Puppy Scams
	The sad face of reality is that yes, scammers have made their way into the Puppy world. Here are a few tips to help you decipher the good from the bad. Taking the Bite Out of Puppy Scams http://www.scambusters.org/puppyscams.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Puppy scammers hustle money from their victims by promising to send them a dog that oftentimes doesn't exist. Two Variants of the Puppy Scam In one version of the scheme, the scam artist posts an ad in a newspaper or news website for a puppy he will give away free to a loving home. All you have to do to help the poor little pooch is pay the $400 shipping cost. Victims send the money -- but their puppy never arrives. One such scammer even claimed he and his wife were traveling missionaries who could not keep their new litter of English bulldog puppies! He conversed with one victim for a week and sent pictures of the healthy pups. In a second version of the ruse, the scam artist poses as a breeder who promises a purebred puppy for a deeply discounted price. The unsuspecting dog lover can't believe her good fortune. A purebred Yorkie -- which goes for $3000 at the local pet store -- can be hers for just $400. The payment is sent, but once again the puppy that so tugged at the hopeful owner's heartstrings never arrives. Scam artists copy puppy photos from the websites of legitimate breeders to use in their ads. Some even set up an entire phony website, often using a stolen credit card, to make themselves appear to be successful business owners. In an alarming trend, a large number of puppy scam artists have emerged from "breeders" in overseas locations like Nigeria, making prosecution more difficult. Victims usually receive contact only through email and are asked to send payment via a Western Union wire transfer or money order. This is a favorite payment method for scam artists because the money can't be recovered. Be suspicious of any deal that sounds too good to be true -- it probably is. Puppy Scams: What to Do If you have your heart set on ordering a puppy advertised over the Internet, here are four tips that will help you stay safe: 1. Beware of anyone offering ridiculously discounted prices, especially if they won't speak with you on the phone. Confirm a breeder's name, phone number and address. Legitimate breeders may be traced in directories such as Whitepages.com. (However, scammers often give pre-paid cell phone numbers, so getting a phone number is no guarantee that a breeder is legitimate.) 2. Look out for someone who promises to deliver a puppy within 24 hours. Most breeds need to be eight weeks old before they can travel, making it unlikely a buyer could get a purebred with such a quick turnaround time. 3. Ask for -- and carefully check -- references. Talk to the dog's vet and to other people who have bought puppies from the breeder. 4. Be suspicious of a seller who only accepts wire payments or money orders. Use a payment method that offers fraud protection, such as a credit card. Finally, if you think you've been the victim of a puppy scam, contact your state attorney general or the U.S. Secret Service Office for Internet fraud. Some tips from us @ Aine Cockers: 1. Visit the property, Always ask to see the pup at around 5-6 weeks old. If they refuse, RED FLAG! 2. Ask for pictures of the parents Dated on the day you ask. If they refuse, RED Flag! 3. Ask the breeder to put a certain colored ribbon on the pup or an object of some sort in the picture with the dog. Like a soda can, Paper towels, etc. Again dated on the day you ask. If they refuse, RED Flag! 4. Ask the breeder for their vet's name and number. Look up the vet first to ensure it is a legitament vet and phone number (through White Pages, State directory of Licensed Vets, etc) and then call the vet. This is not only good to verify the breeder but also to check the health of the parents, health certificates and their recommendation, IF any. If the breeder refuses, Yet another RED FLAG! 5. Always keep in mind, If the price is to good to be true, it probably is. It's not that Ethical breeders are out to make money per se but the cost of raising a QUALITY litter Alone is around $2000.00, this isn't counting if the parents were shown and anything else. So, if 5 pups are being sold for $400.00 with or without shipping. This barely covers litter raising costs. If Shipping is included... RUN! If it is a legitament breeder, I'd beg to wonder what they Skipped on to afford to give you this price. Most likely it's health testing. RED FLAG!!!! If the breeder gives you some song and dance about how they know their dog is healthy so they don't do testing, ask them which veterinary school they attended! One Example is: There are alot of eye disorders can not be picked out by the naked human eye. It takes special equipment and drops to detect these disorders which can only be done by certified Ophthalmologists! Either way it's a RED Flag! 6. If they have a website with several different breeds of pups this is a red flag. The pictures of pups are probably stolen off the internet. If there are no pictures of the dogs responsible for breeding the pups. This too is a red flag. It's likely they don't own the dogs. As It is also more likely that they would get caught pretending to own a dog they don't. I know If I or anyone I know saw a picture of one of my dogs on someone elses site, We sure would be able to determine the dog and picture was mine. Even if the breeder offers to send a picture, unless it's dated with an object you requested. It's a red flag. Who knows where the picture came from! He could have just did a google search for Buff dog lets say, named it Buffy, saved it to his/her hard drive and emailed it to you. Hey you never know! 7. Ask for the parents REGISTERED names and Birthdates. With this you can verify it's accurate on AKC's website or by calling AKC. If the parents aren't registered or they don't know, RED FLAG! Also, With the registered names you can verify health testing was done by visiting OFA or CERF's Website. With the birthdate information you can verify that the parents are atleast 2 and that the registered name matches the Birthdate given. If it doesn't... RED FLAG! Also, once you verfied the registered name you can search the internet to make certain the dog doesn't belong to someone else! Unless of course it was a stud used. Then you can verify with that breeder that the breeding did in fact take place. These are all tips to help you from being scammed. Some may seem like alot of work but it will be as much work if not HARDER to try to get your money back! Buying a dog is a life-long commitment. Please be sure you are making a good informed decision.