Photo Theft, Idiocy and a Bunny Puppy Update

I run a website called French Bulldog Photos – http://www.frenchbulldogphotos.com

It’s pretty self explanatory – it’s a website filled with nothing but photos of Frenchies. Users register, and create albums for their dogs. Most people are good about it, just using the site to post pictures of their pets, but every once in a while someone tries to use it to post dogs for sale (probably because we have the highest google hit placement for ‘French Bulldog photos’). I clean the gallery out once every few weeks – get rid of blatant ads, or galleries that have sat empty for more than a few weeks. Every so often, I get slack and forget to check it for a month or so, but luckily for me my users keep a pretty close eye on what’s going on in there, and contact me if they see anything inappropriate posted.

More after the cut.

Recently, Teresa contacted to let me know that someone was not only posting photos of dogs for sale, but the photos they were using were mine – my one week photos of Bunny’s puppies. They probably lifted them either from here, or from Flickr. Having your photos stolen is a risk whenever you make them public, as my experience over the years with puppy find has taught me. Here’s a scan of the gallery they created on French Bulldog photos (obviously I’ve since removed it).

In this case, it’s the sheer combination of idiocy and audacity that shocks me. Bad enough to steal my photos. Worse to claim that they are your dogs, and for sale. Then to use my own website to host them?

A search on this idiot’s email address revealed that they are an obvious wire transfer – or ‘phantom puppy’ – scam. This is the con where you are offered a puppy for free, and all you have to do is pay the shipping by western union (that’s the key right there – these guys always ask for payment by western union). The con artist then strings you along for as long as possible, asking for extra money for shots, or export duties, or government fees. The most audacious ones finally contact you claiming to be from the shipping company, and requiring a final payment of dues and fines, and threaten that if you don’t pay them you’ll be ‘charged’ with ‘abandoning’ the puppy.

Of course, that’s a hollow threat, because there is no puppy – there never was. Once the con artists have drained as much money as they can from you, they move on to their next victims. You can read more about these cons on the Rip Off report, or read our tips on avoiding phantom puppy scams here.

Here’s the email I sent to the moron who ripped off my photos – I don’t expect to get a reply, but sending it sure felt good:

First of all, you steal MY PHOTOS from my web page.

Then, you claim that they’re your dogs, and that they’re for sale.

Then, just to prove that you are a complete and TOTAL moron, you add
them to a gallery on MY web site, frenchbulldogphotos.com

Did your mother drop you as a child? Do you wear a helmet?

Use my photos again, and my lawyer will be the next one to write you
an email. I’ve kept a screen capture of your page for my records.

You are so obviously a wire transfer scam. I’ve reported you to your
email host, and everyone else I can think of.

Idiot.

Bunny Puppies Update

The Bun Bun puppies are doing exceedingly well. They eat, sleep, wiggle and are starting to make teeny tiny puppy barks. Best of all, they’ve got.. puppy breath! Woo hoo! If we could bottle that sweet skunky smell, we’d all be rich.

The little white boy is out stripping his sister in weight, and they both weigh more than little Mr. Brindle Bum

If they ever start doing anything more exciting than wiggling and yawning, I’ll make another attempt at shooting some video. In the meantime, here’s their newest photo set, with my favorite (a shot of the white boy) below.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/frenchbulldogs/sets/72157603224076096/