Andrea Rosebrock 
Here’s yet another example of why not to buy a puppy online! Aside from the scams that are becoming ever more prevalent you also have the puppy mills and irresponsible breeders. If for some reason you feel that you must buy a puppy online, take the time to read this – Thinking of Buying a Puppy or Dog Online? Read These Safety Tips First! Also take a moment to read some vet warnings on buying puppies online – Veterinarian Sounds Warning on Internet Pet Sales.
Dog breeders are monitored by the US Department of Agriculture – but only commercial breeders. No oversight exists for online breeders and sellers. That leaves many pet lovers with little recourse if there’s a problem.
Julie Bauman was looking for a Weimaraner. So she bought a dog for $800 online from a kennel in Utah. It turned out the healthy looking dog in the picture, was not the dog that arrived.
“I’m like, ‘Oh my Gosh, all of his hip bones are exposed,” says Buaman.
The Baumans took the dog they named Riley to the vet and spent $1,500 trying to keep him alive. When Julie contacted the breeder…
“He had absolutely no empathy,” she says.
After 10 days, Riley died.
CBS13 told Riley’s story to Scott Delucchi of the humane society.
“Some things are probably not a good match for the internet, It’s so pervasive,” says Delucchi.
He’s right. CBS13 did a search and in five minutes found dozens of sites selling dogs online. Delucchi says consumers should always see the facility they are purchasing from.
“If something goes wrong they don’t have much recourse because people are so hard to find…I mean, all you have is an email address sometimes,” he says.
But Julie had more. She had a copy of this money back guarantee that the kennel refused to honor.
So, Julie flew to Utah and took the breeder to court three times!
They won, but she hasn’t collected a dime.
The other problem with buying out-of-state is that laws vary from state to state which leaves a lot of confusion, and gray-area for consumers. (CBS13)
[...] The Internet + Puppies = Problems [...]