New Puppy - Scam/Deception

[Evenstar]

We recently lost our Pomeranian, we rehomed him from a couple who were emigrating and found out that he had come from a Polish puppy farm. Unfortunately after two years numerous problems came to light, leading to him having to be put to sleep as he was suffering from incurable problems, mostly congenital from poor breeding.

We were terribly distressed and felt after a really tough year with bereavements and a lot of problems that a new puppy was something we wanted sooner rather than later. We found a litter and picked out a beautiful puppy, they were not KC registered, but we were told they were of British breeding and the mother was a family pet and the father also a pet owned by the lady’s mother.

I have paid a deposit and visited him again, but tonight I have found two adverts placed by the same woman, one for another litter of Pomeranians and another for a litter of Pomeranian x Chinese Crested.

We were due to see his mother when we picked up this Saturday, but excuses were made as to why she wasn’t there on our previous visits and I now think this must be a scam or possibly farmed puppies. I am heartbroken and know this all seems wrong.

I know better than this, but my judgement was clouded by being so sad 😢

[missbattenburg]

Evenstar, I am sorry for your disappointment.

I hope you do not proceed with this sale (even if it means losing the deposit) as this is clearly a horrible situation and one you want to avoid, both to protect yourself from more heartbreak but also to avoid supporting/encouraging bad breeding practices. Please do not proceed to buy this puppy.

There is loads of really good information online about how to spot bad breeders and anyone taking the time to review it before finding/buying a puppy should give themselves the best chance of getting a happy, healthy dog without compromising the happiness of the parents. It means finding a good puppy takes longer but as they are (hopefully) with you for several years of companionship, it really is best to take that time to get it right.

I suspect you know all this and were just venting because it's so upsetting to be caught out like this.

[bunnygeek]

That's so sad :( but I agree with Miss Battenburg that you shouldn't go ahead with this sale. It will just keep lining a rubbish breeder's pockets. Report her to Trading Standards though.

You're sadly not the first and definitely won't be the last to conned by these scumbags. They're evil devious people.

Walk away from this pup, as hard as it is, report her to trading standards.

Take time to take stock and if you're ready to do go through the process again, either go via the KC Assured breeder scheme or reputable well-established rescues.

[User467]

Oh OP it does sound like a scam I'm afraid and I think you should walk away. I once visited a breeder who on first visit seemed above board. Saw pups with mum and dad, saw all KC paperwork and health tests for both parents and felt happy with the breeders answers and questions. I paid my deposit and arrange a time to come back and see the pup again. Only on the second visit the breeder forgot we were coming and it was chaos when we arrived. She brought out our pup who was significantly bigger than I was expecting (I've had precious pups of same breed so had an idea of size) but this time she hadn't had a chance to shut away her other dogs, including one larger unneutered black dog of a different breed. I am 100% confident that this was actually the dad of the pups and that they weren't pedigree at all. She was able to register them as KC because she had both "parents" but I don't think they were full breed at all. I walked away. I felt bad but we now have a great pup from a great breeder.

[User467]

Previous pups, not precious

[Evenstar]

We have made the difficult decision that we are going to walk away from this for all the reasons above, which I did already know, I did look at rescue but couldn’t find any little dogs that weren’t already reserved or had so many enquiries that it wasn’t worth applying. We know we cannot face seeing another dog suffer like our boy. I have had dogs for over thirty years, I feel foolish for being taken in albeit temporarily by these people.

My heart is breaking for the little pup, but I know it is best for all the dogs that are being abused in appalling conditions to produce these puppies that I back out now and report to everyone I can think of 😔

Thank you everyone for your kind words and for not judging me x

[missbattenburg]

Good decision. Well done Evenstar and here's hoping your next little dog (whenever and however he or she comes along) is a ridiculously healthy and happy little dog and that they bring you many, many years of joy.

[Lancelottie]

If you are anywhere near this rescue they have a youngish Pom cross at the moment: heathlands.org.uk/toto.html

and Dogs Trust have a little Pomeranian chap called Max (can't get the link to work!) who is 'sensitive' (not for us then, we're gallumphing types).

[Beaverhausen]

You need to report to RSPCA and Police, if they are legit they will have the paperwork and be registered with the Kennel Club. Do not hesitate this is a criminal offence.

[Evenstar]

I have contacted her and she has said she will refund my deposit. I wonder if she thinks I won’t make a fuss if I get my money back. I am definitely going to take it further as there may be a lot of heartache ahead for people who do buy a puppy from her.

[BiteyShark]

You are absolutely doing the right thing waking away but I am unsure what you can do apart from leave a poor review.

You were told the puppies were not KC registered which means the bitch has had too many litters or they aren't pedigrees otherwise I would expect them to be registered. Is the new uk law in effect yet stopping pet shops or breeders selling puppies? Otherwise unless the mum is being neglected somewhere I am not sure what actually can be done legally?

[AvocadosBeforeMortgages]

Coming to this thread rather late, but I think you have made the right decision.

@Bitey there's a lot of confusion about what's going on. The third party puppy sales ban is currently only a consultation consult.defra.gov.uk/animal-health-and-welfare/third-party-sales/ whereas the new laws coming in in October just bring more breeders within the compulsory licencing scheme www.pets4homes.co.uk/pet-advice/animal-welfare-act-2018-what-licensed-dog-breeders-must-do-to-legally-advertise-their-litters.html Lots of people have got the two confused!

[fessmess]

Yes, I experienced something similar and walked away. It was the suddenly postponing the viewing and saying we can view and collect the same day, coupled with multiple ads that alerted us too.

[BiteyShark]

Thanks for the info Avocados. I always get confused on these kind of threads when everyone says report to council/police etc as I was under the impression that unless there is cruelty or doing something against the councils license then there isn't much anyone can do other than buyer beware and quite frankly buying a pedigree when the breeders says they won't be registering it should be a big red flag.

[sweetkitty]

Is there a breeders club? There usually is, go on there email them and ask if they know any litters?

Good breeders almost never have to advertise, they will usually have a waiting list for their puppies.

[AvocadosBeforeMortgages]

There is a breed club - and a breed rescue if you'd consider going down that route. When I was a child (20 years ago) my family got a 7yo pom from the breed rescue and she was great - in need of some love and care, but once she settled in she was a typical pom with all of the attitude that entails! She lived until she was 14 - the first stroke made her wobbly but a second stroke finished her off.

[Evenstar]

I was aware of the breed club thank you, will have another look as the site was being redesigned and you couldn’t look at rescues last time I looked at it

[AvocadosBeforeMortgages]

I'd contact them directly to be honest - sometimes dogs are snapped up so quickly they never make it onto rescue sites

[CatOwned]

Something similar happened when we bought our first dog. Internet was just getting started in the country and there was very little information in Portuguese about responsible breeds then, and sadly now.
We researched a breed, then visited kennels... one of them we visited and said no immediately. Eventually bought a puppy from a pet shop who guided us through all the steps. When reading her pedigree, I found out our puppy came from the same kennel we were horrified by.

Luckily for us, she is amazing. The only problem through her life was both her patellas being dislocated, which started causing her a lot of pain as she aged. She's now nearing her death after a fantastic life.

I only keep myself from feeling guilty because I know I couldn't have prevented it. I was 10 when we got her, even if the information needed were a valuable at the time, I doubt I would have been heard.

Recently, I researched the puppy farm that she came from. Not only are they still active, they boast about having 250 (yes, that's correct) bitches at all time, so there would always be puppies for those who are interested.

I think countries should follow the Dutch kennel club model: pedigree only issued after DNA testing the puppy.