lady has reserved the only dog puppy and has sent a cheque without seeing puppy
Do i bank it? what if she changes her mind when she does come to look ?
If she changes her mind do i refund her deposit?
OH i dont like this bit of sorting out the money end !!!

have you met her? what if you don't like her?

I had a 'holding' deposit sent for one of my litters last year, I didn't bank it until I had met the hopeful new owners, they knew these were my terms and agreed to them, at least that way if things aren't as you hoped they would be you could still say no and return their cheque

DONT BANK IT!! .

You will have then taken money for 'goods'..what if she turns out to have a monster husband or kid?

Id tell that she can collect her cheque when she comes to collect and to bring cash :-)

As others have said dont bank the cheque, this way you can return the cheque when they actually come to see the pup & I assume this will be before they intend to take it home. When they actually come to see the pup you can then decided if they are suitable or not and decide what you do with the cheque then.

I would never take a deposit from someone I hadn't met.  On occasions I have had people waiting for puppies and when the time to come and meet us comes, these people are nothing like you would expect them to be and so were turned down for a puppy.

I personally do take deposits for puppies - but only when I am 100% certain that they are entirely suited to me and I believe commited to the responsibility of having a puppy.