Adopt Locally and Don’t Fall for Puppy Scams

Name: Barbara
Number of Pets: 1
Pet Type: Dog
Pet Breed: English Bulldog puppy
From: Texas
To: Georgia

Hi PetRelocation,

I am supposed to have an English bulldog puppy shipped to me from Texas. I was just wondering if there was a way to talk to someone about where my shipment is?

Thanks,

Barbara

Hi Barbara,

Thanks for your message. Unfortunately we receive many emails like this, and based on the few brief words you sent we can be 98% sure that you're dealing with a puppy scam.

Pet lovers often look to the internet when they decide it's time to add a pet to their life, and in many cases (especially if they're seeking a particular "designer" breed), they end up crossing paths with fraudsters. If you encounter someone giving away a free pet (often there is a sad story involved with why they can't keep the pet) and if they ask you to wire them funds to cover the pet's transportation costs, this is a scam.

The cute picture they may send you was probably found on the internet and the pet is not in their possession. They have no intention of sending you anything, they just want you to send money, at which point they will disappear. Finally, they often use the names of real companies (like ours) to try to lend legitimacy to their actions, but usually a couple of Google searches will reveal that you're dealing with a person or group of people unconnected to anything real.

Please read more about puppy scams on our blog. You'll see that this experience is sadly common, and the best thing to do is to educate yourself so as not to fall victim to a scammer. We're doing our best to educate people as well, and we also have a few suggestions for people looking for a new pet.

First, how about adoption? Thousands of pets are currently living in shelters, and choosing one of them to take home is a concrete way to help the situation. If you do decide to deal with a breeder instead, find one nearby who you can personally visit and research their business and background. Dealing locally will help to weed out the possibility of encountering a scam.

Good luck to you, and please let us know if we can be of further assistance.