Does a puppy come with a guarantee? Your rights under Colombia’s Law 1480 of 2011

Does a puppy have a legal guarantee in Colombia?

Yes, when there is a consumer relationship. Article 7 of Colombia’s Law 1480 of 2011 (Consumer Statute) requires every producer or supplier to answer for the quality, fitness, safety and good condition of what they hand over, and the Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio (SIC, Colombia’s consumer protection authority) has applied that guarantee to a puppy that was sold.

It sounds cold to talk about a guarantee for a living being. Law 1774 of 2016 declares that animals are sentient beings and not things, but in ruling C-467 of 2016 the Constitutional Court upheld their civil-law classification as movable property. The SIC brought the two ideas together in ruling 4604 of 2025: the pet, “although it is a living, sentient being”, must be regarded as a product for the purposes of the Consumer Statute.

The law requires the person who hands over the puppy to be a supplier, meaning someone who markets habitually (Article 5, item 11). This text is for information and is not legal advice.

How long does a puppy’s guarantee last?

Whatever the breeder stated and, if none was stated, one year. Article 8 of Law 1480 says that, in the absence of a mandatory rule, the term is the one announced by the producer or supplier; if none is indicated, it is one year for new products, counted from handover.

In the case the SIC decided, a Shih Tzu puppy died of parvovirus and the business answered neither the complaint nor the claim. The authority applied the one year of Article 8 because the seller did not prove she had stated a shorter term, and ordered the price paid to be refunded, adjusted for inflation. It is a single ruling, handed down unopposed: it gives guidance, but it does not guarantee that every case will be decided the same way.

What does the guarantee cover, and what does it leave out?

It covers the puppy matching what you were told and arriving healthy. The law calls quality the fulfillment of the inherent characteristics and of those attributed by the information supplied: breed or cross, sex, age, vaccines, promised pedigree. It does not cover what the supplier proves is due to force majeure, a third party or poor care afterwards.

Applied to a dog: an illness the puppy already had, or an origin different from the one stated, falls within the guarantee; an accident in your home or skipping the vaccination schedule does not. For hereditary diseases that appear after the first year the law gives no clear answer: that is why the contract should mention them.

What information does the breeder have to give you?

Clear, truthful, sufficient, timely, verifiable, understandable, precise and suitable information, in Spanish: that is what Article 23 of Law 1480 requires, and it also makes the supplier liable for harm caused by inadequate or insufficient information. Article 24 adds the guarantees, the price and the instructions for use and upkeep.

For a puppy, that translates into documents:

• Identity of the person handing it over: name or registered business name, identification and contact details.
• Which dog it is: breed or cross, sex, date of birth, microchip and parents. A cross has no pedigree; we explain it in pedigree and ACCC.
• State of health: vaccination and deworming record signed by a veterinarian.
• Guarantee: term, what it covers and how to claim.
• Care instructions: feeding, pending vaccines and check-ups.

Is there a right of withdrawal if you receive the puppy at a distance?

With many reservations. Article 47 gives five business days to withdraw only in contracts financed by the supplier, timeshares, or selling by non-traditional or distance methods. And it excludes, among others, goods that by their nature cannot be returned or may deteriorate quickly, and perishable goods.

We found no SIC decision or opinion saying whether a live animal fits those exceptions, so we neither affirm nor deny it. Two things are certain. If you meet the puppy and receive it in person, with no financing from the breeder, there is no legal right of withdrawal. And if there were, you would have to return the animal in the same condition and pay for transport; the money must be refunded within a maximum of fifteen calendar days (Law 2439 of 2024). The sensible thing is to agree in writing what happens if living together does not work out.

What is payment reversal, and when is it useful?

It is the right to have the bank return a payment made through e-commerce with a card or another electronic payment instrument when there was fraud, the transaction was not requested, the product did not arrive, it does not match what was requested or it is defective. It is governed by Article 51 of Law 1480 and Decree 587 of 2016.

Decree 587 sets short deadlines: you have five business days, from when you learned of the fraud or should have received the product, to file the complaint with the supplier and notify the issuer of the payment instrument, which has fifteen business days to reverse it. It does not apply to in-person payments, and it requires both the supplier and the issuing entity to be domiciled in Colombia. It is the typical route for a puppy paid for online that never appears, although a direct transfer to a stranger’s account may not fit: the warning signs are in puppy scams in Colombia.

How do you claim from the breeder and before the SIC?

From the breeder first, always in writing. Article 58 of Law 1480 requires a direct claim before any lawsuit and gives the supplier fifteen business days to reply. If they stay silent or the reply does not satisfy you, you can go to the SIC or to a judge with the consumer protection action.

1. Gather the evidence: contract, proof of payment, vaccination record, clinical history and the veterinarian’s report.
2. Claim in writing (email counts) and ask for acknowledgment of receipt.
3. Wait fifteen business days. The supplier’s silence is serious evidence against them.
4. Try to settle: SIC Facilita is free, but it only works with suppliers enrolled in the tool.
5. File online before the SIC: without a lawyer if your claims do not exceed 40 monthly minimum wages.

The deadline for suing to enforce the guarantee is one year from the date it expires, and you have to prove that you claimed while it was in force (Article 58, item 3).

What should a puppy contract say?

The same things the law requires you to be told, set out on a sheet signed by both parties before handover: who is handing over the puppy, which dog it is, what its state of health is, how long the guarantee lasts and how to claim. A clear contract protects the family, the breeder and, above all, the dog.

• Full identification of the breeder and of the puppy, with microchip number.
• Health: vaccines given, prior veterinary check and a period for your own veterinarian to examine the puppy.
• Guarantee: term, diseases covered, including hereditary ones, and the agreed remedy.
• Pedigree, if applicable, with the date on which the document will be delivered.
• What happens if you cannot keep the dog: a responsible breeder would rather take it back than see it abandoned.

The guide questions to ask a dog breeder helps you go over these points before signing.