Class B dealers and FREE TO GOOD HOME ADS - please read this!!

[Lindsay]

I would like everyone to be warned of people looking for free animals. I do not want to single any person out, however I have seen similar postings of people looking for a free or cheap puppy for their "autistic" or any other handicapped child. I am not saying that all of these people are liars, however, if you are going to give up your beloved family friend to anyone (whether you charge for it or not) I would suggest you ask for references.

I am a member of the ASPCA and the Humane Society, and there has been a huge outbreak of people looking for free pets. Most of these people who are looking for free pets on websites like freecycle and craigslist are CLASS B BREEDERS/RETAILERS.

Class B BREEDERS/RETAILERS purchase cheap or free puppies or other animals. Then they will either breed them to make more puppies and sell the puppies to mills or retailers, just sell the dog outright at a flea market, or another site that allows animal ads, or they will sell them to laboratories for animal testing.

Either way, these people make a lot of money off of your pet that you thought was going to a loving home. There is only one way to really stop this. Be picky about who your animal goes home with. Even if a family WITH the child comes over to look at the puppy and you think "oh they have the kid with them and they SEEM like a nice family" just politely ask to have at least 3 references AND 1 vet reference. It just takes those 4 phone calls to make sure that your animal will have a safe and happy life with it's new family.

What types of references to ask for:

Ask for the landlord if the person is renting. When you contact the landlord, ask them if it is ok for them to have pets at the apartment. THEN as for them to fax you proof that they are the landlord of that property. If they are infact a landlord, they know what to send to you.

Ask for a roommate if the person shares an apartment with someone, OR if the person seems too young to live on their own, ask for the parent's phone number. Then just talk to that person and make sure that they know the person is bringing home the animal and they are ok with it. Half the time, roommates will not know about the "purchase" and demand the person to get rid of the animal. Also, ask this person about the animals that currently live in the house, try to get any past info about pets, how long they have kept them, why they do not have them anymore.

Ask for a personal reference out-side of the home, either a friend,
family member, or co-worker. Try to find out again, as much as you can about past pets the person has had and why they do not have them
anymore.If the person has not ever had a pet before, ask them general
questions, like, do you think they have enough time to take care of
the animal, what kind of job hours do they work, ect.

Finally, ASK for their vet's phone number. Tell them that you will be calling the vet, so if they are a new pet owner, they will have to stop in to the vet and introduce themselves, and open a relationship with that vet before they get that animal. If you have found out from other people you have called that they have had pets before, but when you call the vet's phone number they have given you and they say that the person you are calling about is not a client there, assume that they gave you a different vet then they normally use and are hiding something. At that point, you will either have to do more investigating as to why they are not telling you their real vet, or just move on the the next person.

Just know that in general, this will be easier than it sounds. Generally, the Class B breeder will not give out references, or if
they do, it will be so obvious that they are lying from the first call you make, that you can make your descision there. BUT there are some sneaky people who will already have people set up to take your phone calls and mislead you.

I just want everyone to be warned about this. I have posted this little letter on multiple "FREE TO GOOD HOME" websites and would like as many people informed as possible. I knew nothing of this until I became a member

If you are still skeptical of this, just search the words CLASS B
BREEDER PETS and you will find all of the information you need.

Thank you for your time,

Lindsay

PLEASE E MAIL ME WITH ANY QUESTIONS, I AM HAPPY TO ANSWER THEM
[e-mail]

or contact me here on aspca community

[Lindsay]

please.. copy and paste this and put it up on YOUR local classifieds section

[Lindsay]

wow, no interested in this on an ASPCA website.. I would think that cat owners especially would be considerate of this issue because so many cats out there, and many researchers look at cats as disposable..

[Nan Demers]

I have alot of interest in what you had to say. I just joined today, so this is my first post. People don't realize what they could be subjecting a pet to by placing a "free to good home" ad. I've also heard of cases in which kittens and puppies are used as bait in dog fighting rings. You are absolutely right about references. No one should adopt out a pet unless they have a reference from a veterinarian and several others who can verify that the person who wants to adopt the pet is reputable and doesn't have a hidden agenda.

Oftentimes a person will bring a child along to make it seem as if the pet is going into a loving environment, when in fact the person is unscrupulous and has no intention of giving that pet a good home. Backyard breeders are notorious for this. I've unfortunately known several of them. In one case, the owner had several female dogs that he bred as often as possible. One day after one of his dogs had her third litter ( and looked very sick) she killed one of her puppies. I was horrified. I notified the local authorities and I don't know what they found when they entered his home, but all the dogs were taken from him.

I've written about hoarders, backyard breeders, cat overpopulation, and several other issues affecting cats in my book. I was compelled to write about this after living in Houston, and seeing firsthand how horrendous the pet overpopulation is and how many people indiscriminately dump animals like they're trash.

I hope that by making people aware of what could happen to their pets, they'll be much more cautious before adopting them out to someone they don't know. I recently saw a suggestion that if you see a "free to good home" ad in your local paper, contact the person running the ad. They may not be aware of the situation, and you could be saving the life of a precious pet.

Blessings,

Anne

Below is the link to what I wrote about what happens to too many unwanted cats and kittens.

www.webspawner.com/users/annenason/index.html"The Last Kitten: An Open Letter To A Backyard Breeder."