DailyMail- A Minnesota dog owner says a ‘vengeful’ breeder who neutered his champion Bichon Frisé without his knowledge should pay damages and return vials of the animal’s frozen semen.
John Wangsness says his dog Beau Lemon was neutered in July 2013 without the approval of him and his wife Mary. Beau was the second best of his breed in the nation before his retirement in 2012.
The Star Tribune says the Wangsnesses have filed a lawsuit in Ramsey County, Minnesota court alleging breeder Vickie Halstead neutered Beau in retaliation for their attempts to breed him twice without her approval.
In the show-dog world, breeding rights are usually shared between the owner and breeder.
The Wangsnesses, both doctors, decided to buy Beau for $3,000 in 2009, after spotting some of Halstead’s dogs at a dog show in the St Paul Rivercenter. Now 7 years old, Beau was about 2 months old at the time.
The couple and Halstead bonded over their love of dogs, and became friendly.
So the couple were completely taken by surprise in July 2013, when Halstead allegedly picked up the dog, telling them she wanted to breed him, and instead found out that the dog had been neutered.
‘I don’t think, in their wildest dreams, they would have imagined this happening,’ the Wangsnesses’ attorney, Larry Leventhal, told the Tribune.
Halstead’s attorney, Joseph Crosby, claims that his client had to neuter the dog after its health deteriorated in the care of the Wangnesses.
In Halstead’s counter claim, she claims that the Wangsnesses neglected the dog, leaving Beau with dental disease, low sperm count, impacted anal glands and an unhealthy coat.
The response doesn’t explain why neutering was necessary to treat these alleged health issues.
Crosby goes on to say that there ‘no factual basis’ for the lawsuit’s claims and that the semen being stored at a veterinary clinic in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota actually belongs to Beau’s brother, named Beau Jangles.
John Wangsness wants more than $50,000 in damages and about eight vials of what’s believed to be Beau’s frozen semen, each worth about $3,000.
He also wants justice for his wife, who he says never recovered her health after learning that Beau had been neutered.
‘After hearing about the neutering, and I’m not overstating things at all, Mary literally cried and stayed in bed for three weeks. She never bounced back,’ Mr Wangsnesses said.
Mrs Wangsness suffered from a form of Parkinsons and died this past March.
Attorneys for both John Wangsnesses and Halstead are scheduled to meet Tuesday to discuss a settlement.