Dogzone puppy scam and scams in general

Nononolan · 21-03-2011 11:31am #1

Hi,

Just seeing if anyone else has come across this before. I sent an email to an advert on dogzone.ie Enquiring about the bouvier des flandres pups they had for sale in Roscommon http://www.dogzone.ie/pups-for-sale/bouvier-des-flandres. The email I received in reply was a carbon copy (bar a few details about location and owners occupation) to one I had received a few months back when I enquired on muamat.com about a different breed. Same wording, referring to the pups as babies....the same unfortunate story of being unable to care for them as they work away for long periods and the same punchline.....send the money and we ll ship the dog to you!

The dogzone.ie website seems to have a fair amount of unusual breeds at below average prices and there are quiet a few breeds with the same contact address http://www.dogzone.ie/pups-for-sale/airedale-terrier/airedale-terrier-black-and-tan. The link has the same email address as the bouvier des
Flandres.

Has anyone else experienced this or heaven forbid paid them.
Also the email reply I received about the bouvier is quiet long so I wont post it here but if anyone wants to see it and compare then I can pm it.

andreac · 21-03-2011 11:52am

There are no pups and there never will be on these types of sites.
Please dont use these sites as a means to find a pedigree pup.

Contact breed clubs or the IKC for a list of breeders.

mymo · 21-03-2011 11:52am

There are loads of these scams online, and people do fall for them, otherwise they wouldn't bother keeping them going.

The internet is not really a good place to look for a dog, if its a certain breed you want try the IKC website for breed club details, or go to a show and ask around. Find a breeder and ask lots of questions, check for whatever health tests should be done for that breed, see the parents of any pups, and where they are kept. They should be friendly, not shy and not mind noise and movements.

A lot of websites are used by puppy farmers to advertise their pups, they won't say thats what they are, so you need to research the breed and read up about what to look for in a pup.

Never meet someone to collect a pup unless you have seen it in the home before hand, and know its been raised right.
Always ask to see certs for health tests and IKC registration (any other registration like canine Ireland is useless) of both parents, and get the pups cert with the pup.

Please don't fall for the you don't need the papers if you're not showing, if they aren't registering the pups its for a reason, over breeding or not what they say are just two reasons.

Chris_Heilong · 21-03-2011 11:52am

They do the same for Cars also, mostly Foreigners in a 3rd world country trying to get people to send them money, The car one involves them sending you a cheque with more than the asking price, you are asked to lodge it and pay a shipper who calls to your door the balance, thing is the bank gives you an advance on the cheque which after 7 days does not clear in which time "the shipper" has ran away with your car and money.

paula ws. · 21-03-2011 5:09pm

They are still advertising many breeds of dog and using a scam of pet courier services, if it had not been for a pet courier service in northern ireland putting out an alert on its site we could have bn caught out. Dog zone site did not respond to reports.

Nononolan · 22-03-2011 11:22pm

It looks like quiet a polished site and it was only the prices that caught my attention. I sent an email out of curiosity, good to be aware. Thanks for the replies.

yaddadadda · 06-04-2011 3:26pm

I emailed them last night and got this reply:

Hi there ,
thanks for the interest and love towards my babies ..,They are still available,a Spectacular pure breed KC registered puppies .they are still left 2 female and 1 male puppies with all shots,potty and toilet trained,vaccines and vet records updated.In placing my puppies for re-homing,I am looking for reasonable,knowledgeable and cautious person who can offer tenderness,nursery with lots of love kisses and hugs.These adorable,cute and gorgeous babies are 11weeks 2 days old and would be the perfect match for you.They will be the best playmate you've ever dream off.With great personality and good temperaments with kids and other pets. They will be coming along with vet records,and all KC registration papers attached to their package with lots of play toys. i will also enclose handbook and feeding booklet to their package ok.They are Registered Pedigree Health Guarantee, Certificate of Veterinary Inspection, Micro-Chipped (In case ever lost or stolen), Current on all vaccinations,De Wormed, Puppy Packet (Toys, Dog bones, Vaccination schedule and history, Crate Training info and Potty Training info.Promise me that you would shower lots of TLC .And i would never like that my baby should end up in a shelter or rescue,feel free to mail me.If you are willing to get one of the puppies,please .If you have any more question to ask i will answer you truthfully and faithfully .I would like to ask you some few questions if you do not mind..I am really searching for a lovely home for my babies and this is because i am very occupied with work at the moment,I work with the timber exploitation company which entails a lots of traveling from one country to another or county,And my work programs takes much of my time now, i go to work in the morning and back by 9:30pm at night time so i really do feel bad when the babies are left alone at home all day,so am after an urgent home for them.I was transferred here in Glasgow Scotland,for work purpose.so i am now in Glasgow Scotland with the lovely babies. They have gone through all house training and will make a great pet for your family, since they like the company of kids and other house hold pets.each will cost you just €250 including microchip and delivery. .

I will like to know the following from you;;;

were are you located?

Do you have kids?

Do you have a garden at your home or large yard?

how soon do you need one,

what sex do you need,or will you love to have both sex??

have you any pet experience?

are you a breeder?

what is your occupation?

sorry for all the questions,is just that really looking for a care an urgent home for my babies.get back to us for pics ,hope you will love and greatly welcome one at your home and show lots of TLC.

plz get back to me

for more details on how to get the baby okay.
Best Regards.
God bless you.

On closer inspection of the site, we noticed that all of the people are the same, with the same size litter for the dogs, same colour....
Fortunately, because she made herself out to be such a freak and was willing to bring the dog to us, alarm bells started ringing and we won't be following it up.

andreac · 06-04-2011 3:31pm

Please dont look for a pedigree puppy off any of those types of sites, they are all dodgy and full of scammers and puppy farmers.

yaddadadda · 06-04-2011 4:28pm

No def won't - I'm not necessarily after a pedigree - I just don't want any that may have come from a farm, and I don't want to be scammed. I've contacted a reputable breeder to get some help finding a pup.

andreac · 06-04-2011 4:39pm

yaddadadda wrote: »

No def won't - I'm not necessarily after a pedigree - I just don't want any that may have come from a farm, and I don't want to be scammed. I've contacted a reputable breeder to get some help finding a pup.

Where did you locate or source the breeder from if you dont mind me asking?

yaddadadda · 06-04-2011 4:46pm

We found a breeder online: www.dalstar.ie

andreac · 06-04-2011 4:51pm

Ah well done, i know of these people as ive seen them at shows so you will be fine with this breeder.:)
So its a Wheaten Terrier or Kerry Blue you are after is it?

yaddadadda · 06-04-2011 5:07pm

We're after a wheaten terrier (or wheaten terrier cross). We don't want a show dog or one to breed, just a good natured family pup that will get on with kids and other dogs in the village, and like going to the beach. We've researched a lot of breeds and this one seems to be the type that will fit in and be happy with us. Can you suggest anyone else who might be able to help us in our search?

php.allstar · 22-05-2011 6:53pm

Hi,

My name is Simon, I'm the owner of DogZone.ie

My attention was drawn to this post when I was googling "dogzone.ie".

I'm ashamed that this is my first post, and that it appears I am forced to post in an attempt to redeem my site...I hope to get involved in more threads on boards soon....

Anyway...

DogZone.ie was indeed abused by scam artists in an attempt to con people out of their money.

Due to personal reasons (follow and read link below) I had to turn my back on the site for a few months. During this period, I didn't moderate any ads that were added. Unfortunately, scammers started bombarding the site with fake ads at this time.

I know of two people that actually fell for the scam and parted with their money, there could be a lot more that I didn't hear about.

I had to revisit the site, put a notice up and decided to spend some time fixing the site.

I bought a new classified ads management system and implemented it on the now version 2 of the site. I removed all ads and switched version 2 live yesterday.

I now have to approve all ads before they go live. I perform several checks to ensure that the ads are not scam ads and have a few measures in place to help identify puppy farmers. These measures aren't fool-proof, but I'll do my best to prevent scam ads and puppy farm ads going up in future.

Please feel free to read this article (about us) on my site to help you make your own mind up if you want to use my site or not.

BengaLover · 22-05-2011 7:01pm

I HATE these scammers, they are all over done deal, in almost every category but mostly electronics, cars and pets.
I replied to one of these pet ads to waste their time once, and replied feigning interest in a schitzu, but in the ad replied that i would rather have a shnauzer, and surprise surprise, they were breeders of shnauzers too!:mad::mad::mad:

Madame Razz · 22-05-2011 7:05pm

yaddadadda wrote: »

We're after a wheaten terrier (or wheaten terrier cross). We don't want a show dog or one to breed, just a good natured family pup that will get on with kids and other dogs in the village, and like going to the beach. We've researched a lot of breeds and this one seems to be the type that will fit in and be happy with us. Can you suggest anyone else who might be able to help us in our search?

I know it's a Wheaten terrier that you are looking for, but this rescue have this fabulous Kerry Blue girl looking for a home:

https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=10150165095108917&set=a.129313293916.105598.129307968916&type=1&theater

Just might be something you would consider:)

Chris_Heilong · 22-05-2011 7:32pm

Breeders also breed pet quality pups, they should be a lot cheaper than their show quality equivalents but I have heard of some breeders selling all their pups at the same price regardless of pet or show.

php.allstar · 22-05-2011 7:34pm

Good point chris.

Sounds like I could have my work cut out for me trying to distinguish between ads.

We'll see how it goes sure.

lrushe · 22-05-2011 10:14pm

Chris_Heilong wrote: »

Breeders also breed pet quality pups, they should be a lot cheaper than their show quality equivalents but I have heard of some breeders selling all their pups at the same price regardless of pet or show.

Just to elaborate on this - Breeders shouldn't be breeding pet quality pups purposely, there are of course some born in every litter however it would be hard to tell behind a very obvious flaw if an eight week old pup is pet or show quality. A good breeder would also put as much time, effort and money into every pup in a litter and thusly would be charging the same for each pup as they all cost the same to raise. It is possible however for a breeder to have older pups or young adults which someone could purchase for a cheper price if they have proven that the dog was definately only pet quality.

Dogzone puppy scam and scams in general

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