Puppy scammers are some of the worst human beings on the planet in my opinion! They prey on people’s love of and compassion for animals, especially dogs.
I hope this post and others that I’ve written over the years will help prevent just one person from getting scammed by these despicable people.
just one of many stories
An Ohio grandmother discovered someone selling teacup Chihuahuas and believed she had found the puppies of her dreams. However, her excitement turned to doubt after months passed and multiple payments were sent, leaving her wondering if she would ever receive the puppies or get her money back.
She expressed her frustration to a local news station, asking, “What is the reason for taking someone’s hard-earned money and breaking their hearts? I can think of no apparent reason.”
She chose to remain anonymous, as she had not told her family that she had spent nearly all her savings trying to get a dog. Like many others searching for a pet, she began her journey by looking online for “teacup Chihuahua puppies.” Having grown up with Chihuahuas, she had her heart set on owning one again.
the puppy scam:
She found a seller (puppy scammer) that was ready to give her puppies away. She gave a price of $300.00 each. The grandmother thought that was a pretty good price for Chihuahuas. The seller told her that she needed money to drive the puppies to where the woman lived.
She thought that was a reasonable request. So she sent her the money. The woman claimed her car broke down and asked for more money to fix it for the trip.
So the grandmother paid her even more money. Then the seller told her that another woman was going to deliver the puppies to her.
The sellers repeatedly demanded more money through gift cards and CashApp payments while bombarding the woman with hundreds of emails and text messages. They exploited her compassion for dogs, claiming the puppies were trapped in cages until she paid.
“Chihuahuas only weigh about five pounds, they’re not very big, so it doesn’t take that much for them to starve,” she said. She filed a police report, but officers couldn’t reach the scammers. According to her, the officers warned that anyone requesting payment through gift cards is usually running a scam since those payments cannot be traced.