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FinerImage · 03-20-2011, 07:45 PM

Almost scammed!
Words cannot express the amount of thanks that I have for the members and information on this site.

Yesterday, we made the decision to adopt a 12 month female yorkie while dealing with interaction concerns regarding our cat to a new pet in the house. The owner of the yorkie had placed an ad and said that she was releasing the dog up for adoption. I spoke with the owner numerous times asking her questions about the dog such as its medical history, temperament, daily routine, etc. She told me that the yorkie was up to date on all shots, microchipped, and housebroken. She provided a photo of the dog, but it was only a headshot. I realized that we needed to meet the owner and dog in person.

The owner lives about 100 miles away so we agreed to meet at a petstore that she said would lessen some of the travel time. The reason she was putting the dog up for adoption was due to a move to California with her kids (husband not included). They were moving in with a family that already had a number of pets and it was going to be a small apartment. She had also mentioned that they had lost their home and she was a former veterinary technician.

After the very long drive through rain and traffic we finally met around 8:45pm. I looked at the dog and something did not feel right. The dog was wrapped in a pink blanket and did not look like the dog in the photo. Although the dog was cute, the looks were just a little off for being a yorkie. The coat of this dog was nothing like a yorkie. The hair of this dog was chopped up terribly with scissors. This was clearly a scissors cut. She said that the previous owner of the dog had shaved the dogs coat really low and it was just growing back in. I am smart enough to know that even if you shaved a dog, the coat would not come back in the lengths in which they were layered. This was clearly a fresh scissor cut to further confused the breed of the dog.

Along with the owner were her two kids AND her Husband?? We found it strange that there were no emotions showed by either family member towards this dog. We talked and walked around the store discussing the items that we would need for the dog: crate, type of food, etc. Very odd that she was putting this dog up for adoption without any of the dogs personal items. She finally put the dog down and this dog was VERY TALL for a yorkie. This dog would not fit into any carry on carrier or portable purse carrier. I asked her for the vet records and guess what she said, "I left them at home, however I can mail them to you." This is when the encounter ended. I told her no that would not do. Then one of the cashiers at Petsmart said "this a cute dog, what kind of dog is it?" Really, a petstore employee did not even know what kind of dog she was trying to sale. She said it was a yorkie, just a tall one. Then she suggested that we follow her to their house. NO WAY - I was putting myself or my family in danger. That's when she said, we are only 7 minutes away from my house if we take the freeway. I grew extremely angry at this point - she only shaved 7 minutes off of her time and I drove over 90 miles to see a MUTT and had to drive over 90 miles to get back home! Just as we were driving off, the owner walked up to my window and said, "I found the records, my son had them in the back seat". Now, I have own dogs before and I know what vet records look like. The entire top part of the sheets were cut off without any indications for what type of animal the shots were for. There was only a listing of the type of shots received. She said that I could call the vet if I had any questions. Right- I was going to call a vet's office after they close to dig up records. I told her no and that I would call her tomorrow to discuss. She said that she had 4 other people interested which did not matter to me. We were done and wanted to end this without any altercations.

I have been carefully researching yorkies which led me to this site. I am so thankful for the information you have shared. The sad part of this is that my 0 year old daughter REALLY wanted a yorkie. She took money out of your savings to buy the dog toys and a special welcome gift. We were devastated and also relieved that we had done our research on yorkies and listened to our instincts and left that dog with its' owner. In thinking about the features of the dog that she was trying to sale it looked like a cross between a West Highland Terrier or Carin Terrier and something else. The dog we looked at last night was clearly not a yorkie and was probably a lot older than 12 months, along with several unknown health or behavior issues.

So long story short, we do not have a yorkie and this experience has left us very uneasy about purchasing dogs that do not come from a breeder. We were truly trying to give this dog a good home. We are a family that gives tremendously to those in need. If this family would have been honest, we would have happily given them some money to help their situation rather than trying to scam families and break the hearts of little girls. For now, we are going to enjoy our cat until the right Yorkie comes along and to continue to do our research on reputable breeders in the area. My daughter is heartbroken but this was a tough lesson in learning that the world can be a cruel place and there are some people who will do dishonest things for money.

03-20-2011, 07:45 PM	#1
FinerImage YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: yorkieland Posts: 9	Almost scammed!!!! Almost scammed! Words cannot express the amount of thanks that I have for the members and information on this site. Yesterday, we made the decision to adopt a 12 month female yorkie while dealing with interaction concerns regarding our cat to a new pet in the house. The owner of the yorkie had placed an ad and said that she was releasing the dog up for adoption. I spoke with the owner numerous times asking her questions about the dog such as its medical history, temperament, daily routine, etc. She told me that the yorkie was up to date on all shots, microchipped, and housebroken. She provided a photo of the dog, but it was only a headshot. I realized that we needed to meet the owner and dog in person. The owner lives about 100 miles away so we agreed to meet at a petstore that she said would lessen some of the travel time. The reason she was putting the dog up for adoption was due to a move to California with her kids (husband not included). They were moving in with a family that already had a number of pets and it was going to be a small apartment. She had also mentioned that they had lost their home and she was a former veterinary technician. After the very long drive through rain and traffic we finally met around 8:45pm. I looked at the dog and something did not feel right. The dog was wrapped in a pink blanket and did not look like the dog in the photo. Although the dog was cute, the looks were just a little off for being a yorkie. The coat of this dog was nothing like a yorkie. The hair of this dog was chopped up terribly with scissors. This was clearly a scissors cut. She said that the previous owner of the dog had shaved the dogs coat really low and it was just growing back in. I am smart enough to know that even if you shaved a dog, the coat would not come back in the lengths in which they were layered. This was clearly a fresh scissor cut to further confused the breed of the dog. Along with the owner were her two kids AND her Husband?? We found it strange that there were no emotions showed by either family member towards this dog. We talked and walked around the store discussing the items that we would need for the dog: crate, type of food, etc. Very odd that she was putting this dog up for adoption without any of the dogs personal items. She finally put the dog down and this dog was VERY TALL for a yorkie. This dog would not fit into any carry on carrier or portable purse carrier. I asked her for the vet records and guess what she said, "I left them at home, however I can mail them to you." This is when the encounter ended. I told her no that would not do. Then one of the cashiers at Petsmart said "this a cute dog, what kind of dog is it?" Really, a petstore employee did not even know what kind of dog she was trying to sale. She said it was a yorkie, just a tall one. Then she suggested that we follow her to their house. NO WAY - I was putting myself or my family in danger. That's when she said, we are only 7 minutes away from my house if we take the freeway. I grew extremely angry at this point - she only shaved 7 minutes off of her time and I drove over 90 miles to see a MUTT and had to drive over 90 miles to get back home! Just as we were driving off, the owner walked up to my window and said, "I found the records, my son had them in the back seat". Now, I have own dogs before and I know what vet records look like. The entire top part of the sheets were cut off without any indications for what type of animal the shots were for. There was only a listing of the type of shots received. She said that I could call the vet if I had any questions. Right- I was going to call a vet's office after they close to dig up records. I told her no and that I would call her tomorrow to discuss. She said that she had 4 other people interested which did not matter to me. We were done and wanted to end this without any altercations. I have been carefully researching yorkies which led me to this site. I am so thankful for the information you have shared. The sad part of this is that my 0 year old daughter REALLY wanted a yorkie. She took money out of your savings to buy the dog toys and a special welcome gift. We were devastated and also relieved that we had done our research on yorkies and listened to our instincts and left that dog with its' owner. In thinking about the features of the dog that she was trying to sale it looked like a cross between a West Highland Terrier or Carin Terrier and something else. The dog we looked at last night was clearly not a yorkie and was probably a lot older than 12 months, along with several unknown health or behavior issues. So long story short, we do not have a yorkie and this experience has left us very uneasy about purchasing dogs that do not come from a breeder. We were truly trying to give this dog a good home. We are a family that gives tremendously to those in need. If this family would have been honest, we would have happily given them some money to help their situation rather than trying to scam families and break the hearts of little girls. For now, we are going to enjoy our cat until the right Yorkie comes along and to continue to do our research on reputable breeders in the area. My daughter is heartbroken but this was a tough lesson in learning that the world can be a cruel place and there are some people who will do dishonest things for money.