In one recent incident, a Fuzhou resident surnamed Ye was involved in a standoff with a dog training school after her pet dog died during training.
In November 2024, Ms Ye was attracted by attractive dog training videos on Douyin and decided to send her two pet dogs, Dudu Di and Dian Dian, to the Bele Dog Training School in Cangshan District on November 20. The training program runs from November 20 to December 20 and aims to teach the dogs various skills. According to the contract, the tuition fee for the two dogs is 6,500 yuan, of which “Dian Dian” is used for primary training and “Dudu” is used for skateboarding training.
However, on the morning of December 9, Ms. Ye received tragic news: 19-month-old Dudu had passed away. When she and her family rushed to the school, they were dismayed to find there was no on-site surveillance. At the hospital, after a B-scan and manual examination by doctors, no external trauma was found, and the specific cause of death remained elusive. If an autopsy is to be performed, the dog’s entire body needs to be shaved and surgery performed. Out of grief, the family chose to be cremated at the school’s expense.
The two sides failed to reach an agreement on compensation. The dog training school suggested a Bichon bear of a similar breed as compensation and a refund of Dudu’s 3,000 yuan tuition fee. But Ms Ye demanded a full refund of 6,500 yuan for the two dogs. She claimed that after nearly a month of training, “Dian Dian” only learned to “lie” and made little progress in other skills.
Mr. Fan, the school superintendent, said the school had been fulfilling its duties. They have a wechat group that regularly sends videos of training and daily activities to parents. The night before Dudu died, they even live-streamed it, and there was no sign of anything unusual. When staff examined the dogs on the morning of December 9, they found Dudu dead. No obvious signs of trauma, no vomit, just normal feces. After realizing there was no hope of saving Dudu, they immediately contacted the child’s parents and offered to conduct further tests, but the child’s parents refused an autopsy. Mr. Fan also said that since Ms. Ye could not provide a valid receipt to prove the value of “Dudu”, they could only provide the above compensation, and were not willing to accept Ms. Ye’s request for a full refund of the two dogs’ tuition fees, suggesting legal means to solve the problem.
On the legal side, Shen Zhanchang, a lawyer with Fujian Mintian Law Firm, explained that since Ye had a service contract with the dog training school, the school had not fulfilled its obligation to return the pet intact, and there was no evidence to prove that the pet’s death had nothing to do with their management, and the school had constituted a fundamental breach of contract. According to the Civil Code, Ms Ye can terminate the contract, claim a refund of the deceased pet’s 3,000 yuan tuition fee, and claim compensation for damages, including the pet’s cost (calculated at market price if not proven) and cremation costs.
Lawyers also warned that due to the lack of uniform national standards in the pet training industry and the uneven quality of training schools, pet owners should clearly communicate training requirements and sign detailed contracts when choosing a school.
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