Chevromist Kennels Melbourne accused of selling $10k cavoodle puppy ‘Benji’ with ‘missing toe’

A Victorian kennel was cleared of selling a $10,000 cavoodle puppy with a missing toe but the “very strange” mystery remains unsolved.

The mystery surrounding the missing toe of Benji the cavoodel remains unsolved.

A leading Victorian dog breeder has been embroiled in a mystery after denying it sold an expensive cavoodle puppy with a missing toe.

Chevromist Kennels landed in court after the registered breeder was sued — and later cleared at VCAT — by dog owner Timothy Martin.

Mr Martin, a teacher, launched action against Chevromist after purchasing cavoodle puppy ‘Benji’ for $10,155 in October 2020.

VCAT heard Mr Martin and his wife, also a teacher, purchased Benji without a hitch.

However, the sale soured several months later after a dog groomer discovered Benji, born in a litter of six to an “experienced mother” in August 2020, was missing a toe.

Mr Martin, who claimed $5570 alleging misleading conduct, said the groomer quizzed him on how Benji lost his toe but he had no answer.

The tribunal heard Mr Martin’s vet suggested the toe could have fallen off via tourniquet or Benji’s mother may have “bitten it off”.

Chevromist, represented by directors Robert and Michael Attard, denied Benji left its kennels with a missing toe.

Michael Attard, who holds a bachelor of animal science, opined it was possible the toe fell due to a “situation involving a tourniquet”.

“Once the blood supply is restricted to the toe it would’ve quickly gone numb, shrunken and then simply dropped unnoticed,” Mr Attard submitted.

Mr Attard told the tribunal Chevromist has sold thousands of puppies in more than 30 years of business but none were missing a toe.

“We have never experienced a dog toe fall off,” he said.

Chevromist, a family run breeder with kennels in Strathtulloh and Ballan, was under huge demand for well-bred puppies which were snapped up within “two seconds” during the height of the pandemic.

The company operates on a “first in, first served” basis for suitable buyers.

Member Deirdre Bignell asked how Benji was born and raised before sale and how he lived at home with the Martins.

Operations manager Robert Attard said his heavily regulated and monitored kennels breed 50 dogs.

Mr Attard said multiple staff conduct daily checks on their dogs which also undergo regular vet checks.

Customers were also asked to have their puppies checked by vets within 48 hours of delivery.

The breeder is also required to keep thorough records and dogs with a litter were kept away from other dogs.

“Our vet would have a record if there was a missing toe … if there was an issue we would make a note of it,” Mr Attard said.

Mr Martin asked if Chevromist vets counted toes.

“If what these chaps are saying is true and I don’t … you know, I don’t want to call them liers … but it’s very easy to miss such a thing,” Mr Martin said.

Mr Martin, who described he and his wife as “new dog people”, said Benji wasn’t left outside alone.

Benji, an “incredibly gentle” puppy, had never had a fight with another dog, the tribunal heard.

“We’d been in the market for a cavoodle for a long time …,” Mr Martin said.

“Chevromist promised very high quality … we felt very much secure we would be acquiring a fit and healthy dog.

“Benji presented as very chipper … he was also very fluffy, you can hardly see his feet let alone his toes …

“Did I go through his toes and count them, no, and to be pretty honest I probably couldn’t have told you how many toes a cavoodle puppy would have …

“I genuinely wished I had counted his toes when we got him in but were just excited to have him …

“My vet believes, and I believe … it’s much more likely (a toe if lost to trauma) would go unnoticed when the puppies are very young …

“They’d be yelping, they’d be blood … the reason we didn’t notice the toe come off is because it didn’t come off while he was in our care.

“We received a puppy who had already lost its toe … no vet noticed it … and we didn’t notice it either …”

The tribunal heard Benji had been seen by a vet six times and had a “puppy clean up” by a groomer before the missing toe was spotted at eight months.

“We picked the puppy that was the cutest,” Mr Martin said.

“If I’d have known … (Benji) had a missing toe and they were all the same price, I just wouldn’t have gone for that puppy …

“We don’t want to return Benji, we love Benji, he is part of our family … hands on my heart this puppy didn't lose his toe in our care.”

Michael Attard said puppies would have “signs and fractures” throughout if the toe was bitten off.

“One would expect that if the mum had chewed that toe off she would be crushing other toes and probably some of the leg as well …,” Mr Attard said.

“Not with her mouth, no way …”

Member Bignell said the case was “very strange”.

“suffice to say the circumstances in which this toe has vanished remain a mystery,” Member Bignell said.

“There is simply insufficient evidence that the loss of the toe occurred in the first eight weeks of life before he was delivered to (Mr Martin).”

The claim was dismissed.

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