From New York and New Jersey to California and some states in between, laws provide pet owners with the right to return or exchange a pet, or get reimbursed for veterinary bills when a pet has a pre-existing illness. Reimbursement for health care costs is preferable to most pet owners who quickly form emotional bonds with pets, say legal experts. In all, 15 states have established Pet Lemon Laws.
   Before you buy a pet, ask your veterinary professionals to assess its health with an exam. Pet owners should seek an independent assessment of a pet’s health, said Gregory Dennis, past president of the American Veterinary Medical Law Association.
   “A would-be buyer should insist on a pre-purchase examination by a veterinarian of the buyer's choice — not the seller’s veterinarian — before any money changes hands,” he explained. “If the seller is not willing to do this, or will only agree to a pre-purchase examination by the seller's veterinarian, the would-be buyer should walk away from the deal.”
   Although each law is different, some include congenital (medical problems that pets have at birth) and hereditary (medical problems that are genetic) conditions within the definition. Many problems can be identified early by veterinarians who run a series of blood tests to determine the health of a pet before it enters a home. Pre-sale exams may also include making sure that vaccines have been given and that the pet is free of parasites.
   Veterinarians frequently see newly purchased pets with varying forms of disease, despite the fact that pet stores cleared them for sale. If pre-existing conditions are identified within a certain timeframe (most laws specify 18 days), pet owners can be reimbursed for veterinary expenses, said Michael Maddox, director of legislative affairs for the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC).
   These lemon laws “represent a unique situation [for] animals as opposed to products,” Maddox said. Customers “come to know and love a pet and don’t want to get a new one necessarily. They want their animal, and they want it to be healthy.”
   The location of sale is also relevant to application of lemon laws. If you and the seller live in different states, check to see which law applies.