The classifieds is a great way to get rid of unwanted items. Used baby things, furniture, cars, whatever you don’t want anymore, put an ad online & somebody will take it. If they don’t take it the first week, just lower the price. Keep lowering the price until eventually it’s free, just so that you can get rid of it.

Sadly, the same thing happens to pets. People bring these cats, dogs, horses, birds etc home and when it becomes inconvenient they look to make the inconvenience go away. They turn to online ads or sometimes the newspaper and place an ad. They always start the same way “Loving home needed…”

In most cases these pets they claim to love so dearly are overdue for vaccines, they aren’t spayed or neutered, have never been trained and regular exercise and grooming has gone the way of the Dodo bird. Yet, they love Fido/Fluffy, they want to see him go to a good home. So, they devise a home in their heads. Big yard, fenced, loving family, outdoors a lot. Yup, that’s the perfect home.

You know who else knows that’s the perfect home? The people that scour online ads for bait dogs. They’ll come to your home, give you a BS story about where they live, where Fido or Fluffy will live and the kind of care they will get in their home. They’ll take Fido away and by the end of the day he’ll be on a chain waiting for death. And yes folks, dog fighting rings are here on Vancouver Island. People that train dogs to kill especially like using kittens as bait. Sometimes young kittens are even used as bait in crab traps. Why spend money on chicken backs when kittens are free?

Online ads are great for adding to the overpopulation of dogs as well. It’s free to post an ad and get rid of unwanted puppies. It’s free for “breeders” to post so they can breed that bitch over and over and over and when she can’t be bred anymore, they can post her up there too.

They have helped create designer dogs such as Doodles, Chiweenies, Schmorkies, Puggles and whatever else made up names they can think of. These are NOT dog breeds. They are made up names for mixed breed dogs. But the people who breed these dogs know that Schmorkie sound better than Mutt, so that’s what they call it.

And people get sucked in and pay hundreds of dollars for a dog that they could have adopted from a rescue for less than half the price. And that rescue dog will sit in a foster home or a Shelter waiting for a home while the breeder plans her next litter.
Please folks, don’t turn to online ads when looking for a pet. It will only encourage these people to do it again, because they got rid of the last one(s). If you are positive you want a purebred, there are rescues for every breed of dog.

Reputable rescues will always vaccinate, spay/neuter and take care of any immediate health needs before adopting to you. They will have an adoption process, screenings, home visits and contracts. They may want references and ask to do follow up visits too. If you are sincere about providing a good home for a pet, this shouldn’t be a problem.

If, you have to rehome your pet, you should be willing to go through all this work too. Your pet’s life may depend on it.

Mickey VADR Volunteer