Section 1Parties and Puppy Identification

Buyer details are collected in the form at the end of this page.

Puppy details — litter, date of birth, sex, color, microchip number, sire and dam — are completed when a specific puppy is selected. Where a deposit is placed before a litter is born or before selection occurs, those fields are completed on the Puppy Identification and Health Disclosure form delivered to you at pickup, which is incorporated into this Agreement by reference.

Your puppy will be one of the following, identified at selection:

• Purebred Golden Retriever — eligible for AKC registration on Limited Registration.
• Crossbred (mixed breed) puppy — not recognized as a breed by the AKC; not eligible for AKC registration. The parent breeds are recorded at selection and stated on the disclosure form.

Section 2Purchase Price, Deposit, and Payment

2.1 Purchase price

Prices vary by puppy. The purchase price is stated on the invoice or reservation confirmation WKG provides to Buyer. That document is incorporated into this Agreement by reference, and the amount stated on it is the “purchase price” wherever that term appears in this Agreement, including in Sections 5 and 6. Buyer should retain a copy.

2.2 Deposit

A deposit of $500.00 reserves Buyer a place on our reservation list and is applied in full toward the purchase price. Where a particular litter does not produce a puppy meeting Buyer’s stated preferences, the deposit remains in place and Buyer moves to a later litter.

2.3 When the deposit is refundable

The deposit is refundable in full where WKG is unable to offer Buyer a puppy meeting Buyer’s stated preferences within twelve months of the deposit date. This includes any case in which WKG cancels the reservation. Where WKG and Buyer agreed to different terms in writing before the deposit was made, those terms apply.

2.4 When the deposit is not refundable

Where Buyer withdraws from the reservation list and no longer wishes to purchase a puppy from WKG, the deposit is retained by WKG as liquidated damages. The parties agree that this amount is a reasonable estimate of the costs WKG incurs in holding a place, declining other inquiries, and re-marketing a puppy, and is not a penalty.

2.5 Balance and accepted payment

The balance is due in full before the Puppy leaves our possession. WKG accepts cash, bank or cashier’s check, or payment through the online invoice. Personal checks presented at pickup are not accepted.

2.6 Training packages

Where Buyer selects a training package, the training fee is separate from the purchase price and is due with the deposit. WKG schedules training with a professional trainer in reliance on Buyer’s selection and becomes responsible for the trainer’s fees once that placement is scheduled.

Where Buyer cancels after WKG has scheduled or incurred training costs, the training fee is retained as liquidated damages. The parties agree that this is a reasonable estimate of WKG’s loss, because the trainer’s fees are payable regardless of Buyer’s cancellation and a puppy already committed to a training program cannot reliably be placed with another buyer at a price that recovers those costs.

Where Buyer cancels before WKG has scheduled or incurred any training cost, the training fee is refunded in full.

2.7 Full refund defined

Where this Agreement or Maine law provides for a refund of the full purchase price, a full refund means the full amount Buyer paid, deposit included.

Section 3Breed Description and Registration

3.1 Breed description

Where the Puppy is crossbred, that fact and the breeds of both parents are stated in the written disclosure delivered at the time of sale, as 7 M.R.S. § 4152(1)(A)(4) requires. WKG does not represent, describe, or advertise a crossbred puppy as purebred or as an AKC-recognized breed.

3.2 Purebred Golden Retriever puppies — AKC Limited Registration

A purebred Golden Retriever puppy is sold on AKC Limited Registration. Limited Registration records the dog with the American Kennel Club, but any offspring the dog produces are not eligible for AKC registration. It is a registration status rather than a contractual restriction, and this Agreement does not otherwise restrict what Buyer does with the Puppy. WKG will provide the documents necessary for AKC registration at the time of sale, or if AKC has not yet issued litter paperwork, no later than ninety days after the date of sale, as contemplated by 7 M.R.S. § 4152-A.

3.3 Full AKC registration

Full AKC registration is available on a purebred Golden Retriever puppy for an additional fee, and offspring of a dog on full registration are eligible for AKC registration. WKG offers it selectively and decides case by case. Buyer may request full registration before or after pickup. It is granted at WKG’s discretion, requires a separate written agreement and payment of the fee, and takes effect once WKG files the change of status with AKC. Nothing in this Agreement obligates WKG to grant full registration, and a decision to decline does not affect any other provision.

3.4 Spay and neuter

Whether and when to spay or neuter the Puppy is Buyer’s decision, made with Buyer’s veterinarian and at Buyer’s expense. Long-term research from the University of California, Davis, funded in part by the AKC Canine Health Foundation, found substantially higher rates of joint disorders and certain cancers in Golden Retrievers neutered before one year of age, and its published guideline recommends against spaying female Golden Retrievers at any age. WKG encourages Buyer to review this research with a veterinarian.

3.5 Crossbred puppies — no pedigree registration

A crossbred puppy identified in Section 1.2 is a crossbred companion dog. Crossbred dogs are not recognized as breeds by the American Kennel Club and are not eligible for AKC registration. Other registries, including the International Designer Canine Registry, the American Canine Hybrid Club, and the Dog Registry of America, do recognize crossbred dogs. WKG does not register crossbred puppies with any registry and provides no registration documents with them, and makes no representation that registration with any registry confers standing, health, or quality. Sections 3.2 and 3.3 and 7 M.R.S. § 4152-A do not apply to crossbred puppies.

3.6 Variation in crossbred puppies

A crossbred WKG puppy is a first-generation cross, inheriting half its genetics from each purebred parent. Littermates frequently differ from one another. WKG does not guarantee adult size or weight, coat type, color or markings, shedding, grooming requirements, or temperament, and Buyer should expect an adult dog falling anywhere within the range of both parent breeds. Any estimate WKG offers is an opinion, not a guarantee.

Section 4What WKG Provides

At the time your Puppy is transferred to Buyer:

• The Puppy will be at least eight weeks of age.
• The Puppy will have been examined by a licensed veterinarian and will have received age-appropriate vaccinations and deworming, documented on the Puppy Identification and Health Disclosure form.
• The Puppy will be microchipped and the number recorded.
• WKG will deliver the written disclosure required by 7 M.R.S. § 4152, the Notice of Consumer Rights required by 7 M.R.S. § 4160 with a copy of Maine Revised Statutes Title 7, Chapter 745 attached, and a signed statement of any known health problem.
• WKG will disclose orally, before purchase, all medical information required to be disclosed, as required by 7 M.R.S. § 4160(2).
• WKG will provide its Maine breeding kennel license number, and the records maintained for the Puppy’s sire and dam, in the puppy binder delivered at pickup.
• Where the Puppy is crossbred, the disclosure will state that fact and identify the breed of each parent, as 7 M.R.S. § 4152(1)(A)(4) requires.

Section 5Buyer’s Rights Under Maine Law

Maine Revised Statutes Title 7, Chapter 745 governs the sale of dogs in Maine, and WKG follows it. The summary below sets out Buyer’s rights. The statute itself, a copy of which is delivered with this Agreement, governs.

5.1 When a puppy is unfit for sale

• If, within ten days after Buyer receives the Puppy, a veterinarian states in writing that the Puppy has a health problem that existed at the time of delivery; or
• If, within one year after Buyer receives the Puppy, a veterinarian states in writing that because of a hereditary or congenital defect the Puppy has died, or has a condition that will shorten its life or require constant treatment,

the Puppy is considered to have been unfit for sale at the time of sale.

5.2 Remedies available to Buyer

Where the Puppy is unfit for sale under 5.1 and the condition was not disclosed, Buyer, not WKG, selects one of the following:

• Return the Puppy for a refund of the full purchase price;
• Exchange the Puppy for an animal of Buyer’s choice of equivalent value, if a replacement is available;
• Retain the Puppy and receive one-half of reasonable veterinary fees, up to one-half of the purchase price; or
• Where a veterinarian determines the Puppy has less than one year of life expectancy, retain the Puppy and receive a full refund.

Where the Puppy dies of an undisclosed health problem that existed at the time of delivery, Buyer may choose either an animal of equal value, if available, or a full refund.

5.3 How Buyer claims a remedy

• Notify WKG within two business days of a veterinarian’s diagnosis, with the veterinarian’s name and telephone number and a copy of the report.
• Where Buyer seeks a full refund by returning the Puppy, return it within two business days of receiving the veterinarian’s written statement. This does not apply to the remedy in 5.2(4).

5.4 When these remedies do not apply

Under 7 M.R.S. § 4157(2), a refund, replacement, or reimbursement is not required where the health problem or death resulted from maltreatment or neglect, from a disease contracted while the Puppy was in Buyer’s possession, or from an injury sustained after delivery; or where the condition was disclosed in the written disclosure at the time of sale.

5.5 These protections apply in full

5.6 WKG’s right to examine

Where WKG contests a claim, WKG may require Buyer to produce all veterinary records and to make the Puppy available for examination or autopsy by a veterinarian WKG designates, practicing within one hundred miles of Buyer’s residence. WKG pays the cost. This right is provided by 7 M.R.S. § 4158(1).

5.7 Other rights preserved

Chapter 745 does not limit any other right or remedy available to Buyer under other law.

Section 6The Windy Knoll Goldens Health Guarantee

Section 6 is a voluntary guarantee WKG provides in addition to the remedies in Section 5. Where the two overlap, Buyer may claim under whichever is more favorable. Buyer may not recover twice for the same condition.

6.1 Hereditary and congenital guarantee — twelve months

WKG guarantees the Puppy against congenital malformation and hereditary disease that materially impairs the Puppy’s health or function, for twelve months from the date Buyer takes possession. This matches the one-year period Maine law provides under 7 M.R.S. § 4155(1).

Hip and elbow dysplasia are covered on the same twelve-month terms, where radiographs taken within the period are read by a board-certified veterinary radiologist as moderate or severe hip dysplasia or Grade II or Grade III elbow dysplasia, and the examining veterinarian documents clinical signs. This applies to purebred and crossbred puppies alike. Dysplasia arising from injury, trauma, obesity, or a fall or jump is addressed in Section 7.

Nothing in this Section limits Buyer’s rights under Section 5.

6.2 Buyer’s options under this guarantee

Where a licensed veterinarian diagnoses a covered condition within the period, Buyer selects one of the following:

• Return the Puppy for a refund of the full purchase price, including the deposit, plus reasonable veterinary fees incurred in diagnosing and certifying the condition;
• Return the Puppy and receive a replacement puppy of equivalent value from the next available litter, at no additional cost; or
• Retain the Puppy and receive reimbursement of reasonable veterinary fees incurred in treating the condition, up to the full purchase price.

A veterinary fee is reasonable where the service is appropriate for diagnosing and treating the condition and the fee is comparable to those charged by other veterinarians in the treating veterinarian’s area.

6.3 How to make a claim

• Obtain a written report from a licensed veterinarian identifying the condition and the basis for the diagnosis.
• Notify WKG within the later of seventy-two hours or two business days of the veterinarian’s determination, with the veterinarian’s name and telephone number and a copy of the report.
• Notify WKG in writing which option in 6.2 Buyer selects.
• Where Buyer returns the Puppy, return it in good condition apart from the diagnosed condition. Buyer bears transportation costs to and from WKG.

Section 7Limits of the Section 6 Guarantee

Subject to the above, Section 6 does not cover:

• Injury or trauma of any kind, including hip and elbow injury, sustained after delivery;
• Conditions resulting from accident, obesity, over-exercise, inadequate nutrition, neglect, or maltreatment;
• Conditions resulting from a disease contracted after delivery;
• Routine and preventive care, including vaccinations, deworming, parasite prevention, spay or neuter surgery, and dental care;
• Acquired, non-congenital conditions with a substantial environmental component, including allergies, ear infections, ear mites, mange, and acquired thyroid dysfunction;
• Cosmetic umbilical hernias not requiring surgical repair. Hernias requiring repair are covered under 6.1 to the extent congenital;
• Hypoglycemia and urinary tract infection;
• Diet-associated conditions, including dilated cardiomyopathy associated with nutrition rather than heredity;
• Any condition disclosed in writing at the time of sale; and
• Adult size or weight, coat color or type, shedding, grooming needs, ear set, conformation, show or breeding quality, working ability, or temperament. WKG guarantees a healthy companion, not a show or breeding prospect. For crossbred puppies, see 3.6.

7.1 Transfer. The guarantee in Section 6 is personal to Buyer and does not transfer if the Puppy is sold, given away, or transferred to another person.

Section 8Buyer’s Responsibilities

The following are conditions of the voluntary guarantee in Section 6. They are not conditions of Buyer’s rights under Maine law.

8.1 Veterinary care

WKG recommends that Buyer schedule a wellness examination with a veterinarian of Buyer’s choosing shortly after bringing the Puppy home. An early visit establishes a baseline, allows review of the vaccination and deworming record WKG provides, and creates an independent record of the Puppy’s condition on arrival. This is a recommendation; Buyer’s rights under this Agreement and under Maine law are unaffected by its timing.

Buyer agrees to maintain the Puppy in good health through routine veterinary examinations, vaccinations, parasite prevention, dental care, and prompt attention to illness or injury.

8.2 Nutritional supplement

As a condition of the guarantee in Section 6, Buyer agrees to give the Puppy one of the following daily for the first twelve months. Either product satisfies this condition.

• NuVet Plus — nuvetlabs.com, order code 55651; or
• Springtime Longevity — springtimeinc.com.

Buyer agrees to show proof of purchase, or to have the supplement on hand, when collecting the Puppy.

Twelve months is the required period. WKG highly recommends continuing one of these supplements for the lifetime of the dog, but no guarantee under this Agreement or under Maine law depends on continuing beyond twelve months.

8.3 Nutrition

Buyer agrees to feed a complete and balanced diet formulated for large-breed puppies and meeting AAFCO standards for growth, and not to overfeed. Keeping a growing puppy lean protects its developing joints.

WKG maintains a current list of recommended foods on our website. Brand selection rests with Buyer and Buyer’s veterinarian and does not affect any guarantee.

8.4 Digestive support during transition

As a condition of the guarantee in Section 6, Buyer agrees to purchase Kochi Free, an herbal digestive aid, from Amber Naturalz (ambernaturalz.com), and to give it to the Puppy for its first three weeks in Buyer’s home.

Kochi Free supports the digestive tract through the stress of transition. It is not a dewormer and is not a substitute for veterinary care. Buyer should contact a veterinarian if the Puppy shows diarrhea, lethargy, or poor appetite.

8.5 Exercise and growth plates

Growth plates in Golden Retrievers and in the larger crosses WKG produces typically close between twelve and eighteen months, and later in heavier dogs. Until then, repetitive and high-impact activity can cause lasting joint damage. For the Puppy’s first eighteen months, Buyer agrees to:

• Allow free play and self-directed exercise on grass, dirt, or other soft footing, off-leash in a safely enclosed area, letting the Puppy set its own pace.
• Build structured leash walks gradually — approximately five minutes per month of age, once or twice daily, increasing as the Puppy matures.
• Avoid forced or repetitive exercise, including jogging or running alongside a person or bicycle, treadmill work, extended fetch on hard ground, and agility jumping or weave training.
• Avoid jumping from heights above approximately two and a half feet, including from vehicles, decks, and furniture. Use a ramp for vehicle entry and exit.
• Limit repetitive stair use and avoid slick flooring; runners or rugs on hard floors are recommended.

Socialization and training are encouraged throughout this period. Puppy classes, car rides, new environments, and meeting new people and dogs are recommended.

8.6 Environment, containment, and training

Buyer agrees to provide a safe, secure, and suitable home environment for the Puppy.

Buyer is responsible for training and management. WKG socializes and begins training every puppy before placement and recommends enrollment in a puppy class with a qualified trainer. WKG is not responsible for the Puppy’s behavior after transfer.

Section 9If Buyer Can No Longer Keep the Dog

9.1 WKG asks to be contacted first. Before selling, giving away, rehoming, or otherwise placing the dog with another person or organization, WKG asks that Buyer contact us and allow us the opportunity to take the dog back, at no cost to Buyer other than transportation to our premises. This is a request, not a restriction on Buyer’s ownership.

9.2 Before a shelter or rescue. Where the dog needs to be placed, WKG asks to be contacted before Buyer approaches an animal shelter, pound, rescue organization, or research facility. Where circumstances make reaching us difficult, a family member may contact us on Buyer’s behalf.

9.3 If WKG cannot take the dog. Where WKG is unable to take the dog back within thirty days, Buyer may place the dog in a suitable permanent home, and is asked to provide the new owner with a copy of this Agreement and the dog’s health and registration records.

9.4 Refunds on return. A return under this Section is a rehoming, not a claim under Section 5 or 6, and does not carry a refund. WKG may offer partial compensation at its discretion.

Section 10General Provisions

10.1 Maine law governs. This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Maine. Where any provision conflicts with 7 M.R.S. ch. 745, 11 M.R.S. art. 2, or other applicable Maine law, the statute governs.

10.2 Implied warranties apply in full. Consistent with 11 M.R.S. § 2-316(5), the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose apply to this sale in full, and Buyer’s remedies for their breach are not limited.

10.3 Severability. Where any provision is held unenforceable, it is modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable, or severed if it cannot be, and the remainder stays in force.

10.4 Entire agreement. This Agreement, together with the Puppy Identification and Health Disclosure form and the Notice of Consumer Rights delivered at the time of sale, is the entire agreement between the parties concerning this sale. It may be amended only in a writing signed by both parties, and does not waive any right arising under Maine statute.

10.5 Venue and disputes. Any action arising from this Agreement may be brought in the Maine District or Superior Court serving Penobscot County, Maine, or in any other venue permitted by Maine law. Under 7 M.R.S. § 4158(2), the prevailing party in a court action under Chapter 745 is entitled to recover costs and reasonable attorney’s fees.

10.6 Electronic signature. Where this Agreement is completed through the form below, submission constitutes Buyer’s electronic signature and consent to these terms, with the same effect as a handwritten signature.