There has been an alarming increase in puppy related scams. Here are some quick tips for how to identify one - and reasons you can feel secure that we are the real deal.
1. Few and low-quality photos cropped in odd ways.Scammers often steal photos from legitimate sellers and use them as their own which means their supply is limited and often they have to crop out identifying information. For this reason, we have started watermarking our media as best we can to try and keep it from being useful to them.
We post lots and lots of pictures of our pups and keep older ones up to show their growth over time. We can also provide updated photos upon request to those with serious interest or introduce the puppies live over video chat.
2. Pressures you to send money electronically before puppy pickup.Scammers can't give you what they don't have so they have to get your money before you realize it. They will often ask for large deposits or even the full amount before you can collect your puppy. Be warned - sometimes they will start with just a small deposit and then later demand more when you're already financially invested. DO NOT SEND MORE MONEY. Doubling down on a bad bet is never a good plan. See Sunk Cost Trap
While we do need a deposit in order to hold a puppy for you for more than 24 hours, if you would like to pick him or her up right away, there is no deposit needed! We will send you the directions. Finally, when we take a deposit, we ask that the balance be paid upon delivery - not before.
3. Communicates only electronically.We do not recommend you send any money unless you have had at least a phone conversation with the seller and are satisfied that they are who they say they are. We also recommend you ask for a video chat introduction to the puppy or a personalized video.
We speak personally to every potential owner to vet them for ourselves but also to make sure they feel comfortable with us. We also introduce our puppies over facetime or Instagram video chat. If you don't have either of these, we will send you a personalized video in which we say your name, the date, and hold up the puppy for you to see for yourself.
We got the goods and we aren't shy about proving it.
4. A scam cannot provide references or proof of past puppy placements.
We do both of these things. We have a long list of happy adoptive families who have volunteered to vouch for us if we ever need it. We also have started posting some of our puppy placements on our website under Past Paw Prints On Our Hearts ❤️