By Staff
I responded to a pet ad in a different local newspaper for two free 14-week-old male and female Yorkies. The only contact was an e-mail address to PaulWhite@yahoo.com.
I received his mailing telling me he and his wife and several children are Christian missionaries in Africa in fear of the heat killing his beloved Yorkies. He will send them to loving home with vet records, health certificate and registration papers.
Sound great, right? But here’s the catch, the airfare is $900 and you only have to pay half — $450! Over the years, scams have come from Africa offering pedigree dogs, some rare, to homes in America for only the shipping costs.
I, as an animal lover and owner of a beautiful Maltese girl, would not ship one of my puppies to Africa or China, or anywhere else that would require a day’s worth of travel unescorted to someone I couldn’t verify diddle about.
What guarantee is there you would even gets those Yorkies? My girl and her brother came from Louisville, Ken., from a breeder via a placer that verifies the puppies are getting loving, responsible, safe homes. She spends two to three weeks training the puppies before they go to their new homes.
The ad in the newspaper may be legit, but I didn’t fall for it.
Beverly Buell
Brewton resident