Sad news re new puppy deposit advice please

[Justyou]

We were due to be getting a puppy this weekend that we had found on pets4homes. We paid a deposit over a month ago. We have been in contact with the seller daily getting photos etc.
We have just heard that unfortunately the puppy has had to be put to sleep. We are devastated especially the kids and will at some point want to search again.
Where do we stand on the deposit - I truly am not being heartless but we ve just spent over £100 on cage etc and have a dog trainer booked for Monday morning so I might still have to pay for that due to short notice.
I have messaged the seller but have not received a reply.
We are all devastated and I just don't want to have to put more bad news to the kids in that it's gonna be even longer before we can look again.

[TheCunnyFunt]

Do you know why the puppy had to be PTS?

Did you go and see the litter in person, meet mum and pick out a puppy or has it all been via email and photos?

I hate to be so cynical but it sounds like you may have been scammed, the puppy may not have even existed (if you haven't met it, obviously). Pets4homes is the worst place to buy a pet from, it's riddled with puppy farmers, back yard breeders and scammers. Stay away from online selling sites like gumtree, preloved etc. Genuine or decent breeders on these sites are rarer than rocking horse shit. Mainly because decent breeders would never use these sites to sell their puppies.

I really hope I'm wrong about this OP, I really feel for you, you must all be gutted :(

[Justyou]

It was a family, I haven't visited as couple of hours away but spoke to them on phone and loads of videos and Skype. It was a prolapsed bowel.

[Justyou]

Any more advise anyone ?

[TrionicLettuce]

I'm afraid it does sound very iffy

It could have been a complete scam with the "sellers" never actually having had possession of the puppy. It could have been a front for a puppy farm, it's not unusual for them to use families to do the actual selling of the pups to disguise where the pups have come from. It could have been a dealer selling illegally imported pups.

Is the advert for the pups still active on Pets4Homes?

The solicitors at Doglaw do cover disputes between sellers and buyers, it might be worth giving them a ring and seeing what options you have.

Are you looking for a particular breed? If so then contacting the relevant breed club is a really good way to find decent breeders. There's also the KC site (although they only list assured breeders and not all good breeders are part of the scheme) or Champdogs, both are infinitely better than P4H.

[kilmuir]

i thought iffy when i read your post.
Surely they will give back deposit if they are for real?

[SistersOfPercy]

It does happen. We'd researched breeders and found one a long way from our home. We travelled up one weekend and chose pup who was given a little coloured collar. We were exited, we'd not long lost our beloved old man and pup was a surprise for our teenage daughter who'd been really close to him and was devastated.

I spent weeks hiding puppy toys in the boot of my car, found an excuse as to why we needed to go to that part of the country etc and the night before we were due to collect him we had a call to say he'd been found dead in his basket. I sobbed, dd found out the whole plan and we were all devastated.

We had a card from the breeder a few days later with a cheque for our deposit back.

My beautiful murphy is snoozing next to me as I write. I guess ultimately it was fate that he came home and not the original pup.

You should get your deposit returned, any decent breeder would do this automatically.

I'm so sorry this happened to you, you do grieve for the 'what could have been'.

[ottothedog]

If its genuine they should already be offering to return the deposit. It sounds v v dodgy though :(
Please dont get your pup off these websites. They are full of scammers and puppy farmers

[Justyou]

They said they ll sort it next week as too upset? We are so gutted we have everything set up and my youngest dd has been pretending he s here for past week. I feel so bad for them like I shouldn't have told them

[LyndaNotLinda]

Please, please don't buy puppies from someone who advertises on Pets4Homes. 90% of the advertisers are horrible puppy farmers. KC/Champ are much more reputable. People have to put their names on there for a start - not just a mobile number.

And never ever put a deposit down on a dog that you haven't even seen. You're not buying a pushchair, you're buying a live animal. You need to meet the breeder and the mum before you even consider parting with any cash (and see the pedigree etc assuming you're getting a pedigree if you're paying for it).

I hope you get your deposit back. I'm so sorry, these people are bloody awful

[NashvilleQueen]

If you don't get offer of deposit back today report to police.

[Lonecatwithkitten]

Trading standards are way more effective in these cases than the please. IME if the deposit is not returned and trading standards get involved they usually uncover a considerable number of breeches of breeding licences and pet shop licences. They need tip offs to find these people so are very keen to investigate.
Again IME if this happens to experienced and professional breeders (which it does occasionally) whilst devastated that first conversation always includes 'and I will of course return your deposit immediately'.

[gamerchick]

Sounds like a scam. Are you sure the dog existed?

[ggirl]

I got our puppy from someone who advertised on pet4homes , saw the breeder and bitch/litter ..all went swimmingly . I must have been lucky . I never knew about champsfordogs site at the time or I wouldn't have risked it...but just saying not all of them are dodgy.

[Justyou]

Thank you everyone for your advice, yes I'm sure he existed I got regular pics with her children in the photo with the puppies and saw things in the photos that I think verified it. We got a message today to say she will go to bank on mon to transfer money so hopefully everything will be sorted. I m still looking so any tips gratefully received X

[Spilose]

This is why you never ever buy a dog off such websites. I'd be very sceptical and ask for the deposit back and threaten legal action.

[TrionicLettuce]

What breed is it you're interested in Justyou?

[Floralnomad]

I would assume the puppy had a severe volvulous , it's something that can happen in all baby animals including humans . My mums Ragdoll had 2 bowel resections for it the first week we owned him , it was unfortunate and expensive - I would imagine if it had happened the week before the breeder may well have had him PTS as he would have been no good for showing and very difficult to sell beside all the expense of the surgery. Good luck with your search for a pup OP , what type are you looking for ?

[Justyou]

Something small and family friendly,
I have recently been diagnosed with an illness meaning I ll probably not ever be returning to work more than a few hours a week so will have lots of time now and it's something we ve wanted but it was never the right time as I was working lots.

[Greenkit]

We bought our new puppy (Now 10months) from a person on pets4homes, I went to seer the puppies x 3 and mum and dad. Litter was the result of mum and dad getting together before mum was done. Lovely family and we keep in touch via facebook.

So don't beat yourself up about that. Im sorry you lost your new pup before you had him.

Good luck finding a new one, I hope all goes well

[TrionicLettuce]

If you're not overly fussed about getting a specific breed have you considered looking into rescues? There are loads of lovely, family friendly dogs looking for homes up and down the country, including puppies.

If you'd rather buy a puppy then your best bet is to come up with a shortlist of potential breeds that would be suitable for you and then contact the relevant breed clubs. They should be happy to help put you in touch with breeders who are planning litters.

What do you want from a dog other than it being small and family friendly? Think exercise levels (do you want something active or more sedate?), grooming requirements (short haired dogs tend to shed more, longer/curly haired dogs may shed less but need much more grooming), whether you want to have a go at any activities, what sort of noise level you could put up with, etc.

[Floralnomad]

Many tears often have puppies / young dogs ,definitely worth looking at rescues.

[JoffreyBaratheon]

They might well have had the puppy and 'sold' it several times over. One lucky person got the puppy.

And why a deposit? I once reserved a puppy (I saw the bitch when heavily pregnant and the people were known breeders who showed and knew mutual friends) and the other had to have a termination/spay after she got an infection during pregnancy. No money exchanged hands at any point.

OP, I'd run this past the police and Pets4Homes (not that they'll care). It would be a credible scam if a litter did exist but I wouldn't necessarily believe pup had been PTS, which is some sort of comfort. or would I believe it didn't exist. Any way you can use Google image search to see if the same litter have been advertised elsewhere?

[JoffreyBaratheon]

I should add, we got a 9 week old puppy from rescue last year. Pups come in all the time. And at the time we reserved her - no money changed hands.

[NigelLikesSalad]

If it is legitimate then you will get the deposit back. If it's not legit then you won't. You'll have to wait until Monday unfortunately to find out. It sounds like a bit of scam though.

Re Pets homes, lots of people advertise litters on there, they aren't all scams or puppy farms but you have to be sensible about how you approach buying a puppy. You really must visit the litter, see the mother and father if possible, mother should be with the litter, see their living environment, if pedigree papers should be available, you should have a receipt for the deposit etc. The breeder should be asking you lots of questions about your suitability, not just sending lots of cute pics.

We're you due to collect the puppy or was it being delivered to you?

[Justyou]

We were collecting it, we had been planning to visit a couple of weeks ago but unfortunately I was ill so has to give it a miss. I have the address.