PHILADELPHIA- Anyone looking to buy a puppy should be aware of whom they are buying from, as bogus breeders are exposed at an alarming rate.
When Joy Schick's Yorkshire Terrier died, she wanted a new puppy, but her neighborhood pet store was too expensive.
"We just thought their prices were a little out of range. They wanted $3,000 for a Yorkie," said Schick.
Joy was relieved when she found a newspaper ad offering a purebred Yorkie for 400 dollars.
"I couldn't believe my eyes," said Schick.
There was an email address in the advertisement; however, there was no phone number listed.
Joy sent an email and started arranging to buy a new Yorkie. She had no idea how close she was to losing her money.
"Unfortunately, people looking for puppies have found themselves the victims of scams now," said Sue McConnell of the Better Business Bureau.
Scammers post ads in newspapers or set up websites selling purebreds from out of state at fire-sale prices, but the puppy never comes and the money is gone.
It's such a problem that the Better Business Bureau is issuing a consumer alert. "It's coming to our attention more and more," said McConnell.
It's also coming to the attention of legitimate breeders.
"I found a bunch of my dogs’ pictures that had been stolen off my website. I felt kind of vandalized, you know, that people were using my pictures to scam people out of money," said Sharon Pearson, breeder and member of the American Kennel Club.
There are several warning signs when trying to identify a bogus breeder.
The American Kennel Club says fake breeders generally don't accept personal checks and demand wired money.
Another warning sign is the promise to receive your puppy within 24 hours.
"The puppies have to be at least eight weeks old before they can send them to their new owner. So, anyone that says they have a variety of different breeds ready to go within 24 hours, it's highly unlikely there's an actual litter behind that," said Lisa Peterson of the American Kennel Club.
Joy Schick got suspicious and she wisely bought her new dog, Freddie, from a breeder close to home.
"We got Freddie for $1250 and, of course I would have paid double for that. He's very loving," said Schick.
If you get scammed by a bogus breeder, the Better Business Bureau warns you may be out of luck recovering your cash, because bogus breeders mostly operate out of Africa.
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