Never had a bad CL experience but I can see how they can happen. I certainly wouldn’t answer one of their personals, and the Mr. and I have had many discussions as to why I would want to respond to a job posting.
We got our youngest dog from a CL ad 2 years ago.
The girl who posted the ad wasn’t exactly transparent, and the story she told in the ad was half-imagined, but he ended up being the sweetest, lovingest little thing you ever done saw. We had him checked out by the vet and de-flea-ed, and had to give flea meds to the cats (never again), and he has a few bald patches, but after lots of love and feeding, I’m glad I answered the ad.
That said, it would be very hard for me to be on the giving-away end of that transaction. I just don’t trust people enough.
Dunno. “Bait dogs” are a real thing I know for sure. I’ve never had the need to research the topic any further as I don’t often find myself looking to get rid of or get a dog for free. heh
The current owner charges the new person money to take the dog. It is in fact selling the dog, but “rehoming fee” is a nicer way to put it is all. Goes beyond the “dogs as property” vibe/fact.
Thank you very much I assumed as much from context but wasn’t 100% sure.
So this is kind of in the same category as “fur babies” and referring to owners as the beast’s mommy or daddy - granted there’s a difference in degree.
I’ve got to admit I have little patience for this type of pretending animals are people shit.
Well I mean…no, it’s not the same shit as “fur babies.” Your dog can be a member of your family and it can be brought in to your home without calling it your “fur baby.”
You sell a couch, you re-home a dog. You can re-home a lizard or a chinchilla too. That’s not so far-fetched, is it? You wouldn’t go to jail for stabbing a couch, but you would go to jail for stabbing a dog. Or a lizard. So like…it’s not too crazy to think they need homes, unlike couches, which are sold.
Whatever you call it, even if it’s buying and selling, you still should be committed enough to pay a fee to get a dog. And you should be wary of people wanting animals for free.
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I’m curious about your evidence re “bait dogs”. I did search and got a number of hits for “bait dog myth” (a few of which I read) and would love to hear your experience.
Here’s a fairly recent CBS story about bait dogs in Los Angeles.
I imagine these thefts would be concentrated in cities with large enough populations of those cultures in which dog fighting is a sport. I know Mexican is one.
I have no personal experience. I follow the local Humane Society shelter’s Facebook page and just last month they posted about a rescue of 8 dogs from a dog fighting situation, and they mentioned “bait dogs” in the rescue. And I Googled it. And saw lots of info that would suggest it’s a real thing, with photos.
What is the myth? That any dog ever given away for free is 100% always used as a bait dog? I would agree that that is probably a false statement.
Is the myth that people go around in white vans and steal dogs from yards and every dog is at risk? That sounds myth-like, I agree.
Or is the myth that stray dogs and free dogs are never used a fodder for dogfighting? How much would you pay for a dog to be used for the sole purpose of dying? Dogfighting does exist. Dogs get rescued from the situations all the time. Or they don’t - they are found dead at the scene.
It’s not an anti-pitbull thing either. Google image search “bait dog.” Most of the pics you see are of pits who were used as bait dogs (who probably were strays first). You can also find a lot of articles about dogs who were rescued after being used as bait dogs.
You don’t have to believe they exist, tho. I am not an expert, it just makes sense to me that they exist from what I’ve read and seen.
I mean, you can go get a dog for free and make him your best bud and let him sleep in your bed and share your Pop Tarts. That’s cool. You don’t have to pay money for a dog for you to be a legit dog owner who will love and protect the pooch.
But just to be on the safe side, one shouldn’t give away animals for free to strangers. Is this a problem with people?
I’m totally on the OP’s side, by the way. He did all the right stuff and isn’t giving a dog away for free on Craigslist. I was just answering a question about whether or not bait dogs exist.
I guess I’ll change my original answer: “Bait dogs exist. Is every dog given away for free on Craigslist a bait dog? I do not know. Has there ever been a case of a dog being given away for free on Craigslist and used as a bait dog? I do not know, as I do not care to research the subject. But if you were to be in need of a dog to kill, would you pay for it or look for a free one on Craigslist?”
Well, I would be very surprised if any rehomed dog goes to research. That just isn’t how animal research/testing is done.
Researchers and companies pay big money for specific breeds with known lineage and chain of custody. No research would be worthwhile if one rounded up 100 random dogs without proper histories, having know what they’ve been exposed to, etc. Furthermore, even if you had all that it would be different for each dog, so the experimental results would be shit. So other than the extraordinarily rare person who doesn’t know what he’s doing but decides to perform animal testing in his basement (nearly inconceivable), I am pretty confident calling that a myth.
Do you really think Pfeizer just gets a bunch of dogs from Craigslist?
PS- Abby is adorable. Personally, I would keep the dog and drop the cats.
Myth or not, I think I’d feel more comfortable selling an animal rather than just giving one away. Like others have said, it shows someone’s more likely to commit to animal – who, while not a human, isn’t just a toy either. Having a pet is a commitment and it does cost money. If you’re not even willing to pay to take it into your home, well…that’s kind of dodgy. (At the very least, you want to make sure this isn’t someone who’s going to just dump the poor thing off at the shelter if they decide they don’t like him or her)
I got a dog from CL a few years back. The previous owners neglected to mention that it bit people. We had it for about a year, and she bit 4 people (one twice) including my husband. We are dog people and did everything we could to rehab her, but I was not willing to take the risk that she would one day bite someone not quite as understanding as our friends.
She was free.
You might consider using FB - in our area, the Humane society has a page for animal lovers, and there are several on-line yard/garage sale pages strictly local.
As someone who has devoted her life to pet rescue (yes I am a cat rescue person, but of course spend a lot of time with dog rescue people), I will chime in to say that rehoming fees indicate commitment to the new pet. Pet ownership isn’t free. Pets need food, water and vetting. People who get free pets often forget that their cute puppy/kitten will need to eat, have appropriate places to pee/poop and will need to go to the vet because free pets aren’t usually fixed.
Google Class B dealers. They’re licensed by the USDA to buy random-bred animals from wherever, for research. Until recently, a “shelter” near me sold unadopted dogs and cats to class B dealers. I fostered a couple of those when I was more active in rescue.
I assumed as much from context but wasn’t 100% sure.