is this a puppy scam advert, help please

furball

I replied to an advert for a puppy that was on a reputable site. The advert said the puppy was in Leeds. I received a reply saying the dog would be delivered from Scotland by a delivery agency. I replied back saying could they arrange for a person from the agency to vet me and my family and come with me to collect the puppy and stop them trailing from scotland, I live in Huddersfield. The lady says they have to deliver the puppy from Scotland. She has provided me with her contact number and says she will drop the puppy at the agency tomorrow and they will contact me. This just doesn't sound quite right somehow. Unless the agency do the checks. Anyone else think this sounds too good to be true. I have googled the ladies name and it comes up with nothing. The puppy will have a good home with me but surely i should have been vetted. The puppy is £165 inc delivery. I have rung the number she gave and it was answered by her husband, he says she is up in scotland at the moment.

t_r

Dont have anything to do with this.
You want to buy a pup without seeing it seeing how it interacts with it siblings etc

Don't do it

furball

Have just googled pet delivery scotland and it has come back with the scam, the air delivery keep asking for more money for insurance etc and when you refuse to pay they say the pet is getting stressed etc. Some people have no morals, just knew it wasn't genuine when they didn't want to vet me. Oh well back to the drawing board.

asea

How about getting a rescue dog instead? At least you know that you are getting a dog from a reputable place & that they are vetting people properly? It doesn't sound quite right - you are right!

t_r

dogpages.org loads of rescue dogs there from pups to oldies

Rescue you know you want to.

Just realised you posted about the greyhound. Perhaps if you posted what you want from a dog, what you can offer to a dog, the hours you work etc then maybe someone could advise a suitable breed / rescue

cluuuuur

It sounds a bit "suss" to me. You could find yourself scammed out of a whole lot of money!

I'd also be worried about getting a pup from a "breeder" who didn't want to meet you - or you to meet the dog - in the first instance. You've also had no evidence as to how the dogs have been treated whilst at the breeder, the state of the place they've come from, and the dogs from which they have been bred - you could end up with a dog with hereditary problems, or illnesses from the environment it has been raised in - and, if this is the case, you've also given money to them supporting this enterprise.

Okay, so I'm going for a 'worst case' scenario, but it's worth thinking about. I'd also support the idea of going to a rescue who can 'match' you with your ideal dog, and offer you support and advice if any problems occur in the future.

If you're really keen on the idea of getting a dog from a breeder, maybe ask around at local vets, etc. to see if they know of anyone reputable.

beachbeth

Never buy a puppy that is going to be delivered to you! You need to visit the puppy in its home, see its mum and possibly dad, its siblings and also gauge what sort of upbringing it has had. You will tell a lot by how they are keeping the dogs. If they have a huge outbuilding full of puppies then they are more likely to have mites, fleas, stomach upsets, not to mention worse diseases. If the pup is in a nice clean home and has obviously been well looked after then it is less likely to have ailments.

A friend of ours met someone at a service station and bought a pedigree pup from them at half the price it would normally be. It had diarrhoea for weeks and she spent hundreds at the vet putting the poor dog right. So the dog didn't end up so cheap after all!

pboae

I can only second what everyone else has said, have nothing to do with it. It may be a complete scam, and there is no puppy, the admin costs will just rise and rise until you stop paying. Or it's from a puppy farm and you are asking for health and behavioural problems in the future. It's just not worth it.

No good breeder, or even a half ars*d amateur backyard breeder would sell a puppy like this. At the very least they would want to check you out first.

No potential owner should buy a puppy like this either. You want to see it's mother and siblings, you want to see how they all interact together and how they all react to strangers. Were the dam and sire health checked? Have you seen their health certificates?

On top of all the above £165 (inc delivery, what's that even about, this isn't a parcel!) is stupidly cheap for a well bred pup. It would cost even the tightest breeder twice that to do it well, and 5 times as much to do it properly.

Please, don't commit yourself to this (and be prepared for abuse and hard sell from them when you try to back out).

MoneySavingStudent_2

Hey Furball!!
Id suggest a rescue doggie!
We got our doggie from a rescue centre. You say you live in Huddersfield like we do! I urge u, really really urge you that you visit Marina Kennels on Leeds road! its a horrible place for dog to be, our poor doggie was there but we rescued her (we only went to have a look and ended up having her)!
They put dogs down after 7 days and its very dark. I really would urge you to get a doggie from there and take it away from that place! Our pups a ridgeback cross, so they do get the odd pure bred doggie too!
Please remember to get the doggie checked for kennel cough as it can go around the kennel!
x

RooBee

It is a scam.

And even if it wasn't, NEVER buy a puppy without visiting it in it's home environment and seeing it with its mother and littermates. How do you know what you are getting? At best, the parents could be awful examples of their breed with horrible temperments. At worst, you are supporting poor breeding practices that have no regard for the health and wellbeing if the dogs and puppies involved.

If you have a breed in mind, please contact the relevant breed club (can usually easily be found by googling) who will point you in the direction of well bred puppies from ethical breeders (be prepared to pay considerably more that £165!) or breed rescue if it is an older dog you are after.

barnabee

This sounds like the famous 'tug at your heart strings scam'. The next phone call is likely to be with the sound effects of a whimpering puppy in the background and a man/woman of dubious origin saying if you don't pay a delivery fee upfront they will have to destroy the animal.

They normally pretend to ring from an airport animal holding centre during the latter phases of the con, complete with tape playing in the background of animals and overflying aircraft.