In the September issue of Whole Dog Journal, author/trainer/training editor Pat Miller describes how she obtained the latest canine addition to her family – via a posting on Craigslist. She wrote:
“Look – I have warned people about the very real and significant dangers of trying to sell or adopt pets through Craigslist. Scammers get dogs for free or cheap from unsuspecting owners, and then charge exorbitant fees to adopt them to others as “rescues.” Or worse, hoard or abuse them.
“But I would be at the other end of the equation. I would be a responsible human trying to adopt a dog for our legitimate home, perhaps even saving a dog from one of those awful fates.”
I recently advised another friend to look on Craigslist, too. My friend Mike is looking for a young dog (not a puppy), who is between 30 and 40 pounds (he and his partner live in a tiny house, but have always had bigger dogs and don’t want a small one), and who has a very short coat (they live in the Sierra foothills, where there are lots of stickers and ticks). He and his partner have been scouring shelters and rescue groups for months without finding just the right dog. I am proud of their patience, because they take being responsible owners very seriously; their new dog, when they find him or her, will be very well cared for. But they also are retired, and they don’t want what could conceivably be the last part of their lives burdened with a dog who is unsuited for them. The perfect dog for them has not popped up in a shelter just yet, so I suggested that they also look at Craigslist posts for dogs who need new homes – and I went looking there, too.
Be forewarned, though: Looking at the “pets” section of any city’s or area’s Craigslist page can be upsetting, not least because of the sheer number of people who are looking to rehome their dogs for any of a host of reasons. At least they are trying to find a new home for their dogs, and some people, apparently, do find great new homes for their companions – look at Pat Miller!
However, in order read the listings for individual dogs in need of homes, you have to wade through dozens of ads from backyard breeders. The more time I spend on Craigslist, the more angry and aggravated I get.
Why so mad? Well, according to Craigslist’s terms of service, “the sale of pets is prohibited, though re-homing with small adoption fees is acceptable.” We’ve seen “small adoption fee” described as the approximate amount of money that the lister has spent very recently on the animal’s care, but the fact is, there is no formal limit as to what comprises a “small adoption fee” – and so, perhaps due to the lack of either definitions or enforcement, listings for dogs and puppies (and every other type of companion animal) are present by the dozen on any local Craigslist you may see. Literally ALL of the ads for puppies tout the “small rehoming fee” they want for the pups that, in most cases, have been bred deliberately in order to make money.
I am in no way against responsible breeding, conducted by knowledgeable people with suitable dogs, with care taken to raise, socialize, and provide medical care for the puppies. But that is just NOT what you see on Craigslist. Instead, you find hundreds of mixed-breed and unregistered but purportedly “purebred” pups, photographed in dirty environments (with the blank gazes of unhandled neonates), being made available to anyone with the money for the “rehoming fee.” What is clear to me is that many of the dogs purchased in this way (or who have gone too long unpurchased) will end up in my local shelter and shelters everywhere.
Overrepresented in particular on Craigslist are puppies for sale from pitbull-type dogs of every description. The ads try to make them sound exotic and special – so-called red-noses and blue-noses and dogs of bizarre dimensions, large and small. The fact is, far more of these “bully breeds” are being bred than anyone can find homes for, and these sorts of dogs are also represented out of all proportion in probably every shelter in this country – and every freezer full of euthanized dogs at the shelters that still take on this unthinkable task. When I look at the ads for these puppies, I am just filled with sadness and rage.
What can a person do? Craigslist’s recommended solution is “flagging” ads that violate its standards. There is a small chevron-shaped box with a grey “X” in it that users can click to make an ad that violates the Craigslist prohibition on selling puppies (or stud service) disappear, at least temporarily. I know people who make it a habit to check Craigslist in their area daily, flagging all the ads for puppies they find. It’s a start, but it sure seems like a task that could easily be automated, Craig Newmark.
And today, frankly, there is a larger platform that needs just as much reform. In the past few years, user groups dedicated to selling certain types of dogs and puppies or selling puppies in certain areas mushroomed in size and number – despite Facebook’s supposed prohibition on selling animals or animal services on Facebook.
For years, Facebook didn’t seem to take any action against obvious violators of its prohibition on animal sales, but reportedly in 2016, when it launched its Marketplace feature (where anyone could list many things, though supposedly not animals, for sale), Facebook began using algorithms meant to detect and delete ads for live animals.
Facebook also added a mechanism for users to report ads for puppies and other animals for sale – but users take evasive actions, such as listing their puppies for sale on “discussion” boards, rather than on the page for “items for sale.” The task of flagging these ads is just like it is at Craigslist: a bit like playing “whack-a-mole.”
You may ask: Is there a place or way for responsible breeders to advertise their puppies? Of course there is, and I’ll talk about that more in next week’s blog post. But, in my opinion, neither Facebook groups nor Craigslist ads should be considered a source for puppies.
What do you think? Have you had an experience, good or bad, with buying or selling puppies in one of these forums?
Not all people want to take animals to the local shelter. Why is it ok for them to charge 350 for a dog….Good people need a responsible place to find good homes for animals that need to be rehomed. The resources are just not available and not all dogs or cats are breed intentionally. I think instead of writing this article to bash people thatcare trying to be responsible instead of dumping the pet in an open feild. You should spend your energy finding a positive solution and not bashing people. Flagging people on sites that arent doing anything wrong…you need to get a life🤯
We were looking on craigslist about dogs also. Because we were thinking of breeding our dear head Chihuahua who is a registered dog with a nether registered dog before we have him fixed just one time thing and had no clue where else to look so we were just looking for information on there but there is no information there on animals
We also had a great experience adopting a pug from Craigslist. The owner was going through a divorce and trying to do the best for her dog. She had been unable to keep up with his medical care but provided information for us and requested pictures occasionally because she cared about him more than about herself. He is great, we send pictures sometimes and updates about him. She knows he is doing well and we feel like we’re helping her know she did the right thing. We did discuss things before adopting him. It is not obvious where to try to legitimately rehome your dog if you don’t use something like Craigslist or Facebook. It is unsettling in many ways to just take your beloved pet to a shelter oh, and people make you feel like a criminal if you do list them somewhere that you might get a chance to meet the potential owner. Maybe it should be a little more public knowledge where an owner in need of rehoming responsibly can do so.
Not all craig sellers are this way Ive sold pups before on craiglist letgo amd offer up you have to be a real gd dog person to know dogs you have to do your research on the breeds and health issues look at the parebts 8fbthey dont have pics of the parents than dont buy if you cant see the parents in person do not buy because 9 out of 10 its a scam you cant sale your own puppiea with out haveing at least on of the parents
This msg is for Katie whose took in the pregnant mum, I commend you for this unselfish act. Whomever dumped the mum needs to be prosecuted. There are far too many bad dog owners. My comment on the article was I was happy to receive the meat of the article as I am currently searching for a pup. All the negatives that ALL who post are not reputable seems a bit too harsh, altho I admit the scammers are there, but why judge everyone by one? We that are looking for new members for our households only need to due our hardest and be diligent in NOT falling for what we seem to be a “good deal” and ask lots of questions. I live in Seattle, and I want terrific pit pup, for my 5yr old granddaughter and myself. I am a senior on a fixed income. If anyone can help my search is appreciate it to no end.
I was just horrased by a lady because I put my puppies on CL. Free to good homes. I live in the country and some one didn’t want their pregnant dog so they dumped her on my road just a few weeks before she gave birth. I would of never thought with as skinny as she was that she was pregnant with 5 puppies. I’ve given 2 away and still have the mom and 3 pups. Put them on CL and got some of the worst hateful texts from one lady saying that she flagged my listing and that I was stupid to put it mildly. It was very demeaning and extremely hateful and threatening to me personally. CL pet police their just vicious.
Hi do you still have the pups ? I’m looking for a small breed I live in an apartment and only can have a small dog I’m disability so I am home all the time looking for a puppy or young dog to give all my love to ….
Yes dumb article!!!
I learned very quick not to pay for any thing unless I could see and touch
If you spent as much time actually trying to help rather than judge from inside ur twisted lil dillusional self righteous sociopathic world u might actually forget how miserable and meaningless ur own existence is for a few minutes!! It must suck to be you…
There is an epidemic of fanaticism and demigogery in this country and we are getting sick of it! Any time there are a few bad apples the demigogs (natzis) use it as an EXCUSE to punish EVERYONE ELSE!!! WE ARE SICK OF IT !!
I want to warn future puppy buyers about another real threat out there. I’m going to make this short. There are thousands of websites set up that claim they are a legitimate breeders. They have beautiful websites and present themselves to be such breeders. I happen to be looking for a shihtzu puppy for my child with cancer. I spoke, textex, and e-mailed with them back and for about the transaction. From the time they picked up my money at 6:19 pm on July 12, I was unable to get a Hold of them. They would not answer my phone calls, respond to my texts or e-mails. I had been scammed. It wasn’t so much the money as the heartbreak if my sick child who had in his heart already lived the puppy. I know now, I learned the hard way you never buy anything through wire transfer. I had never bought anything off the internet before and they told me this was how it was done. After being scammed out of my money and speaking with Western Union and The Federal Trade commission and filing complaints against this company called Ultimate Shihtzu’s. I made several other calls to other website claiming to be legitimate breeders. Claiming I was interested in one of their puppies. The story was exactly the same, except he want a CVS money gram. I asked why he couldn’t take my debit card. He said they did not take debit or credit cards because of all the illegal use surrounding them. Ha that’s ironic. So I suggested pay pal. He just changed the subject on that. Everyone I brought it up he steered me in a different direction. One man continued to contact me for days. I told him how I had been scammed two days before and was gun shy. His response to me was that not everyone was like that. That he was just a puppy lover trying to find good homes for his puppies and would never scam anyone so I should just run down to my local western union and send him the money. That I could trust him. I am not sure if even one of these sites are legit. I’m sorry but all those beautiful puppy pictures that they post for sale probably don’t even exist. Be warned. Never send money to someone you have not met and legit breeders will only ask for a small deposit to hold your pup. And never under any circumstances. Send them money. You will never see it or the puppy again.
I got scammed the same way I gave the money to Pam. She was just as sweet as could be. Until the day she was supposed to meet me. She never showed up and wouldn’t answer my phone calls or texts. I just out 500.00 she blocked my calls. I was told there really wasn’t much I could. I did learn my lesson thou