Creating a“Soft Landing”for Your Animals-What Happens After You Re-Home Your Pet?
If you own animals, especially large animals, or you run an organization where the entire purpose is tofind good and loving homes for a pet, you will be in a situation where you are looking for a good home for an animal. Ideally, this home will be forever, but what if it is not? Whether the situation with the new owner has changed or the animal is simply not working out, how do you make sure that an animal ends up in good and loving hands after it leaves your custody?
First, one of the most obvious ways to address this legally is to have a written contract, a document called a purchase agreement (not just a bill of sale) that gives you, as the seller, the“right of first refusal.” This is where if the buyer ever is looking to sell the pet, whether it is a horse or a dog, or even a goldfish, the moment they receive a bonafide offer, they must first give the original seller the right or option to purchase the animal back under the same terms as currently offered. That would mean the seller has the right to purchase the animal back at the same price and under the same other terms (e.g. warranties, payment plans, etc.). But what happens if the payment amount is free or next to nothing? Does the buyer have to give the seller the right of refusal if there is no money being exchanged? Or even if it is a nominal amount, and the buyer fails to give the seller the right, is that in breach of the contract? Yes. Ok, so what do you do next? Well, you can take them to court and sue them, but if the animal was free, then it is likely the judgment at trial will be for $0. So you may win but did you end up helping the animal?
What else can you do? You may be able to file an emergency injunction and ask the court, on an emergency basis, to issue an order stopping the sale of the animal. The problem with trying to go to court is that here in South Florida, especially in Miami Dade, Broward, or Palm Beach Counties, it may be difficult to get a hearing date and the judge may not agree that it is an emergency. If you end up having to wait, these hearings could take weeks, months or potentially years to get heard and by then the animal is long gone with the new buyer.
Let it be clear that not all new buyers are bad homes, but there are certainly ones that can be neglectful, even if well intended. That is why we also recommend some things that can help make sure the animal is going to a trustworthy home. When looking to sell, ask the buyer for references. They should have a relationship with a veterinarian and other professionals in the community, such as a horse trainer or barn owner.
A second provision you can put in your purchase contract is for liquidated damages. It is a way for the parties to agree when they enter the contract that if there is a breach of contract, instead of arguing over the amount of damages, you agree the damages will be difficult to as certain and are agreeing that damages will be a specified amount. That way if the buyer fails to give you the right of first refusal, you can automatically allege damages in the amount of the liquidated damages provision. Now, you cannot just pick a random ridiculous number, but you can, in good faith, allege even a free horse would cost you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars to get back if you had to ask a court for intervention (cost of tracking the horse down, court costs, shipping costs, medical expenses, etc.). The point of the liquidated damages would be to deter anyone from breaching the contract.
One very good way to keep track of an animal and as it transfers ownership is through the very modern use of social media. Make Facebook friends of the new owner so you can see pictures of the horse. Follow the next owner on Instagram and make sure they all have your number. That way if an owner is ever desperate to re-home their horse and may consider placing it in a harmful situation out of necessity, they could contact you as a ready and willing buyer.
