Craigslist warning

[LucyJane]

I wanted to pass along a warning about a situation that has been going on with my area Craigslist. People have been taking in "free to good home" animals, (especially small and furry, including guinea pigs, rabbits, and ferrets) and then immediately turning around and selling them, or as they put it, adopting them out for a (hefty) "rehoming fee". No, I am not talking about legit rescues who take in animals and care for them at their own expense until they are able to be adopted. I'm talking about immediate turnaround, sometimes 24 hours.

Be careful. Things are not always as they seem, especially on the anonymous internet.

[wiggley_narco]

I am outraged! I am attempting to rehome several puppies for my friend... and I was actually contacted by one of these losers not even five minutes ago. It was obvious what he/she was trying to do. Watch out, everyone!

[steve_and_pigs]

Wow, a rescue that can find homes for animals in under a day, and get a hefty fee for them as well. That's quite impressive! I bet every rescue wishes it was that efficient!

Really, a rescue must have an animal long enough to at least determine its health. Some rescues do same-day adoptions, especially for owners that have read materials, applications, contracts, or are experienced.

Is this a rescue with low standards, or are they selling the small surrenders for snake food? Can you provide some pointers to some of these craigslist posts? How do you know that this is happening? Can you give more details? Are they profiting by charging the large fees on breeds/individuals that are more desirable, and would be expensive to buy from a breeder? Are they dumping less profitable surrenders?

Or perhaps this is a well intentioned individual that is just ill informed? Maybe they can be directed towards some helpful info?

I hate to sound skeptical, but you're making some pretty strong accusations, and not giving much details. Craigslist has a mechanism for reporting scam/unscrupulous posts, but they will ask for details.

I could see how someone might think this activity is just fine. Heck, they are finding new homes for these animals, right? Is there an established organization that has a document which defines criteria for animal rescue standards? Such a document would certainly help in making a complaint.

If you could determine their address, you could also file a complaint with animal control if you suspect that the animals are being cared for inappropriately. If you like adventure, you could also do some investigating by visiting for adoption and case the place.

Or maybe you're already on top of it, and just sending out a warning without getting into the specifics.

[babybunny]

As I understood it LucyJane was warning about individuals rather than rescue groups. I could be wrong though.

[fourboys4now]

In the Tennessee and Georgia craigslist, I have been seeing a lot of listings for free guinea pigs, rabbits, etc. That makes me nervous, I would be worried it would be someone wanting to get for feeding purposes.

[wiggley_narco]

This is my correspondence with one such individual. I had set a $15 adoption fee for a Labrador puppy.

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From JENNIFER: " hello,i saw your ad on the pet and it fits what i
have been searching for and i will handle shipment of it to My base . .do you accept cashier checks as a method of payment.sorry if i may ask,is this your personal pet .what is the condition like? Well reply with your final asking price,so that i can commence payment immediately"

From ME: "Could you please tell me on which site you found my ad? Also, which pet is it exactly that you are interested in?"

From JENNIFER: "it is the pet found when i did web search. i would like to recieve it immediately."

From ME: "Well, I would love to help you out, but I need to know which pet you are interested in. I have several different animals listed for adoption. Also, will this pet primarily be used for companionship, protection, show, breeding, or something else?"

From JENNIFER: "Am highly interested in all pets. Send list of pets, names, and conditions plus adoption fee so Can Commit to buy."

********************************

Well, you guys get the general picture. She had no idea what she was buying and didn't care, as long as it was really cheap (so she could make profit off of it). When I emailed her back and told her I was selling a mixed puppy and the adoption fee would be $50 (lie... hehe), she immediately said she was only interested in dogs/cats under $20 each and small pets (ferrets, rabbits, guinea pigs, etc.) under $10. What a jerk! I knew exactly what she was trying to pull!

If you're trying to rehome a pet, watch out. These people couldn't care less about the pet--they're just looking to make money.

[piggly wiggly]

I would suggest for puppies an adoption fee of atleast $100, or more, maybe $200. Then if you find a really nice person, after you approve them for adoption you could lower if you wanted, but don't let them know you will lower it, until after screening them. This way you weed out some of the bad apples just by the listing price. Plus for a puppy, I think a $100 adoption fee is more than reasonable. A $15 adoption fee, is kind of asking for trouble. Most everybody can afford that, and who knows what they will be like.

[LucyJane]

What I was referring to are not rescues. People have placed animals with what they thought were permanent family homes, and then seen ads within a day or two that look very familiar. Upon following up, they are finding out that it is the same animal, now with a "rehoming fee" attached. When called about it, they have said, "Oh, I already found a (whatever animal it is) so I am just giving this one to a new home." Or the standard, "It didn't work out." They haven't signed a contract of any kind, such as you would with a rescue or shelter, so there's nothing to say that they can't rehome that animal again.

Technically, I don't think this is illegal, just slimy. As far as I can tell, no rules are broken, because if you take an animal, you own that animal, and are free to rehome that animal if you wish. I would just warn people to be very careful about whom you are giving your animal to - are you sure this person is who they say they are? Do they have references? And in taking an animal, are you sure you are dealing with an owner, not just a "rehomer"? (Again here, I am not talking about rescue groups. I am talking about people who present themselves as owners.) Do they have vet records with their name on them? And I know it's been said often, but it bears repeating: don't say "Free to good home." It's asking for trouble.

[wiggley_narco]

Originally Posted by piggly wiggly

I would suggest for puppies an adoption fee of atleast $100, or more, maybe $200. Then if you find a really nice person, after you approve them for adoption you could lower if you wanted, but don't let them know you will lower it, until after screening them. This way you weed out some of the bad apples just by the listing price. Plus for a puppy, I think a $100 adoption fee is more than reasonable. A $15 adoption fee, is kind of asking for trouble. Most everybody can afford that, and who knows what they will be like.

The problem with that is that these aren't my puppies--they are an accidental litter of 7 mutts that my friend is taking to the pound next week (much to my dismay, I can't convince her otherwise)! And, since the pound in my county is sooo overcrowded, they're almost guaranteed to be put down. Believe me, I'm definitely screening all potential adopters. I've found 1 suitable one, whereas I've turned down 3 already! But the $15 adoption fee is simply a little bit better alternative to the "free to a good home approach." Mutts without shots and full of worms won't get adopted out for a high fee. But I understand what you're saying--trust me, all potential adopters have to go through me and my high standards before they are approved!

[LucyJane]

Here's an example of what I meant:

Quote:
"Everyone watch out there is a couple out of ******* (edit: I have deleted town name here - Lucy) who adopted my two ferrets, promising to give them all the love and attention they need. Well come to find out not a week later i find a weird post for two ferrets with only a phone #. Well the ferrets got sold after I gave them away for free. This is the most immoral thing ive ever seen. If they werent happy YOU SHOULD HAVE CALLED AND I WOULD HAVE TAKEN THEM BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!! We turned down a family with a small child who wanted them because this couple came to us and seemed so excited to add them to their home. This makes me so upset to my stomach its not even funny. Keep your eyes out everyone there are scammers here trying to turn a buck. IF you read this you know who you are!!!!!!!!!!! Update, this made me so upset I went back and looked and they also just sold a guinee pig with its cage for 30.00, why are these people adopting pets if they dont want them. Its cruel to take them promising a good home and turn around and sell them to turn a buck!!!!!!!!!!"
End quote.

[steve_and_pigs]

If you can gather evidence showing that these individuals or couples specifically misrepresent themselves as adopters, and are "flipping" multiple pets on a regular basis, I would file a complaint with Craigslist. Craigslist has their own rules defining what is illegitimate, and this might violate those standards. It doesn't have to be illegal to get their posts removed.

Also, this sounds like good advice for "posts to watch out for" in general.
The page http://www.cavyspirit.com/surrendering.htm has a link to "[FONT=arial, Arial, Helvetica][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=2]How to Find a Home for your Guinea Pig", but the link is dead. It would be really good to get this info onto a permanent advice page or a sticky thread, such as the "About Rehoming" thread in this sub-forum.

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[piggly wiggly]

As for the puppies, can you find an all breed rescue near you to take them? There are usually all breed rescues, or love for canines or something like these that take in "mutts" or mixed breeds. Also, if they are a mix of only two breeds but show a more dominant representation of one breed, sometimes that breed rescue will take them. For instance, if they were a mix of Miniature pinscher and chihuahua, but looked more like the min pin, our rescue would still take them. You could try that route also. Good Luck with them, I hope they find great homes.

[LucyJane]

Originally Posted by stephenlawrence

If you can gather evidence showing that these individuals or couples specifically misrepresent themselves as adopters, and are "flipping" multiple pets on a regular basis, I would file a complaint with Craigslist. Craigslist has their own rules defining what is illegitimate, and this might violate those standards. It doesn't have to be illegal to get their posts removed.

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Thanks for the advice. I went to reply to this poster and pass it on (Just for clarity, these are not my ferrets - I was quoting) but the post has been deleted. On the same day that the ferret post went up, there was another similar post about a rabbit which led to a heated exchange with the adopter/rehomer, and several other complaints, including one about an exotic bird, directed towards the same person. They are all down now, so I have to assume that the situation has been addressed.

I just recently started reading Craigslist (welcome to the 21st century, huh?) I am happy to hear that they do have some internal controls in place.

You're right, anyone rehoming a pet or taking in a pet from a private person would be wise to educate themselves and use caution. I'm glad there are sites like this one with links and advice about both sides of rehoming.

[WICharlie]

Just to let you know, the one person that you dealt with was a scammer. The person has no intention of taking the animal. How it works is that they offer to pay you by check and then tell you to arrange to ship the animal. Then they say that they want to send you a check for much more than the animal is worth because they have someone else in the area that they also want to pay for something. They send you the check (which is phony, but looks real enough to fool you) and then they ask if you will forward the excess to the address they give you. Then you take REAL money from your checking account and send it. They string you along until they get your check cashed, and then they disappear. This a classic scammer. Most of the time the person you are dealing with isn't even in the US. So don't fall for this.

I have no doubt that there are also people out there who take in animals offered for free and reoffer them for sale though (or take them as feeders or baiters). It's why people should always ask for an adoption fee and should always carefully screen would-be-adopters.

You know what a feeder is...do you know what a baiter is? It's a rabbit/guinea pig/cat/dog that someone takes to use to "bait" to get fighting dogs riled up during a fight (or to teach them to fight in the first place). It means a horrible death for that animal. And they just LOVE Craigslist as a way to get bait for free.

[LucyJane]

Originally Posted by WICharlie

You know what a feeder is...do you know what a baiter is? It's a rabbit/guinea pig/cat/dog that someone takes to use to "bait" to get fighting dogs riled up during a fight (or to teach them to fight in the first place). It means a horrible death for that animal. And they just LOVE Craigslist as a way to get bait for free.

This hurts my heart so much! The city closest to me has a HUGE dogfighting problem, so I cringe every time I see "free cat". There is also a big problem here with unwanted pit bulls having to be put down. SAD! In the hands of a responsible, loving, eduated owner, a pit bull can be a fantastic dog. But once they have been fought, they will never be safe again.

Thanks for warning people.

[blairie]

A pet store out here solicits on craigslist and says that they'll take in your unwanted cats, etc. They wound up with four tiny babies that needed to be bottlefed and they had no clue what to do with them. We drove down there to take them in, and when we said we were there to pick them up, the manager suggested we should look at them first to make sure we'd like them. To us, it didn't matter if they were sick or healthy, what color they were, etc. We just wanted to get them out of there, get food in their bellies, and take care of them. After we got home, my sister started an intense post war with them on CL and they said that if they'd known what "kind of people" were taking the kittens, they wouldn't have let us.

A year later, they're still soliciting cats on craigslist then selling them at their pet store without shots, etc. One of the kittens we took in was too sick and didn't make it, one kitten was adopted, and I have two gorgeous adult black cats that nobody wants to adopt. But they're healthy, well-fed, and available for adoption with a no-kill cat rescue.