Retrievers (“Breeder”) and the approved puppy applicant (“Buyer”) and becomes effective on the date the applicable fee is received.

MASTER WAITLIST FEE

Following application approval, Buyer may join Red Valley Retrievers’ Master Waitlist by paying a $250 Master Waitlist Fee. A position on the Master Waitlist is not established or held until payment is received. Master Waitlist priority is determined by the order completed fees are received, regardless of application submission or approval date.

The Master Waitlist is not tied to a specific pairing or litter. Buyer may provide preferences regarding pairing, gender, coat shade, timing, or other characteristics; however, these preferences are not guaranteed. Breeder cannot guarantee litter size, gender distribution, coat shade, timing, or availability from any particular pairing.

As availability becomes known, Breeder will offer litter placements to families according to Master Waitlist priority and available placements.

LITTER PLACEMENT FEE

When Buyer is offered an available litter placement and chooses to accept it, an additional $250 Litter Placement Fee is due within 48 hours unless different arrangements are agreed upon in writing. This brings the total amount paid toward Buyer’s puppy to $500 and establishes Buyer’s placement and applicable pick-order position within that litter.

If Buyer is approved when an immediate litter placement or specific puppy is already available and Buyer has not previously joined the Master Waitlist, a $500 Litter Placement Fee is required to secure that placement.

Master Waitlist and Litter Placement Fees are applied toward the final purchase price of the puppy.

MASTER WAITLIST TERM

Master Waitlist enrollment is valid for one year from the date the $250 Master Waitlist Fee is received. During that period, Buyer may decline an offered puppy placement and continue waiting for another opportunity within the original one-year enrollment period. Declining an available placement for any reason, including timing, pairing preference, gender, coat shade, anticipated adult size, travel, personal circumstances, or simply choosing to wait for another litter, does not extend, pause, or restart the original one-year enrollment period.

For purposes of this policy, “Red Valley Retrievers is unable to offer Buyer a puppy” means that during Buyer’s entire one-year enrollment period, Red Valley Retrievers did not have an available puppy placement to offer Buyer when Buyer’s Master Waitlist priority was reached. It does not mean that Red Valley Retrievers was unable to provide a puppy matching all of Buyer’s individual preferences. If Buyer is offered an available puppy placement during the one-year period and declines that placement for any reason, Red Valley Retrievers will be considered to have fulfilled its opportunity to offer Buyer a puppy, even if the available puppy or litter did not match Buyer’s preferred pairing, gender, coat shade, anticipated adult size, timing, or other preference. Buyer may remain on the Master Waitlist and wait for another opportunity until the original one-year expiration date, but the declined offer does not qualify Buyer for an extension beyond that date. Only if Red Valley Retrievers has not been able to offer Buyer any available puppy placement during the entire original one-year enrollment period will Buyer’s Master Waitlist enrollment remain active beyond the expiration date at no additional charge. In that circumstance, Buyer will retain their existing Master Waitlist priority until Red Valley Retrievers is able to offer an available puppy placement.

PUPPY SELECTION

Puppy selections generally take place at approximately six weeks of age and are made according to each family’s confirmed pick-order position within the litter and applicable gender.

Buyer understands that puppies continue developing after selection and that Breeder cannot guarantee exact adult size, coat shade, coat type, temperament, show potential, breeding potential, or other adult characteristics based upon a puppy’s appearance or behavior at six weeks of age.

Breeder reserves the right to retain puppies for its breeding program before remaining placements are offered.

COMMUNICATION

Buyer is responsible for maintaining current contact information and responding to time-sensitive placement communications. When an available placement is offered, Buyer must respond within the timeframe provided. Failure to respond may result in Breeder continuing to the next family on the Master Waitlist rather than holding availability indefinitely.

GO-HOME & FINAL PAYMENT

Puppies remain with Breeder until they are developmentally ready to leave, generally at approximately eight weeks of age. Breeder establishes the litter’s original Go-Home date or timeframe in the best interest of the puppies.

The puppy’s remaining purchase balance and any applicable boarding, transportation, veterinary, or other agreed-upon charges are due in full on or before the puppy’s original Go-Home date, regardless of whether Buyer elects to pick up the puppy at a later date.

Cash may be paid at pickup. If Buyer elects to pay digitally, digital payments must begin sufficiently in advance, typically by the six-week Puppy Pick appointment, to ensure the entire balance has been received and cleared by the original Go-Home date. A separate payment agreement will be signed for digital payment arrangements. No puppy will leave Red Valley Retrievers with a pending or incomplete digital payment.

If Buyer requests that Breeder keep the puppy beyond the original Go-Home date and Breeder agrees, extended boarding is currently $30 per day, beginning on the original Go-Home date and continuing through the actual pickup date.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

By submitting the applicable fee, Buyer acknowledges that they have reviewed and understand Red Valley Retrievers’ Master Waitlist and puppy placement process, including that joining the Master Waitlist establishes priority for future opportunities but does not guarantee a particular pairing, litter, gender, coat shade, puppy, or timeframe.

This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of California.

A sleepy brown puppy resting in a woven basket with a green cloth.

Return and Refund Policy

Red Valley Retrievers takes lifetime responsibility for the puppies we produce. If at any point during the puppy or dog’s lifetime the Owner is unable or unwilling to continue providing appropriate care, Owner agrees to contact Red Valley Retrievers before surrendering the dog to an animal shelter or rescue, advertising or placing the dog with another home, or otherwise transferring ownership.

RETURN OR SURRENDER BEFORE 48 HOURS

If Owner requests to return the puppy within 48 hours of taking possession on the original Go-Home date, and the return is unrelated to a health condition covered under the separately signed Health Agreement, Red Valley Retrievers may accept the puppy back for potential rehoming.

A return within this 48-hour period does not guarantee an immediate refund or a refund of any specific amount. No refund will be issued until the puppy has been successfully placed with a new family and Red Valley Retrievers has received and cleared the new family’s applicable purchase payment.

The original Master Waitlist Fee and/or Litter Placement Fee totaling $500 is non-refundable and will not be included in any potential refund calculation.

Before any remaining refund is calculated, Red Valley Retrievers may deduct expenses reasonably incurred as a result of the puppy’s return, care, evaluation, and rehoming, including but not limited to:

• Veterinary examination and new health clearance
• Parvovirus, fecal, parasite, or other infectious-disease testing considered appropriate
• Vaccinations, deworming, medications, preventatives, or other veterinary care required following return
• Any treatment required for an illness, parasite, injury, or other condition arising after the puppy originally left Red Valley Retrievers
• Daily boarding and care fees for each day the puppy remains with Red Valley Retrievers awaiting placement
• Food and feeding expenses
• Grooming, bathing, sanitation, and quarantine-related expenses
• Training or behavioral evaluation reasonably considered necessary before placement
• Advertising, marketing, photography, listing, and other rehoming expenses
• Transportation or other expenses incurred in connection with the puppy’s return or subsequent placement
• Any other reasonable and documented expenses directly associated with accepting, caring for, evaluating, preparing, or rehoming the returned puppy

The amount ultimately paid by a new family for the returned puppy may also be less than Owner’s original purchase price due to the puppy’s increased age, availability, training, health, marketability, or other circumstances at the time of rehoming. Red Valley Retrievers does not guarantee that the puppy can or will be rehomed for the same amount originally paid by Owner.

Any potential partial refund will therefore be determined only after the puppy has been successfully rehomed and payment from the new family has cleared, taking into consideration the amount actually received for the puppy and all applicable deductions described above.

If these deductions and/or the amount received from the puppy’s subsequent placement result in no remaining refundable balance, no refund will be owed to Owner. Under no circumstances will Owner be entitled to a refund greater than the amount originally paid to Red Valley Retrievers for the puppy, less the original $500 non-refundable fees and applicable deductions.

Red Valley Retrievers cannot guarantee how quickly a returned puppy will be placed with another family. There is no guaranteed timeframe for either rehoming or payment of a potential partial refund.

RETURN OR SURRENDER AFTER 48 HOURS

If Owner requests to return or surrender the puppy or dog more than 48 hours after originally taking possession, the return will be considered a voluntary surrender of ownership.

No refund, reimbursement, credit, repayment, proceeds, or other compensation will be owed or guaranteed for a voluntary surrender occurring after the initial 48-hour period, regardless of the puppy or dog’s age, condition, original purchase price, or whether Red Valley Retrievers later places the dog with another family.

This includes reimbursement for the original purchase price, Master Waitlist Fee, Litter Placement Fee, veterinary expenses, vaccinations, medications, training, boarding, transportation, food, supplies, grooming, or any other expenses incurred by Owner.

Red Valley Retrievers’ willingness to accept a puppy or dog back is for the welfare and protection of the animal and does not constitute a buyback agreement.

HEALTH AGREEMENT

Nothing in this Return and Surrender Agreement replaces any remedy specifically provided under the puppy’s separately signed Health Agreement. If Owner believes the puppy has a qualifying health condition covered by that agreement, the matter must be handled according to the requirements, veterinary documentation, timeframes, and remedies contained within the Health Agreement.

CONDITION OF RETURNED PUPPY OR DOG

Red Valley Retrievers may require any returned or surrendered puppy or dog to undergo veterinary examination, infectious-disease testing, fecal or parasite testing, treatment, vaccinations, quarantine, grooming, behavioral evaluation, or other care considered appropriate before being introduced to other dogs or offered to another family.

FUTURE PLACEMENT

Once ownership has been surrendered, decisions concerning the puppy or dog’s care, training, veterinary treatment, pricing, and future placement are solely at the discretion of Red Valley Retrievers.

Except for a potential partial refund specifically available under the 48-hour return provision above, any subsequent rehoming or placement of the puppy or dog does not create or reinstate a financial interest for the former Owner.

TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP

Upon acceptance of the return and execution of any required surrender documentation, Owner relinquishes ownership of the puppy or dog and authorizes Red Valley Retrievers to make decisions concerning the animal’s future care and placement. Owner agrees to cooperate with any required transfer of microchip, registration, veterinary, or ownership records.

GOVERNING LAW

This Agreement and all matters arising out of or relating to it shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California.