What do you think about purchasing pets online?

I adopted Molly from Glenda via this board as we've never met.
But purchasing a puppy online - don't think I would. I foster for a cat rescue group that does their adoptions primarily online. They do have a shelter in VA but adopt to homes throughout the northeast.
Our local news station is going to be doing a story on purchasing pets online and how the laws are different in regards to that. Looks like a "buyer beware" kinda thing. I'm glad to see they are doing it
[linkhttp://www.wmur.com/index.html]http://www.wmur.com/index.html[/link]

Ah, but Mary, DS gave you the thumbs up....and I KNEW you, or what you are like, through idog so I knew what kind of home you'd give Molly and you fit my requirements!

ORIGINAL: ElliesDad

Good Story astaracheetah

Why did the breeder demand he be neutered?
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She wants him neutered because he does not fit the standard. He is a "Fluffy," and thus, seriously faulted in the show ring. She requires that any pet quality pups that her dogs produce be neutered so they don't produce more pet quality pups.

Just imagine yourself as a musher, with an Iditarod - class team. 16 to 18 dogs, all around 50 to 60 pounds and eating a few pounds a day during season. They welcome volunteer handlers just to clean up the dog yard.

getting Molly wasn't really like purchasing a puppy online - and I'd been reading your posts about the foster pups since you first had them so I already knew Molly []
I have acquantances who have purchased puppies online through a puppy broker [:'(] first one battled cancer for MONTHS at the tender age of 3 months. Then the dolts went ahead and got another through the same method. This pup came with what was believed to be kennel cough and ended up being a severe bronchial infection. $$$$$$$$ on medical care for both pups since day 1. And yes to some degree it's to be expected. But not the severity of what those pups had. And no legal recourse at all for them.

See, and to me that's key.  We "knew" one another from here.  We both knew enough about the other from our posts on idog that I know that I felt comfortable that you would absolutely go the extra mile for your pupper and I'm guessing you felt comfortable that Molly was coming from the kind of home that you yourself would offer.  Lori was telling me that rescues make HER nervous.  You have the obvious genetic stuff to worry about anyplace, but so often with a rescue you don't know HOW they've been raised.  She said that knowing I had raised them made all the difference in the world to her!  Rightly or wrongly, I took that as quite the compliment! []

I think that you come to KNOW people through forums such as this.  There are folks on idog that I know enough about to know that I wouldn't place a pup with them, nothing personal anyone, and then there are the few that I absolutely feel are MY kind of owners and I'd offer them any one of my dogs.  There are folks here who I'd feel comfortable leaving my dogs to if I died....not that I would need to, but you know what I'm saying.

When you contact a breeder online, well, it's a very short term relationship, when the relationship between breeder and new parents should be for the lifetime of the pup.  I want to KNOW that my babies are growing up strong and healthy and being adored!  And they aren't really "my" babies......but don't try telling my heart that!

I know this is a dog forum, but you didn't specify WHICH pets I do plan on buying a Uromastyx online. Why? Because there isn't a responsible breeder near me, and I'd have to get it from a pet store, with no guarantees as to it's health or breeding (having a captive bred lizard is IMPORTANT to me!). I don't particularly feel the need to meet the parents, because, well... it's a lizard. The breeder's reputation and breeding practices are more important. Certain species of Uromastyx are friendlier than others, and I intend to purchase one of the friendlier lizards. The breeder will know that I want a pet, and will send a very tame lizard (these guys are NOT domestic animals. They are, at best, 10-20 generations removed from the wild).  I've met a bunch of them in pet stores, and really enjoyed their company, but... I'm not willing to contribute money to pet stores that sell potentially unhealthy animals, with little to no return policy. A breeder will support me throughout my lizard's life (35 years!) and be there to answer my questions.  I think it's definitely worth it to purchase that specific type of pet online.

Dogs are a totally different ball game[]

Ok Jennie, you've changed my mind a little bit. If I wanted an animal and I could not find a breeder near me, maybe I would get it shipped, if the only other choice was the petstore, or there was no other choice at all. 

I've purchased reptiles and small animals (rats and guinea pigs) from breedes sight unseen, because their reputation preceded them.  If I were in a position of purchasing a dog, I wouldn't hesitate to get one from a breeder with an excellent reputation, who I had developed a relationship with.  Some day I plan to get a miniature Bull Terrier and will probably go to a breeder in Australia.  Not really feasible for me to travel there to get it, but I've seen some of their dogs here and was thoroughly impressed.

This topic has intrigued me.  I would not buy on line from a site that did not meet a set of criteria.  Those would include:  extensive health testing on multiple generations that provided written proof and the option for verifying said information from additional sources (OFA website, contact with providing vets, etc.)  I would not buy from a website that I could not easily verify the quality of the dogs and the breeder support through an organization that represented that breed or discipline.  I would not but from a website that did not check me out as throughly as I checked them out.  I would expect that a home visit would be managed some how.  With the internet connections, I think it is possible for such an arrangement to be made following that "degree of seperation" approach.
 
In essence,  I would not buy from a website on which a breeder  was not affiliated with a breed club or training club.  I would not buy from a breeder who could not provide me with referrals to previous puppy buyers.  I would not buy from a website that would not provide up front (I would pay a material handling/processing fee) health information, photos/videos, pedigree information, contracts, etc.
 
I dont really care for shipping but under some circumstances I would consider it.  I would be far more likely to fly out and get the puppy myself.  I have come to the conclusion that I really do not like having the breeder so far away.  That is just a personal issue.
 
I would not buy from a website merely because there is no local breeder.

IMO, you can use the Internet to good advantage when you want a pet, but not in the way we normally think, i.e. get online, find a place, send Visa info.  What you should use the Internet for is to find the breed club for that breed, and get a breeder referral there.  Or, contact the national rescue for the breed, and find out whose pups never end up in rescue because they deal responsibly with puppy buyers and are themselves reputable.  You can use it to get on breed-specific message boards.  You can use it to view photos of prospective parent dogs and find out what titles they have, or in the case of working dogs (SAR, herding, therapy, service, etc.) what they are doing.  The Internet is a great tool.  What it shouldn't be is one big cyber puppy mill...

It's weird, because buying pups sight unseen might happen at both the top and bottom of the breed.  At the bottom, I wouldn't trust anyone selling dogs purpose bred for the pet market.  Many of these now use the internet to look bigger, more into the breed, and otherwise dress up their operations.  If I purchase a purebred dog, I want the breeder to be an expert in the breed AND be someone I can look to as a mentor in the future during the lifetime of the pup.

On the other side of the coin, someone at the top of their game might very well puchase a pup sight unseen on the reputation of the parents and the breeder.  This happens quite often among the top competitors in Border collie trials.  There's maybe only 300 of these people across the country, so litters are commonly sold by "word of mouth," which includes the internet these days.

On the other hand, some of the earliest web breeder websites were Border collie puppy millers - Border collie people are a nerdy lot in general - and the pups that come from those places will break your heart. 

And as far as "documenting" your dialog with such a breeder with e-mails.  Don't worry, they will not answer future correspondance, or deny they said X, or point out loopholes in what they said.  You have no legal recourse against such breeders unless your state has a puppy lemon law. 

And many times you can't even prove that you purchased the puppy from that particular breeder.  The papers won't have his name on them, you won't get a receipt, you'll never see his face, the e-mails won't be signed, and you'll never get any kind of health documentation, of course, even if you were promised it, you might not even write the check to that particular person, but to some front business or false identity instead.

If what you want is a purebred pup for a companion, not for work or show, deal locally with people who are well-known in the breed and meet them as often as possible before you decide.  You might have to pay a little more, but heck, you still won't have to fork over as much as some of these pet store puppies are bringing in.