Have you bought a pet from a classified ad site?

[four paws]

Have you bought a pet from a classified ad site?

FOUR PAWS is interested in your experience!!

There are many people who sell animals using classified ad sites, such as Gumtree, FreeAds, Dogs&puppies, Loot, Friday-Ad, Preloved, etc . Have you or your friends bought an animal online and had a bad experience? For example, the animal was ill, illegal, had fake paperwork, kept in poor conditions, or not as described in the advert? Then, please write to us!! We are looking for stories which we can use for our campaign work. Whether you bought a dog, cat, exotic pet, fish, bird or small mammal (i.e. rabbit), we are interested in hearing about your experience. Of course we treat your information confidentially and we’ll contact you before using or publishing your story.

Please share your story with us by sending an email to online-pets(at)vier-pfoten.org .Your support will help us make these sites more secure and protect animal welfare. To find out more about our work visit four-paws.org.uk

Please include in the email: the classified site you’ve used, the animal’s species/breed, a photo of your pet (if possible), date of purchase, your story, and if possible a copy/receipt of the online advert.

[LPC]

Warmest greetings! Please note that you created two identical threads, which is contrary to forum rules. Probably you did not realise that any thread by a new member which contains links is automatically sent for moderation by the system. I have now approved this thread, so it is viewable publicly.

I have deleted your duplicate thread and this one remains. I have looked at your website and was impressed.

I have no experience of buying an animal using a classified ad site. I have always got a pet from a shelter, or on occasions we were given an animal by a neighbour.

Getting a pet via a classified site is a bad idea: not only for the prospective genuine purchaser, but also for the seller. There have been quite a few cases in the press where pets have been bought for small sums by people who subsequently tortured and killed them. See, for example, the case of Nicolino Camardi: http://news.nationalpost.com/news/ca...month-sentence There are lots of others like that.

So I'm glad that you are publicising this issue. I really like your site, especially this page: http://www.four-paws.org.uk/sponsor-an-animal/

Many blessings to you for the work you are doing to help pets without homes!

[four paws]

Hello LPC,

Thank you for your support!!

Nowdays,more and more people buy pets online and some classified ad sites have none or vey little control on messages. These can seriously put a risk the welfare of the animal and buyers can end up with an illigal, ill, or harmed animal.

We agree with you, buying a pet online is not ideal. But if people want to get their animal through a claasified ad site then we want to make sure that both the buyer and the animal are safe. This is why this research is so important!!!

Apologies for posting the thread twice, I thought it didn't go through.

[Tobi]

Yes, thank you for all you do, Four Paws. I sincerely wish it was illegal to trade animals on classified ad sites! It would be impossible to trade hard drugs! And these are living creatures....and yes, unspeakable harm can happen to them. Also puppy mill breeders sell on these sites.

[Lurcher]

Thanks for highlighting this Four Paws, I am now following you on your social media sites.

[Mylo]

I haven't done this myself, but would be interested to read the article once it has been written. Please keep us updated!

[Bellaswan0010]

Yes, My friend buy a dog online. there are some issues with that dog which will be resolved later.So Here is some suggestion which you can follow when you buy a dog online.

• First get some information about the dog. This will help you to understand about his background and behavior.
• The age of dog should be between 8 weeks -15 years.
• Check the medical and behavioral problems of a dog .
• You also have to be thoughtful about the dog problems like aggression and medical issues.
• Study behavior of dog. He should not be extra aggressive in nature.

[andrea01]

Selling pets on classified ad sites is really trendy nowadays but I haven't buy any and I don't want to purchase one. I guess its better if you'll buy it on a pet shop instead, I am not saying that the websites that you have mention above is not credible enough, is just that I wanna see it on hand. Maybe it will always be best to conduct a research first before finalizing your decision.

[PreserveTheTiger]

I haven't personally but a few of my friends have and they've had no problems. As long as you go see the animal in person yourself, and ensure they have all their shots done and so on you should be fine. Plus you can save a lot of money buying off a classified site.

[Tampa Pest Control]

I don't get my pets through classifieds, but I don't think it's wrong to do so. As noted by PreserveTheTiger, as long as you can see proof of vaccinations, that's a good start. Many breeders sell their puppies through classifieds and most of them are legitimate and good to their animals. It's really up to the buyer to do their due diligence.