How to Buy a Puppy Without Kidding Yourself
Let’s talk about buying pets online. It’s not a bad idea if you can avoid the stream of online scammers waiting to collect your money without giving away your puppy. If you are truly attuned to a certain breed, or do not have a shelter near you, keep these tips in mind so that you will not be used.
As with most online scams, if something seems too good to be true, it is. Trust your intuition – if the seller is suspicious, move on, no matter how good the price is. Other signs to look out for:
- Request to pay by money order or bank transfer: Scammers prefer you to pay them with these methods because they can receive money before you realize that you have been cheated . Money transfers and wire transfers usually provide little protection to the sender and are difficult to trace. Once you send the money, it will disappear.
- Suspiciously Low Prices: Don’t let a low price lure you in. If you are buying a purebred dog, do a little research to know how much you should expect to pay (and what is too much a bargain).
- Refusing to let you get to know the puppy before you buy : The normal salesperson doesn’t mind if you show up with the puppy or they meet you to make sure you and the puppy get along. If the online seller won’t let you meet, your spider-instinct should be crippled.
- Aggressive Messages or Threats : If you become suspicious and nudge the seller or are hesitant to close the deal, they may become aggressive or threaten to report animal cruelty to you in order to force you to pay.
- Strange results when you research a breeder online : scammers can use a fictitious breeder name or steal a puppy’s name and photos from a legitimate breeder. If a quick search on Google, Better Business Bureau, or Yelp comes up with sketchy results, go to another seller.
With the recent puppy scam, sellers are targeting people looking to buy certain breeds like Teacup Maltese or Shih Tzu. While having a certain breed is attractive, you are probably better off taking a look at your local shelter. Think about what is so special about a certain breed that you like – maybe they have little energy or they get along well with children – and ask the shelter staff to help you find a dog with these characteristics. You will stay away from online scams, get a puppy with healthier genetics (inbreeding for certain traits can cause health problems in purebred dogs), and you will know that you were not involved in the production of puppies .