Aibu to be massively panicking about a pup I bought yesterday? European passport

[Ohforgodsake000]

Very stupidly bought a dog yesterday who came with a pet passport issued in Latvia.
All vaccines were stamped in the book and micro chipping also in there.
Thought nothing Of it until I mentioned to a police friend who said this is one of the biggest scams going and he probably doesn't have any vaccines including rabies and threadworm which he could now transfer to my kids.
I feel sick with worry.
What a stupid idiot I am.
No vets will see him as he's not yet registered and its now emergencies only.

They aren't bought/sold over the Internet exactly though are they? As in paid for and delivered in the post (actually that probably happens sometimes and I would agree that is wrong.)

You speak to the owner/breeder/prospective purchaser, can request references if you want, can check out home selling/buying

It's just an internet advertisement.

We're talking about dogs which perhaps is slightly different in terms of puppy farming but how do you think people buy and sell horses for example? Occasionally by word of mouth or magazines but now largely by internet advertising. How else would they?

Is dog baiting so rife that every single dog rehomed privately by a responsible owner who speaks to new owners first and sees their home ends up with their dog becoming victim to criminal activity?!

@VivienneWestwoodsKnickers - agree entirely

SilentlyScreaming - you know as well as I do there was no emergency. We wanted to get a kitten, but considered rescue cats. I searched for a while online and didn't see one so we chose to buy a pet instead. I don't see that there is any obligation to wait for any length of time for a rescue pet if there isn't likely to be one come available.

It's not just dog baiting. It's not just puppy farming.

I could go on Gumtree and get a dog for £50. Can I afford, long term, the upkeep, potential vet costs, of that dog? Can I afford a dog walker for when I'm at work all day? Dog training classes?

Not at this stage in my life, no.

Would it get on with my cat? Well, I've got no idea.

My point is, I'd dearly love a dog but I know I'm not a suitable owner right now.

But I can easily obtain one by going online. Do you think that's right?

For those who imagine that they are doing a good thing by rehoming dogs advertising online, you're really just perpetuating the problem of feckless fuckwits buying puppy after puppy and passing them on when they stop being cute.

People should no more be getting rid of their inconvenience pets than they should their inconvenient children. In fact I'd be a little more sympathetic towards those getting rid of 'no fault of their own' children; no one ever buys a puppy by accident.

Pet ownership isn't compulsory, don't get a dog unless you can commit to it for the rest of its life, including its secure accomadation. Don't knowingly get a dog that's a genetic mess.

@HarrietKettleWasHere You could just as easily buy a £800 labrador puppy from a friend of a friend - which wasnt advertised online - because it's cute then have all the same issues. There's no difference where the idiot finds the animal they go on to neglect or underestimate. The result is the same.

Well, no, because I can't afford the £800 puppy!

I could afford £50 if I fancied getting a dog on a whim though.

@SilentlyScreamingAgain so what would you suggest they do with the dog? Put it down? Release it in the countryside? Continue to neglect, abuse, mistreat them? Continue to lock them in filthy yards, underfed, never walked, not looked after, not allowed indoors and going stir crazy?

Because that's the only alternative I can see.

Is dog baiting so rife that every single dog rehomed privately by a responsible owner who speaks to new owners first and sees their home ends up with their dog becoming victim to criminal activity?!

If you imagine that it needs to be ever single dog to be a problem, then you're not much of a animal lover.

I don't see that there is any obligation to wait for any length of time for a rescue pet if there isn't likely to be one come available.

No, you don't understand that getting a pet isn't something that should be done on a whim and that's why you've had to rehome an animal. Your behaviour is feckless and I hope you learn from it. A cat who is used to dog is hardly rocking horse shit, about 25% of cats in rescue are suited to being rehome with dogs because the type who collect baby animals are exactly the type who send their pets to rescue.

I love that the medium of internet advertising is being blamed for all ills of pet ownership.

HarrietKettle, you could also easily obtain a dog from a decorated reputable breeder with a waiting list.

SilentlyScreaming, who has said they rehomed a dog because they no longer fancied dog ownership or dog was no longer a puppy? Sounds irresponsible to me too but irrelevant to internet advertising.

It's a bit insulting to say that nobody is capable of assessing a private home before rehoming a pet, for a good genuine reason. That's all charities do, and if in a position to I'd rather make arrangements for the pet myself than offload onto an overstretched charity. If however I needed to rehome urgently then I agree a charity would be better than selling to "just anyone" in a hurry.

So are horses different?

Rescues exist. Of course they shouldn't be releasing in into the wild.
If people didn't fecklessly buy and sell animals over the Internet maybe they would use their brains, do a bit of research and actually make sensible decisions.
Marmite. Of course a cat would come up that could live with your dog. You chose not to wait. I wanted kittens. I knew it would upset my older cat. So I didn't get them. I wanted a dog. I knew it would upset my older cat. So I waited. For years.

no, my point of you care to acknowledge it is that I couldn't afford to purchase an £800 dig from a breeder.

A good breeder rightfully wouldn't sell me one anyway as a) I'm an inexperienced dog owner b) my lifestyle isn't suitable.

Someone on Gumtree though might not be that bothered if I rock up with £50 and a few promises, though.

I would suggest that the dogs are put into rescue, so that they can be rehome with a suitable, vetted, new owner, after they have been neutered, so that the whole cycle isn't started again. The problem needs to be cut off at its source.

I'd also like to see the dog license reintroduced at a couple of hundred pounds a years, for it to be strictly enforced and a limit on the number of dog any household can own.

I'd rather see dogs euthanised in large numbers than being left to be neglected and abused. We have far more dogs than we have decent dog owners.

SilentlyScreaming, I do know that a pet shouldn't be bought on a whim.

I grew up on a farm and have had dogs, cats and horses most of my life, apart from when I wasn't in a position to properly. I have rehomed one cat, once, for circumstances already explained. I've not learnt any lesson but I do hope you learn to think whether you know full situations before making statements like that.

I believe animals should be rehomed responsibly but that doesn't necessarily exclude the internet purely as a medium of advertising.

Please explain what a rescue does in terms of assessing new homes more than I could (CRB check maybe) and why it is more responsible to ask a charity to rehome your pet for you than to yourself?

Probably missing something here but why would anyone ever buy a dog or a cat from a breeder - just to have a fancy trendy style - when there are so many needing homes? We have just got our second beautiful rescue cat and know she has been checked thoroughly, innoculated, spayed and insured. What is the desperate need to be so 'in' ?? Several people I know have recently dashed out to spend hundreds on these cockerpoos! Just don't understand it.

SilentlyScreaming, who has said they rehomed a dog because they no longer fancied dog ownership or dog was no longer a puppy? Sounds irresponsible to me too but irrelevant to internet advertising.

No God no, they never actually say that, they come up with a load of self justifying bullshit. For example you said that you needed to rehome a pet but not in a hurry. You were able to keep the pet until you found 'a good home through word of mouth'. I fail to understand how you could both need to be rid of a pet and keep it until a suitable owner turned up. Either you could keep the animal or you couldn't.

I find it quite disturbing that there are posters who are trying to defend this. You sound like Happy Hooker punters.

Horses are different. It's not such a big market, it's a lot less profitable and buyers generally know what they're doing. Not like the OP (despite her 'having owned bulldogs all her life').

Cats aren't as profitable.

The reason there are so many crap dog sellers and puppy farmers is because there are people like the OP who will pay close on £2k for a shit dog with horrible health problems because they're fashionable.

And there are people like you who think they are saving a dog from a terrible fate.

You are perpetuating the trade. There's a woman on my local selling pages who has lots of pets who she has to unfortunately rehome due to a change of circumstances.

You're a fucking idiot if you believe that.

1. Rescues communicate with each other about those collecting 'bait dogs'

1. Rescues communicate with each other about those acquiring multiple pets.

1. Rescues keep lists of those who relinquish ownership of their animals.

1. Rescues homecheck, including ensuring those in rented accomadation have their landlords permission to keep pets.

1. Rescues provide ongoing support to ensure that the transition into a new home works.

1. Rescues will take the animal back if the rehoming process is unsessesful.

How many of those services were you able to provide?

Just to be clear, I am not defending puppy farming, irresponsible pet ownership or the like. I'm simply saying that the internet advertising itself isn't at fault. It's daft to think it is.

Reputable breeders advertise online too, but people must be sensible about what they are buying and where their pets come from to stop perpetuating the trade.

And I could wait because I could keep pets separate short term but not a long term viable solution. I too would have taken pet back if necessary, and helped with transition - though it's true I don't have access to intelligence about dog baiting etc

Which cat behaviourist did you consult about assimilating the cat you rehome do with your other pets?

I'm not trying to be unkind I'm just curious as to why you imagine you'd be in a position to help someone else assimilate your cat into their household when you weren't able to do so in your own.

@MarmiteandToast: Reputable breeders advertise online too

No. No they don't. FFS, I don't know if you're a bit thick or if you're being willfully obtuse but a reputable breeder doesn't need to advertise online. Our breeder matched the puppies with potential owners. She had more potential owners than she did puppies.

OP what happened? Hows is your dog?

I suspect that if the OP had been told by the vet today that she had a happy, healthy animal she would have been quick to post and prove everyone wrong. Sadly, I think that poor little dog will not have a happy ending. I'd really love to be wrong though.