Isolated and thinking about buying a dog? Read this first
Ana Goncalves Costa with her dog Nina and cat Cisco
People are desperately seeking companionship during the COVID-19 pandemic, so it鈥檚 no surprise there has been a surge in the number of Australians looking for a new furry friend.
But alumna Ana Goncalves Costa (Bachelor of Science Hon (Animal Science), 2019), lead author of , is warning us to be super vigilant when searching online for a pet because of the risk of puppy farms and fake advertisements.
Puppy farms are commercial dog breeding facilities where puppies are kept in appalling conditions. The animals from these farms are sold via any channel, such as the internet, newspaper ads or pet shops, which prevents the buyer seeing the horrific conditions in which the dogs are bred.
聽鈥淚 don鈥檛 know anyone who wants to support puppy farms in any way, but online sales have such an inherent lack of transparency that we can accidently buy from them and not even know. They鈥檙e not good for the dogs, and they鈥檙e not good for us,鈥 said Ana.
According to , people aged 25鈥34 reportedly lost the most money to scam ads pretending to sell puppies, with women three times more likely than men to get caught out by fake ads.
聽鈥淎 scam ad is from someone who is not a breeder and doesn鈥檛 have a dog. They are pretending to have a dog and just want to get your money and have no intention of sending you an animal,鈥 said Ana.
鈥淪cammers sometimes say they are based interstate and you have to pay for transporting a dog. On the other side of a scam ad, there is a person who intends to take your money and disappear off the face of the earth once the money transfer is made.鈥
It is not easy to spot scams ads or animals from puppy farm breeders.聽 Ana has a few tips on things prospective canine parents can do before they buy:
- In SA, all dogs should be microchipped prior to sale, and young pups generally have a breeder ID number
- South Australian breeders are legally bound to provide a breeder ID in advertisements. Cross check breeder ID on beforehand. Ana also cautions that being registered as a breeder in South Australia does not necessarily guarantee any minimum level of welfare for the parents or the pup, but it鈥檚 a good start in your research.
- with the photo of the puppy to ensure the photo wasn鈥檛 stolen from another ad. Ana said, 鈥淪cam ads often steal photos from other legitimate advertisements. And they might pick high quality photos or really 鈥榗andid鈥 home shots, so you can never tell a scam by the photo alone.鈥
- Always meet the pup in their natural habitat. Ana warns, 鈥淪ellers not wanting you to see the animals in their house/facility, wanting to meet in a carpark, or between your house and their house, means you don鈥檛 know what conditions the dog has been raised in. Also, scammers often ask for payment prior to transporting a puppy, without the puppy ever arriving.鈥澛
- Try to meet the mum and dad of the pup and investigate the health history of both parents if you can. Ana suggests that ideally both parent dogs should be friendly, calm, happy, healthy looking dogs
Vigilance is key when you鈥檙e looking for your next 鈥渂est friend鈥 online. Ana鈥檚 final piece of advice: 鈥淚f something doesn鈥檛 feel right, trust your instincts and reconsider the sale.鈥
During the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever to support animal shelters, so if you鈥檙e looking for a new dog please consider adoption.