Wow, I can't believe this!! I'm so sorry that happened to you. I'd like to share my experience when I flew to CA to pick up my precious baby Chi, Cali Cupcake.
The breeder and I became great friends on YT. We chatted on the phone and through e-mails allllllllll day long. We made arrangements for me to fly out to Palm Springs to pick up Cali. Since it is such a loooong flight from NY to CA, she (Kathryn) opened up her home to me and asked me to stay over-night with her and her family. I had a BLAST! Kat cooked for me and we stayed up most of the night chatting and just having an over-all great time! I also got to meet Kat's family and see Cali in her first home. It was great.
Kat and I became great friends and she's coming to visit me in April for a week ... I can't wait!
As for the payments, I fed ex'd her a money order for half of the price. When I arrive in Palm Springs, I gave her an envelope with the remaining balance in CASH. She didn't even want to count it ... she trusted me that much (but I told her to anyway lol
). I know this is a rare example but Kat and I really hit if off and I had such a wonderful experience. The long fight home gave me and Cali a time to bond and some personal, precious alone time.
Overall, my experience was excellent. I listened to everything Kat had to say and we had great communication. We also tried to work out our schedules to make the trip convenient for each other. I made sure to bring CASH so that she would have no worries ... I didn't want to make her uncomfortable or put her in an akward position. I wanted to make Kakthryn feel as comfortlable as possible ... I even brought gifts for her, her children and her 2 Yorkies.
Seems to me that if this "buyer" wanted to do the right thing, she would have first MADE SURE THE FLIGHT ALLOWED DOGS! That was the first thing I did before booking my flight! I even booked on the phone (which cost more money) to ensure that I would be able to bring Cali home on that flight with no problems. She also showed a gross lack of respect for YOU. She should NOT have brought a check with her ... what if it bounced? You can bet you'd never see a penny of that money again! She should have done the right thing by you and brought CASH or a money order. Shame on her!
I hope this doesn't discourage you too much. You sound like a wonderful breeder and I wish you all the best of luck in the future.