I am in the military and recently had a friend that was deployed on very short notice. He left a 2 month old black lab in my care, and asked that I find a good home for her. I would keep her however I already have a 4 month old lab a 1 year old kid and another kid due in January. We are going to keep this lovely girl until we have found a good home. And here's where the questions come in. We have listed her in Pet Finder and have received a couple of e-mails. One of them is offering twice the adoption fee that we are asking and asking us to ship her to Alaska. There is another that is asking us to ship her to Utah. Both of these people are willing to pay the shipping costs, however both of the e-mails give me the heebee jeebees. I was just wonder if anyone else has ever dealt with this, or/and if anyone could give me some advice. Thanks, Ike

From the way it sounds, I think (just my opinion) you are right to be nervous. Twice the adoption fee??? I am assuming she is not fixed yet, my bet is that they want to breed her.
What else are they saying that makes you feel uneasy? Or is it just the fact that they are out of state?
I say, go with your gut on this one.
Good luck!

My advice is to find a rescue group in your area and explain everything to them. Let them know that you are willing to foster her and make sure that she is UTD on vax and spayed. Most groups will post them for you and they will also handle the home visits and background checks. Believe me, it's a whole lot safer than just placing an ad.

I agree with Shaqpuppy. I have spent the past 5 years helping people find homes for their pets. I was amazed at how many responses i got to ads and a lot of them didn't show that they had the animals best interest in mind. Unfortunately there are a lot of people out there that are looking for good breeding stock and looking for freebies. If you research your area, i am sure you will find a rescue facility that will allow you to continue to care for the pup while they post her up for adoption and do all the screening. A young pup like her won't take long to find a responsible home through a rescue.

Best of Luck.

My advice is to find a rescue group in your area and explain everything to them. Let them know that you are willing to foster her and make sure that she is UTD on vax and spayed. Most groups will post them for you and they will also handle the home visits and background checks. Believe me, it's a whole lot safer than just placing an ad.


I completely agree.

She is very cute. I would love to take her.

I am glad you are taking the time to make sure she gets the right home. To me shipping a dog that far means something is up and not right. I would definitely find a local rescue to work through. You may want to stress that you will be fostering the dog until the appropriate home is found and that you want help in ensuring that she goes to a properly approved home.

Everytime I hear of a freebie I get scared. So many land up being sold to animal research.

Personally, IMHO, go with the gut instinct......it's usually 100% correct. Good luck.

My advice is to find a rescue group in your area and explain everything to them. Let them know that you are willing to foster her and make sure that she is UTD on vax and spayed. Most groups will post them for you and they will also handle the home visits and background checks. Believe me, it's a whole lot safer than just placing an ad.

I agree. Most rescues are limited by foster homes and/or finances for the spaying and vaccinations. If you (or the owner) provides that, many rescues closer to home would possibly be willing to help--especially if the dog is really just 8-10 weeks old. If she is closer to 12-16 weeks old, she would still be highly adoptable thru a rescue (I would think).

If not, let Linda Acup (the rescue forum moderator) know she probably has TONS of applications for puppies but few puppies to fill the need :cheers2:

I agree with everyone else and Kim's (Shaqpuppy) suggestion is rock solid. If a rescue group knows you are willing to foster the pup and keep its vaccinations (etc.) up to date, the group would probably be happy to help.

Go with your gut. If something gives you the heebie jeebies, then rely on that feeling to say NO. I can just about guarantee you that anyone who is offering twice the adoption fee right from the beginning is up to no good. They may want to breed her and sell her pups to the public or to research labs or to those wanting bait dogs. The possible cruel plans are endless. See if a rescue group can help you!

Good luck and thank you VERY much for helping this girl and your friend.

PS: I don't know if you are crating now, but you may want to start using crates for one or both pups once you have two children and two pups. No one wants a puppy locked up just to keep it out of the way, but you also need to keep your sanity and the kids and pups safe. Crate training can help!

Susan

You are correct to worry about the replies from the Petfinder ad. Besides the people not having the dog's best interest at heart, it also could be a money scam. I am trying to find a home for a dog on Petfinder and have gotten several scam e-mails, also wanting to ship the dog to a faraway state and offering to pay more than I am asking plus shipping fees. Basically (from what I've heard), what happens is they send you a check or money order for a large amount, then ask you to refund them part of it, as costs weren't as much as they thought. Then when you do this, their original check bounces, and you are out whatever you sent them, plus your bank fees. They don't even want the pet. I just delete any responses that seem off in any way.

It's good to be wary and follow your gut instinct.

Your local lab rescue is Heart of Texas Lab Rescue, www.hotlabrescue.org . Talk to them about the possibility of adopting this pup out through them, with you serving as the foster home until a family is found. A nice young pup like that shouldn't be hard to place. I am a volunteer with this rescue, and we are very careful when we screen applicants.

Yes, try Heart of Texas. If they can't help you, let me know. I'm with Southeast Texas Lab Rescue based in Houston. We can list her and help with the application process.

Just let me know if you need us.
Dina
dina@txlabrescue.org

Tonight we gave Dixie to one of my subordinates. He is originally from New Orleans and his family lost everything to Katrina. As a result he took in his neice and his mom. Well due to all of the ensuing chaos it was starting to look like a scimpy Christmas at his house. After a lot of thought on the part of me and my wife we decided to give the puppy to this guy. By giving the puppy to him we made sure that we could watch over the devlopment and health of the puppy and be able to provide any assistance that he may need.
My wife and I just want to extend our thanks to everybody that assisted us during this process.

Thanks,
Ike and Jenn

P.S. The lab in my sig is my 4 mo rescue Sarge.

Thats awesome, I am watch over threads with the armed services animals. Especially since my father spent 10 months in Iraq.

Sarge is beautiful.