Originally Posted by meowmeowkazoo

Buyer purchases $4500 animal.
Seller ships animal incorrectly, which leads to animal's death.
Seller refuses to refund buyer's money.

This is all it boils down to. The blackmail is an entirely different issue.

The only reason any of this happened is because you did not ship properly. The blackmail would not have happened. The drama would not have happened. The slander would not have happened.

You did not ship properly, the buyer received a dead animal, and regardless of what happens after that, you are still responsible for that dead animal and your upset customer.

It is your fault the animal is dead. You are legally obligated to return his money, or you are STEALING from him. As in, you are engaging in criminal behavior here. This isn't a case of "Oh, these random people on the Internet won't like me anymore," it's a case of you literally breaking the law.