UKC is United Kennel Club - its a US based registry, pretty reputable... ADBA - American Dog breeders association - a bit DLRC I think
Thanks for that. More stupid questions...why would a litter bred in Preston be registered with any US based registry, let alone 2 dubious ones?
There have been a couple of people on Siberian Husky forums who have been stung by this. One of them ended up paying over £1000 as the "breeder" of the non-existent dogs kept asking for more money - for transport, for health certificates etc etc. In the end - no dog and an empty bank account!
Seems no breed is safe from this scam. Someone posted on another forum recently asking if a breeder seemed legit...they were going to buy a Bloodhound and a Yorkshire Terrier at £200 each and they would be couriered to her
Why would anyone buy a dog they hadn't seen? So risky. I once agreed to meet a breeder in a services because they said their kennels was too far away and too difficult to find.. How naive was I? The 1yr old Samoyed they had agreed to bring to meet me was clearly an ex breed bitch, she looked tired and yellow. I would have taken her just to get her out of the situation, but he wanted £300 and wouldn't accept any less. Sadly I don't have that kind of money to spend on rescuing a dog and of course I didn't know his address... Never got fooled by that again. Is there a good reason to do this (buy unseen)? Has anyone ever actually bought an imported dog without seeing it? I'm not trying to have a dig. I am genuinely curious. I know that the needs of breeding aren't the same as the needs of finding a new pet. If there were enough certificates and rosettes abroad and if you wanted fresh, hopefully healthier blood in your line... Is it ever worth the risk? Or is it safer to consider cost of Plane fare on top of cost of puppy as just one of the expenses of buying a good dog from abroad?
Hi magpye - not an imported dog but i did agree to meet a person at services when i was looking for a gsd. They had to drive from Devon (not registred breeders as i now know) and met me at edinburgh. They brought the dog out of the car and it was still dark so i assumed all was ok, paid my cash and took dog home. Once home and dog rested i noticed he was covered in a rash and was chewing so it was off to the vets asap - bang went another £80. I spent the whole week chasing them up to come and collect their dog as i didn't want my lot catching anything. They had the cheek to tell me i had him locked up while i went to work so he was bored, gets - i don't think my dogwalker would be too impressed, lol. They eventualy came up but didn't have the money to refund me at that point so naivety got the better of me and i let them take the dog back - this was in Feb btw - i'm still waiting on a refund, they have since re-sold the dog who i believe the person is having problems with as he is wild allegedly. I have been to a solicitors etc but supposedly they have said i'll get some money back at the end of this month as in £100 if i'm lucky which has to pay the solicitors bill so i'm no better off. If not i'm very tempted to name and shame them. A court case isn't worth it as it was £350 but to me thats a bit of cash. I'll not be taken in like that again, lol. The pup i have now, the breeder very kindly offered to meet me part of the way but i am still in touch with them and have an invitation to call in whenever and i speak to them all the time. Nothing like being gullible, huh
Unfortunately they have a few people after them so i'd be no better off. I have the paperwork for the small claims but it has to be done in England as thats where they live - even though the sale was carried out in Scotland. I spoke at great length trading standards but they were unable to help though they phoned there counterparts in England. The sheriff officers couldn't seize the dog back or get the refund as it was such a small amount and had to be a minimum of £650 to raise that kind of action. Think it may be a case of: once bitten, twice shy. I even spoke to the kennel club who were as much help as a chocolate fireguard and said they wanted nothing to do with it - even though the dogs are apparently registered. Ah well a bl**dy expensive lesson