Please don't buy a pet over the internet

[christiane]

A very badly neglected Bichon-cross puppy was just surrendered to our local Humane Society. The person who surrendered the puppy had answered an ad from the internet & arranged to meet the seller in a parking lot. The puppy was purchased & taken home. After the puppy's sweater was removed, the purchaser was astounded at how thin & neglected the puppy was & contacted the Humane Society immediately.

It turns out the puppy & it's sibling were given "free to a good home" through another internet ad 3 months ago. That purchaser obviously mistreated the puppies & then turned around and sold them!

The whole story is in this article: http://www.calgaryherald.com/life/I...bought+from+Calgary+Kijiji/4252894/story.html

Beware, that you will see the saddest puppy face in the photos.

I am very involved in animal rescue & this is unfortunately not an isolated story.

Ideally, pets should only be adopted from reputable shelters & rescues. But if you are going the private route, please, please know who you are buying from! Please make sure all of the animals in their care are loved & well looked after!

And if you need to re-home your pet, the same is also true. Take your pet to a shelter or rescue if possible. If it is private, make sure you know everything possible about the adopter.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

I agree, but I guess the person who bought it, although for a premium, rescued that dog in a way too.

 

[AKL_Megs]

We found our old dog on PetFinder, and he was the perfect pet. When we had to find a new home for him, we used Craigslist, and found a loving family who we still keep in contact with.

I'd say instead, don't buy a pet from a pet store.

 

[stasijane]

I found my dog on Ebay classifieds, I was actually looking around for bull terrier puppies, but found my Maggie, she was a 1 year old bull terrier female and I was capitaved as soon as I seen her. I was worried that someone would get her only to breed her seeing as to how cheap she was being sold for and not give her the love and attention she deserved so I drove through 2 states to pick her up and it was the best decision I have ever made!

 

[PrincessBelle39]

I dont get why you would surrender a puppy because it had been mistreated by someone else. Why couldn't this person keep it. After it had received treatment of course.

 

[nathalee81]

I agree wholeheartedly.

My husband and I were involved in fostering and rescuing for years. What I saw was heartbreaking. We had many dogs that were turned into us by "breeders" once they were done with them (read they could no longer breed and produce puppies they could sell on the side of the road for hundreds of dollars while not providing proper veterinary care or, in some cases, food and water).

In our county, selling dogs on the side of the road is now against the law. My husband and I see them on the side of the road and we pull over and tell them to leave and that we are calling the sheriff.

 

[robinb]

I dont get why you would surrender a puppy because it had been mistreated by someone else. Why couldn't this person keep it. After it had received treatment of course.

The story said that the dog's condition was a 1/10. The new owners probably could not afford to pay excessive vet bills.

 

[simba928]

We found our old dog on PetFinder, and he was the perfect pet. When we had to find a new home for him, we used Craigslist, and found a loving family who we still keep in contact with.

I'd say instead, don't buy a pet from a pet store.

Petfinder is VERY different from buying an animal online. Petfinder is simply a place for shelters and rescues to list their animals to make them more visible. If you find an animal there, you still have to go throughthe shelter or rescue and are not actually buying the animal from Petfinder. But I absolutely agree about not buying from a pet store!

I also agree with not buying an animal from a private party that you do not know but not for the reason inthe op. I work in a shelter and have had many people call saying they got a dog from someone they don't know (craigslist, the paper, etc.) and now the dog bit somebody. I've seen dogs posted on craigslist that I knew for a fact had a bite history. I even saw a dog that was supposed to be under a quarantine for a bite but the bite history was never mentioned. They only said that the dog loves his toys and therefore would "probably do best in a home with older kids". A private party can easily disappear whereas a reputable shelter or rescue as a reputation to uphold in terms of the temperament of the animals they adopt out. Not saying no one can ever find great pets off the Internet or that nobody is honest. I'm just saying I would be very leery of it. An animal can be very dangerous and considered a weapon and I wouldn't want to take the gamble of getting an animal that has the potential to be dangerous without some kind of "insurance" from a shelter or rescue.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

The story said that the dog's condition was a 1/10. The new owners probably could not afford to pay excessive vet bills.

Which in itself is alarming because even what appears to be a healthy dog can have significant medical expenses unexpectedly. People need to stop thinking of a pet as a toy.

 

[sunnyday123]

Which in itself is alarming because even what appears to be a healthy dog can have significant medical expenses unexpectedly. People need to stop thinking of a pet as a toy.

Exactly. What if after having the dog for a year, he developed an illness? Would they have turned him in then? They're still irresponsible in my book.

And for what it's worth, I initially contacted my breeder over the internet. However, she is very reputable. I do agree that there needs to be some law in place for back yard breeders.

 

[GoofyforDisney3]

Something just sounds off on that story. You buy a dog, don't take the sweater off of it before taking it home and then turn it over to the Humane Society because it is sick. If the health was really that bad, sweater or no sweater, one would think it would be noticeable. Why wouldn't you just report the person that sold you the dog and keep it. I'm sure if it was because of the vet bills the humane society would have help out some.

 

[christiane]

I agree, but I guess the person who bought it, although for a premium, rescued that dog in a way too.

The first report I heard was that the woman who purchased the puppy could see immediately that the puppy was abused & decided to pay the fee to rescue him. The second version is that she didn't realized he was abused until his sweater was removed.

We found our old dog on PetFinder, and he was the perfect pet. When we had to find a new home for him, we used Craigslist, and found a loving family who we still keep in contact with.

I'd say instead, don't buy a pet from a pet store.

As another poster has mentioned, PetFinder is not what I am talking about. PetFinder is a service used by shelters & rescues; it is not used by private breeders. Craigslist, however, is exactly what I am talking about! People who breed pets for profit in deplorable conditions will use Craigslist, Ebay, etc. In your case, you seem to have done some due diligence & followed up. But that is not always the case. The woman who originally had to give up the puppies in this story may have thought she was placing them in a loving home, too.

Pet stores are a whole other issue. However, although I have seen pets with infectious diseases & congenital problems purchased from pet stores, I have never seen an overtly abused or neglected pet from there. Unfortunately I have seen abused & neglected dogs from private homes more times than I would like to remember.

I found my dog on Ebay classifieds, I was actually looking around for bull terrier puppies, but found my Maggie, she was a 1 year old bull terrier female and I was capitaved as soon as I seen her. I was worried that someone would get her only to breed her seeing as to how cheap she was being sold for and not give her the love and attention she deserved so I drove through 2 states to pick her up and it was the best decision I have ever made!

Well, you have saved Maggie, but you are only adding to the problem by increasing demand for other dogs which may not be as well cared for as Maggie. "Rescuing" dogs from bad breeders is not going to end the problem. It only helps individuals, it doesn't solve the problem of bad-breeding & over-breeding.

I dont get why you would surrender a puppy because it had been mistreated by someone else. Why couldn't this person keep it. After it had received treatment of course.

It is unclear why the purchaser chose to surrender the dog. Cost could be an issue as another poster pointed out. However, in one version of the story, the purchaser knew the puppy was very ill & chose to pay several hundred dollars to get the puppy away from the seller. Perhaps she surrendered the puppy for legal reasons because now the puppy is in the custody of the Humane Society they are now the "owner" of record & have better legal standing in pursuing the seller on cruelty charges.

 

[LuLuO]

In addition to not buying from pet stores, don't give a pet away as 'Free'. Often hoarders, people who fight dogs, and unscrupulous "breeders" will scour Craigslist and other classifides for free dogs and cats.

 

[robinb]

Petfinder is VERY different from buying an animal online. Petfinder is simply a place for shelters and rescues to list their animals to make them more visible. If you find an animal there, you still have to go throughthe shelter or rescue and are not actually buying the animal from Petfinder. But I absolutely agree about not buying from a pet store!

FWIW, Petfinder can also be a gamble. Here in Wisconsin a HUGE place called Thyme and Sage Ranch was closed down back in 2009. They posed as a legitimate rescue but were in fact breeding puppies and purchasing pups from other puppy mills at puppy auctions. Many of the puppies they sold via Petfinder died within weeks of coming home with their new owners. More than 200 dogs were finally rescued from them.

http://www.nowisconsinpuppymills.com/thyme-and-sage-overview.html

 

[simba928]

Why wouldn't you just report the person that sold you the dog and keep it. I'm sure if it was because of the vet bills the humane society would have help out some.

People don't get an animal with the expectation of immediately having to pay large vet bills. It is absolutely your responsibility to provide vet care for an animal in your care but it takes a very special person to want to take on preexisting health issues. I find it strange that if the dog was that bad that she didn't notice anything. I also find it strange that she paid alot of money to purchase a dog just to get it away from someone with the intent of surrendering it to a shelter. However, if she truly did not know (and that is possible, I've seen people that clueless trying to surrender animals before) then I can understand why she didn't take it to the vet and instead brought it to the shelter. Not saying that that is what I would or wouldn't do, but I definitely understand.

And the shelter has to take care of their own animals first. My shelter does not have an outside vet (alot of shelters don't, we're lucky to have our own vet but he works solely with our shelter animals. We, like many shelters are struggling and our priority is our animals. We can't afford the vet care for all animals in the county. If she had chosen to keep the dog then it was her responsibility to provide vet care. Why should the shelter do it?

 

[LuLuO]

FWIW, Petfinder can also be a gamble. Here in Wisconsin a HUGE place called Thyme and Sage Ranch was closed down back in 2009. They posed as a legitimate rescue but were in fact breeding puppies and purchasing pups from other puppy mills at puppy auctions. Many of the puppies they sold via Petfinder died within weeks of coming home with their new owners. More than 200 dogs were finally rescued from them.

http://www.nowisconsinpuppymills.com/thyme-and-sage-overview.html

While I do think that petfinder is mostly positive there are unfortunately stories like these. So you really have to do research.

A lot of times people, like my in-laws, will buy from puppy mills because they feel sorry for the dogs. Which I totally understand, but that just perpetuates the problem. If no one bought those animals, the mills would close.

 

[christiane]

I agree wholeheartedly.

My husband and I were involved in fostering and rescuing for years. What I saw was heartbreaking. We had many dogs that were turned into us by "breeders" once they were done with them (read they could no longer breed and produce puppies they could sell on the side of the road for hundreds of dollars while not providing proper veterinary care or, in some cases, food and water).

In our county, selling dogs on the side of the road is now against the law. My husband and I see them on the side of the road and we pull over and tell them to leave and that we are calling the sheriff.

Thank you for being involved in rescue & fostering. I know how heart-breaking it can be but also so very rewarding.

The internet is truly a double-edged sword in rescue right now. It has been wonderful in many ways, but horrible in others. All of those "breeders" who used to stand by the side of the road are now using the internet. They show fake photos on their websites, give false information on health issues & pedigrees and act like they just have 1 or 2 dogs that they breed once in a while. But in the meanwhile, they actually have dozens of dogs who live horrible lives in squalid conditions. Even in the story I posted about, I wondered why someone was willing to meet a seller in a grocery store parking lot to buy a dog! Big Red Flag!! The seller probably had some crazy reason why the purchaser couldn't come to the house to buy the dog.

 

[simba928]

FWIW, Petfinder can also be a gamble. Here in Wisconsin a HUGE place called Thyme and Sage Ranch was closed down back in 2009. They posed as a legitimate rescue but were in fact breeding puppies and purchasing pups from other puppy mills at puppy auctions. Many of the puppies they sold via Petfinder died within weeks of coming home with their new owners. More than 200 dogs were finally rescued from them.

http://www.nowisconsinpuppymills.com/thyme-and-sage-overview.html

But that's a problem with the "rescue" and not petfinder. You would have run into the same problem if you got a dog from there that you didn't see on PF. That's also the reason to research where you get the animal from. There absolutely are good and bad shelters/rescues just like there are good and bad breeders. The key is to do your research, visit the facility, and ask questions. There isn't a perfect system. At my shelter, we do our best to test temperament and only place dogs of sound temperament and health. Usually we do a good job but sometimes we miss something. We had a dog this summer that I never trusted. Don't know why, I just never trusted the dog. Everybody thought I was crazy so I didn't fo much about it. A family with like 5 or 6 kids came in and wanted to look at her. My coworker showed her and she laid in the middle of the kids on her back and let them pet her, scratch her, touch her paws, whatever. I started to think maybe I was wrong. They adopted the dog and a few days later we got a call saying the dog was getting very territorial. We then got another call a few days after that saying that the dog was laying on the couch, one of the young kids walked past the dog, and the dog lunged at the kid and grabbed a hold of the back of her neck. Fortunately the kid wasn't seriously hurt. The point is that no system is perfect but adopters/buyers have to do their research to minimize the risks.

 

[christiane]

People don't get an animal with the expectation of immediately having to pay large vet bills. It is absolutely your responsibility to provide vet care for an animal in your care but it takes a very special person to want to take on preexisting health issues. I find it strange that if the dog was that bad that she didn't notice anything. I also find it strange that she paid alot of money to purchase a dog just to get it away from someone with the intent of surrendering it to a shelter. However, if she truly did not know (and that is possible, I've seen people that clueless trying to surrender animals before) then I can understand why she didn't take it to the vet and instead brought it to the shelter. Not saying that that is what I would or wouldn't do, but I definitely understand.

And the shelter has to take care of their own animals first. My shelter does not have an outside vet (alot of shelters don't, we're lucky to have our own vet but he works solely with our shelter animals. We, like many shelters are struggling and our priority is our animals. We can't afford the vet care for all animals in the county. If she had chosen to keep the dog then it was her responsibility to provide vet care. Why should the shelter do it?

The shelter in this case is a well-funded Humane Society with a full-service, fully-staffed veterinary hospital. They have investigators with police powers. In our city, this was the best place to take this puppy.

However, I have lived & worked in much smaller cities who lack this kind of facility. So I know not every city is so lucky so have such a place.

I also find it strange that she couldn't see immediately that the puppy was ill. Even if she couldn't see how emaciated he was, she should have noted how dull & depressed he was. But the seller probably made up some story if he was questioned about that!

I'm just glad that the puppy is being well-cared for now and wanted to send the PSA as a reminder.

 

[Minnie]

Well, you have saved Maggie, but you are only adding to the problem by increasing demand for other dogs which may not be as well cared for as Maggie. "Rescuing" dogs from bad breeders is not going to end the problem. It only helps individuals, it doesn't solve the problem of bad-breeding & over-breeding.

But it solved this dogs future

Here is the problem... Anytime an activist goes too far - and this was IMO they turn me off what they are trying to say.