New York State Police Warn of a Scam Targeting Pet Owners

The New York State Police are warning people to be cautious when shopping for a new pet from a breeder. There is a new scam going around that has taken some serious cash from potential pet owners.

This scam isn't just isolated to New York, I've heard stories of this exact scam happening in several places around the country.

The scam preys on someone that is looking for a specific breed of dog, usually a more expensive breed that you might find at a breeder. The "breeder" will post pictures online on pet sales websites and social media advertising an expensive breed for sale.

According to the New York State Police, victims have answered the advertisements hoping to add a new puppy to their home. The scammers will provide pictures and sometimes even videos of the puppy that they have for sale. Of course, then the scammer asks for a deposit to hold the puppy for the victim. As you can imagine, there is no puppy for sale and the scammer gives the victim a false address to pick up the fake puppy. Officials say the deposit is often requested to be made through apps such as Zelle or CashApp.

I'm a dog lover have had 10 or fifteen dogs in my life and currently have four living with us now. Out of all of those dogs, all but one have come from the Humane Society. We did buy our Newfoundland, Gracie from a breeder in Kansas. Thinking back on it we could have been easily scammed because we were so excited about a Newfoundland puppy. I sent in a pretty good-sized deposit and luckily for us the breeder was legit and we have a wonderful addition to our family for the last 11 years.

I guess the moral of the story is to be careful and be on the lookout for scammers and adopt from a shelter if you can.

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