Where do brokered puppies come from?
A common marketing ploy of the people who broker puppies has been to claim that they import puppies because “European bred dogs are healthier”. They’ll usually then toss out some blather about dog wardens and breed inspections and dogs which are somehow magically healthy simply by virtue of the country they were born in.
None of this is true, of course. Dogs become healthier through a combination of things – a breeding program which puts health above everything else, use of up to date screening and DNA tests, an insistence on breeding from or to health tested dogs who don’t have any apparent health issues. None of this is predicated on the country your puppy is born in.
Another thing that helps to ensure your puppy turns out healthy, happy and well adjusted is to be sure he has been raised in a stimulating, safe, clean environment, where he, his siblings and his mother were fed quality food and given top knotch veterinary care.
Now, let me add my standard caveat – there are lots of breeders in Europe who exemplify everything I’ve just mentioned, and they are producing some spectacular dogs. What these stellar breeders are NOT doing is handing their four week old puppies over to any broker willing to pay them $200 per puppy.
For that, you need scumbags like these guys.
A COUPLE was arrested in Tarragona after one of their clients in Villena (Alicante) denounced them for selling puppies in poor health over the internet, Guardia Civil said. They were charged with crimes of fraud, unauthorized practice of a profession, forgery and acting against the protection of domestic animals.
The detainees – both Spaniards in their 40s – received around €25,000 for the animals and shipping costs, according to Guardia Civil estimates.
This amount should be added to the more than €5,000 that each of the 66 victims who have reported them from all over Spain have had to pay in vets bills due to the puppies ill health.
The German Shepard puppies were advertised through a website and claimed that they came from excellent bloodlines for both beauty and work, with pedigree, vaccinated, wormed and came with a health guarantee.
After the animal had been paid for it arrived malnourished with symptoms of dehydration, bloody stools, stupor, and generalized weakness and unable to stand. It died the following afternoon. The health book was not official and included vaccines that had allegedly been administered but the annotations were signed by the breeder and not a vet.
And of course they were selling French Bulldogs –
Officers found six dog cages filled with newspaper, two female German Shepard puppies without microchips and a French bulldog puppy with microchip in cages with veterinary cards prepared for sale. There were also 15 other veterinary cards with the data of other dogs that were not found at the property.
Anyone choosing to buy a puppy on line needs to be willing to do their homework, and to be intelligent enough to know when you’re being fed a line of marketing bullshit.
No good breeder lets a broker sell their puppies
I can’t possibly make that clear enough.
There are NO ‘caring, ethical, responsible breeders’ selling to pet stores, and there are NO ‘caring, ethical, responsible breeders’ selling their puppies to brokers – and that includes European breeders. For more information on the sort of heartbreak you let yourself in for when you purchase a puppy through a broker, visit The Wrong Puppy.
