Looking For A New Puppy? Avoid Being Scammed – Here’s How

Recently, my friend’s Boxer died.  This wasn’t a death of old age as this dog was less than 2 years old.  Sadie was a lovable puppy and a lot of fun.  So why did she stop eating?  Why did she have serious genetic internal problems with her organs?  Well, Sadie was originally purchased from a breeder with ties to a puppy mill. 

 Althouth my friend was able to see the dog in person before bringing it home, scammers often work long distance and try to sell animals that potential owners never meet first.

 So how can you protect yourself from scammers?  Well, of course, never buy a dog you haven’t seen or preferably met in person.  Actually, adoption is still the best option.  There are thousands of dogs waiting for a good home.  Remember, adoption doesn’t mean you have to give up on your hope of having a purebred dog as there are many purebreds at local shelters in need of new owners.  Purebreds find their way to shelters more often than you think, so keep your eyes open.

 Rescue groups for specific breeds are also very passionate about finding homes for abandoned purebreds that have been abused or given to shelters.  Use the internet to find breeders and rescue groups in your geographic area.  Be careful when searching for a puppy online and follow these rules:

•  Check references and try to get in touch with others who have purchased pets from a breeder you’re interested in. 
  
•  Don’t send money order payments
  
•  Good breeders actually want you to come and visit your future pet so take them up on it
  
•  Be wary of breeders that won’t give refunds should your new puppy become ill.  A reputable breeder will always take a dog back no matter what the reason.
  
•  For your own safety and the safety of your dog, pick up your new puppy at a kennel and don’t have the animal shipped or pick it up at a random location.

 Have any disastrous experiences of your own?  Maybe we can learn from you!  Please leave a comment.

Is Someone Lying To You About Your Pet?

Research has found that 55% of our communication is through body language. Tone of voice is 38% and only 7% of our communication is verbal content.

How can you tell if someone is being truthful? Here are a few signs a person is:

• Cooperative
• Direct answers
• Open posture
• Composed
• Spontaneous

Deceptive behavior also has its own cues. Here are signs a person is trying to be deceptive:

• Overly polite
• Evasive
• Defensive
• Anxious
• Rationalizing
• Guarded
• Uncooperative
• Mixed messages

Other clues of deception include:

1. A liar might repeat your question (to buy time to think of how to answer)

2. Truthful subjects will often look at you longer than deceptive subjects

3. Liars fidget more often

4. Truthful subjects generally answer questions directly and spontaneously

5. Liars often stall time in order to make decisions about how to answer

6. A liar will use qualifying statements like “As far as I know” or “As God is my

witness.”

7. A liar will use language that distances themselves from the incident such as

“There’s not one minute that goes by that I don’t think about those boys.”

 

Could Your Pet Have Been Stolen?

People who believe that their pets are stolen and sold for lab research are often animal rights groups opposed to using animals in research. Their intent may be to scare pet owners into supporting their cause, which is to end all research work on animals. Pet theft likely does occur, but not to the degree that everyone thinks. 

Pet owners who believe their pet was stolen and sold to a research lab often don’t search the likely locations where their lost pet might really be. These locations include local shelters, under a neighbor’s deck, or up for adoption at an adoption event at a local pet store.

Believing that a pet has been stolen is a common tunnel-vision theory. Research indicates that in most missing pet cases theft is not very likely. This myth of stolen pets has many people buying into it. It’s a belief perpetuated on the internet and by a few animal welfare organizations that hoards of dogs and cats are stolen every year and sold to research facilities for experiments. The truth is that most animals used in research are provided by dealers who breed them specifically for that purpose. 

The process of selling animals to research could certainly result in unclaimed animals ending up in labs. But there is a misconception that dealers are lurking around neighborhoods looking to snatch animals from their yards in order to sell them to research. 

More lost animals were killed every year by the behavior of owners who believed their pet was stolen for research than were ever actually killed in this way. That’s because many of the pet owners stopped searching believing their pet ended up as an experiment. They stopped aggressively searching in areas where they should be looking. Basically, whatever a pet owner believes has happened to their pet will influence how well they’ll search and how successful they’ll be.