A lawsuit over a golden retriever born in Maine but sold to a New Hampshire man has been dismissed in U.S. District Court in Portland after a confidential settlement was reached in November.
Pirate, who will be three on April 16, is back with Adam F. Cail, 48, of Greenland, New Hampshire, after the breeder took possession of the spayed dog on April 1, 2021, in anticipation of mating her.
When the breeder, Mary Dickinson Cashin, 62, of Cumberland, learned five days later that the dog had been “fixed,” she refused to return it to Cail, claiming he had violated the purchase agreement by having Pirate spayed.
The dog was returned to the Cail family shortly before Thanksgiving.
Last June, Cashin sued Cail in federal court alleging that her company, Goldiva Goldens LLC, was owed at least $225,000, the estimated amount she would have made by selling the puppies. The lawsuit was filed in federal court because Cashin and Cail live in different states.
Under the sale contract, Cashin remained the owner of the dog, but Cail would keep the dog for life while permitting the kennel to show and breed Pirate, the complaint said. Cail was not allowed to have her spayed and would be liable for the lost revenue from sale of the puppies if he did, the contract allegedly said.
It was estimated that Pirate, who was registered with the American Kennel Club, would have had from four to five litters of puppies with an average of eight puppies per litter, according to the complaint. The puppies would sell for between $3,500 and $7,000 each.
By having Pirate, officially named Goldiva’s Elegantly Balanced, spayed, Cail ended Cashin’s ownership of a championship bloodline, the lawsuit claimed.
Details of the settlement are not public.
Before the lawsuit was filed, the Cails offered to pay Cashin $7,000, the retail value of a spayed female, but that offer was rejected, according to
Cail’s attorney, Christian Foster of Portland.
He said Friday that the case was resolved to the family’s satisfaction and Cail now owns Pirate.
Cashin’s attorney, Fred W. Bopp III of Yarmouth, did not immediately return a request for comment on the dismissal of the case.
Cail’s attorney, Christian Foster of Portland, said that Cashin is, in essence, holding the dog for “a $225,000 ransom.” She has access to 22 other female dogs for breeding, the lawyer said Thursday.
“It is unconscionable that a puppy breeder would drive across state lines to fraudulently take a dog from a single dad and his three young children and then refuse to return her unless a $225,000 ransom is paid,” Foster said.
“Pirate has been spayed, so there is no conceivable reason to keep her from her family other than to continue to inflict severe emotional distress upon the Cails. The contract is ambiguous, but absolutely does not provide for a right of repossession under these circumstances.”
