Craigslist pets :( (warning, pet lovers may be icked out)

[PepperElf]

Went to an open house at an animal shelter today.

I'm a cat person but the one cat they had on display didn't seem to take kindly to me. Then when I read her bio I saw she'd be ill suited for me. So no surprise there.

The dogs were adorable. We may go back on Monday to see some of the other dogs they'll have available. I'd like to see Abby - cos hell having a dog I can call "Abs" would be cute. Assuming she was a good mix.



Icky part here:

But while I was there my BF and I talked to one of the ladies about how people treat their pets and she told us something....

To NEVER give away a pet on craigslist. Many of the people who are searching for "free pets" online are actually involved in dog fighting. They use the free pets to train "Cujo" on how to kill.

And some of them will pose as a family to better convince the pet owner that Fluffy is really going to a loving home....

[blas]

Tiger the kitten was free off Craigslist, but not 100% free. He came with a $10 fee that basically is a fee to be sure no one is coming to take the kitten just to toss it somewhere.

[LillFilly]

I was thinking of maybe selling some rabbits on craigslist at some point with the stipulation that if the people get tired of them, I will adopt them back. Or should I buy them back and 1/2 price? I'm not sure.

[PepperElf]

Tiger the kitten was free off Craigslist, but not 100% free. He came with a $10 fee that basically is a fee to be sure no one is coming to take the kitten just to toss it somewhere.

O yes, GETTING a pet off of craigslist is one thing. I mean you're the "buyer" so you already know you're not into dog-fights

But giving it away... you have to be careful. The buyer may not want fluffy for the reasons he or she tells you

[Brojekk]

That reminds me of something I saw quite a few years ago. Our supermarket has a bulletin board where anyone can post want ads and such. There was a note poorly written with bad grammar on a piece of notebook paper. Even the penmanship was horrible. It basically wanted any dog for free, no matter what the breed or size.
My gut feeling told me it was for the reason in the OPs post. I don't know why I had that feeling,but it was pretty strong. I took that piece of paper down and ripped it up and threw it into the garbage.

[Flying Grype]

It's not just dogfights -- it's labs that don't want to pay money for experimental animals, and people who want pets but don't want to spend money or put any commitment into it and will just dump it on the street. If you have an animal and you want to rehome it, get help from a rescue that knows how to place an animal with a vetted (no pun intended) home.

When I've seen "free to a good home" ads on Craigslist or Kijiji I've written them a nice letter explaining why they shouldn't give the pet away for free.

[BlaqueKatt]

it's labs that don't want to pay money for experimental animals.

incorrect, it's not the labs.

Any lab that deals with animals falls under the purview of the USDA, and as such bills of sale from a licensed animal dealer must be on file(both dealer and lab must send a copy to the USDA, and keep a copy on site). However, there are three classes of animal dealers:

Class A: breeds animals specifically for the purpose of research, provides health guarantees and has DNA/lineage history on file. Expensive as animals are usually raised in a "barrier" or "clean room" environment.(I worked at one of these-the rats were sometimes $25/ea for certain breeds(zucker-can weigh over 2 pounds or 1 kilogram), a pet store rat at the time was $3)

Class B: no history on the animals, but they are guaranteed healthy, have been checked by a vet, many state/county humane societies are also class B licensed.

Class C: These people sell any animal with zero guarantees, usually there are "animal sales" scheduled, they show up with transport trucks loaded with caged animals. These would be the people responding to "free pet" ads, and some have been charged with, and lost licenses for stealing pets from people's yards. A local veterinary school used to obtain their "teaching animals" from a class c dealer, until one of the instructors came across her "lost" pet(it was stolen out of her yard), they then switched to class A dealers.

[Sapphire Silk]

I was thinking of maybe selling some rabbits on craigslist at some point with the stipulation that if the people get tired of them, I will adopt them back. Or should I buy them back and 1/2 price? I'm not sure.

Such a stipulation would be impossible to enforce. Also, if you wanted to keep the rabbits, you would not be selling them. Therefore, you might find yourself willing, but unable to take them back if a buyer tried to take you up on that kind of offer.

That reminds me of something I saw quite a few years ago. Our supermarket has a bulletin board where anyone can post want ads and such. There was a note poorly written with bad grammar on a piece of notebook paper. Even the penmanship was horrible. It basically wanted any dog for free, no matter what the breed or size.
My gut feeling told me it was for the reason in the OPs post. I don't know why I had that feeling,but it was pretty strong. I took that piece of paper down and ripped it up and threw it into the garbage.

Good for you! My gut tells me the same thing . . .

It's not just dogfights -- it's labs that don't want to pay money for experimental animals, and people who want pets but don't want to spend money or put any commitment into it and will just dump it on the street. If you have an animal and you want to rehome it, get help from a rescue that knows how to place an animal with a vetted (no pun intended) home.

When I've seen "free to a good home" ads on Craigslist or Kijiji I've written them a nice letter explaining why they shouldn't give the pet away for free.

I had a very difficult time rehoming one of my cats a year or so ago. The rescues were not able to help me at all; I was on my own to find a good home. I tried Pet Finder, but got too many willing to take her sight unseen and pay for shipping out of state . . . I feared either an unethical dealer or a scammer, or people who didn't want to pay my rehoming fee who I feared wanted bait for dogfighting training. I avoided Craigslist for this reason.

[candyshopgirl]

When my manx cat had babies, there was a guy that called and said oh I want all four. No questions, what they look like or anything. Of course, I turned him down, he just creeped me out over the phone. He claimed I couldn't turn him down it. Whatever. I think he must have been a breeder or something, the reason there were two males and two females. They were all manxs so u can't in good judgement bred two manxs together.

[Flying Grype]

incorrect, it's not the labs.

I stand corrected -- the labs get them from suppliers, who may in some cases steal pets or get them from "free to a good home" ads. I used to live in a college town that had two schools with excellent health sciences programs, and I've heard stories about students/instructors recognizing their missing pets after it was too late. Dunno how well they vet their suppliers (and of course there's always a possibility that some or all of these stories were just urban legends) but I'd never leave an animal unattended outside in that town.

[bainsidhe]

When I adopted my lil' furbrat (ok, not so little now, kitty has to lose some weight), the shelter explained how bad the "free to good home" ads could be fore kitties. They only mentioned labs, though, nothing about pet fights. Will make me think long and hard if I ever need to place kitty in the future, since he does have tummy issues.

And the thought that some poor student or instructor finds their beloved pet too late like that? Bastards.

[Pixilated]

I've heard that before about "Free to good home" ads (pretty much anywhere). Pet owners are always advised to charge something since it lessens the possibility little Fluffy or Spot will end up a target. I've been lucky; I've only given up a few cats in my life and I knew the homes they were going to. One of the furbabies I have now came from a pet rescue organization with the stipulation that if I ever had to give him up, I would contact them first.

[PepperElf]

He claimed I couldn't turn him down it.

What's he going to do. Call the cops on you for telling him no? Sounds like you made a good choice in telling him no.

And the thought that some poor student or instructor finds their beloved pet too late like that? Bastards.

Although the school is also to blame. Especially since they didn't actually care about where they got the animals from until it hit home.

[Seshat]

My local vet rehomes animals. The new home is either a regular client of theirs, or has a vet reference from another practice.

That's another way I'd trust to rehome one of my darlings, if I had to. In fact, we've given them two strays: a guinea pig and a small dog. The guinea pig we'd had her do a health check and microchip check on, and tried out to see if we liked keeping a pig for a pet.
She mentioned during that health check that her niece kept guinea pigs. So when we realised we just weren't good pig parents, we asked if her niece wanted an extra.

The dog we found while walking our dog. We passed the vet on our walking path, so we asked them to mind the dog while we walked home and got the car so we could take him to the shelter. They said not to worry about it, they'd handle it. So .. cool.

[BlaqueKatt]

or has a vet reference from another practice.

easiest way to check on a prospective adoption, "who is your vet, and can I call them?"