Family's Horse Goes Missing For 10 Years, Then They Spot A Suspicious Ad On Craigslist

The bond between a horse and its owner is a special one. Just like dogs, horses can develop deep feelings of attachment for the people who are responsible for feeding, brushing, and generally taking care of them.

That's one of the many reasons Texas-area woman Michelle Pool was devastated when she awoke to find her beloved steed, Opie, missing. Nearly a decade passed before she found any hints as to the fate of her beloved horse.

To read more on this story, click here: Family's Horse Goes Missing For 10 Years, Then They Spot A Suspicious Ad On Craigslist

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Pet Ads On Craigslist

PETA and AALAS have been kind enough to provide the following perspectives on this controversial subject:

1. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) [www.peta.org]

We are writing in regards to the "free to good home" advertisements that appear on the Craigslist website.

As you may be aware, animals given away for free can, and unfortunately often do, meet gruesome fates. They can end up in the hands of animal abusers like Barry Herbeck, a Wisconsin man who was convicted last year of torturing and killing animals he obtained through "free to good home" ads. He confessed to taking his kids with him when responding to the ads so people would be comfortable turning animals over to him. People known as "bunchers," who obtain animals illegally from random sources to sell to research facilities for profit, often acquire animals by answering "free to good home" ads. Small animals advertised as "free to good home" are sometimes acquired by individuals who intend to use them as bait in training other animals to fight. Gerbils, hamsters, and young kittens are often acquired to be used as snake food.

Animal protection organizations all over the United States work diligently to educate people about the proper procedure for placing animals and frequently assist people in finding good homes for their animals. We routinely contact individuals who place "free to good home" advertisements to alert them to the potential perils for their animals and continuously receive appreciative calls from people who say they never knew these dangers existed.

To read more on this story, click here: Pet Ads On Craigslist

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You Have Good Intentions, and You List Your Pet on Craigslist, as 'Free to Good Home' - Find Out Why That is Not a Good Idea: Things You Should Consider First

For whatever reason, you have found yourself in a situation where you can’t keep your beloved furry family member and you want to find them a really good home. Money isn’t important – you just want them to be loved and cherished the way they deserve to be and you’ve run out of family or friends who are willing to take them. There are no shelters with no-kill policies nearby and you refuse to gamble with fate and hope that they get adopted in time.

So you put an ad up on Craigslist or Facebook and advertise your dog or cat under “free to a good home.” Sounds innocent enough, right? You’re just looking out for your dear pet and trying to find them a new forever home.

However, as good as your intentions may be, there are some very serious reasons why you might want to reconsider.

During a recent study, it was discerned that 41 percent of all owner-surrendered animals at shelters were obtained via “free to good home” ads. Not to mention, when you forfeit your pet to someone you’ve never met nor know anything about, there’s a potential that Fluffy’s new happy ending could really be a horror story wrought with neglect, cruelty, and abuse.

While we wish this weren’t the case, here are a few things that you might want to consider before submitting that advertisement.

1. Cruelty

It can be difficult to discern the true motivations of the person to whom you are giving your pet. While they might appear to be the perfect candidate on paper, is that a risk you’re really willing to take?

In 2012, Patricia Hervey was found guilty of scouring Craigslist for animals listed as “free to a good home,” and contacting guardians claiming that she ran a shelter. Hervey would then charge the pet parents a fee for “rehoming” their animals, house the claimed pets in filthy conditions and then shoot them.

2. Test Subjects

People known as “Bunchers,” collect groups of pets to sell to Class B dealers. These dealers are licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to buy and sell animals “from random sources” into research trials. Often times the dealers take the animals and transport them out of states. According to Save our Shepherds, “Almost every cosmetic, household, and chemical product is tested on animals, including former pets obtained from shelters and Class B Dealers. Veterinary schools and medical schools, and even some engineering schools use dogs and cats in classrooms and ‘research.’ Textile manufacturers who make products for medical use test and demonstrate on dogs, frequently retired racing greyhounds.”

3. Breeders

Animals not spayed or neutered are often obtained by puppy mill owners to serve as breeding dogs. They are kept in cramped kennels, often outside, and human contact is minimal. There is often no regular veterinary care and they are used purely as baby-making machines.

4. Bait

Dog fighters will often target “free to good home” ads to find cats, kittens, puppies and submissive dogs that they will use as bait to train other dogs to be aggressive killers. Some larger dogs are trained to be fighters, as well, and if they lose a fight they are brutally punished and left to die. In a tragic recent incident, a female Pit Bull, Cabela, was purchased to serve as a fighting dog but was “too sweet-tempered” so her owners shot her and left her tied to the train tracks. Luckily, Cabela was rescued and is now in recovery.

5. Flippers

These people collect animals from freebie ads to resell for profit in flea markets and online ads. Their care is minimal are they are not vetted; they are seen as money-makers and nothing else. Additionally, these sellers take little interest in where they animals they “flip” end up, meaning another potential disaster for former pets.

6. Food

Free animals are sometimes obtained as food for pet snakes and even, at times, to be eaten by humans. Earlier this year David Williford was arrested for getting free and low-cost pets from Craigslist, torturing and killing them, and then eating them. Some of the animals were starved to death and there were bones found all around his home. He was charged with twelve counts of animal cruelty against rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, and dogs.

Finding a Better Option for Your Beloved Pet

It can be easy to be tricked by people who reply to “free to good home” ads. They often arrive as a family, complete with children in tow. They put on a good front and have a wonderful story about how they are all animal lovers and are looking for a new addition to the family. They will tell you whatever they think you want to hear.

When you are considering re-homing your pet please consider whether or not you absolutely need to do so. Upon adopting a pet, you take on the responsibility to provide that animal with love and to see to his or her needs for life. If you are having behavioral issues with your pet, perhaps a trainer or veterinarian can help. If you don’t have as much time to spend together as you used to, hire a pet sitter to come visit during the day.

If there absolutely is no option to keep your pet and you truly must re-home her, please do so responsibly. There are a few things that are absolutely required to help ensure her safety.

Charge a re-homing fee. Show the animal is worth something to you and anyone who really cares will understand. This will help discourage those who prey on free and cheap animals.

Use an adoption application and adoption contract. You can find them online or you can ask to use one from your local animal rescues.

Get a copy of their driver’s license to verify their identity. Be sure to check public records for any criminal history.

Do a vet check. This simply entails calling their veterinarian and asking if their pets are all current on vaccinations and are spayed or neutered. If they are, that’s a good indication they will take proper care of your pet.

Ask for two or three personal or professional references.

Do a home visit. Go to their house and make sure it is safe. Is the backyard fenced in? Are there outer buildings that look like they may have housed breeding animals at one time? You don’t have to require a meticulous home that would pass a white glove test, but you want to make sure the home is safe and that your pet will be treated like part of the family.

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One Scottish Dog Serves to Remind All of Online Sales Dangers

This cautionary tale has a name: Kai. A Shar Pei mix, Kai the dog was recently abandoned at a Scottish railway station. As adoption offers poured in from around the world, authorities began to piece together Kai’s past. Unfortunately, the dog’s original family, who’d rehomed him via a website in 2013, possessed no information concerning Kai’s second owner.

To read more on this story, click here: One Scottish Dog Serves to Remind All of Online Sales Dangers
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Do Not Post Your Dog on Craigslist as 'Free to Good Home' - Dog Flipper is Reselling Your Dog

This is what someone posted on Craigslist:

BEWARE : DOG FLIPPER !!! Help me find my dog please !!! (TOWSON)

If you are trying to re-home your dog, DO NOT give it to a black guy named Jay !! He is a dog flipper !!

I had my dog on Craigslist and this guy gave me a believable story so I allowed him to take my dog with the knowledge he could bring him back if things didn't work out. He came and got the dog at 9 pm on Tuesday evening. Wednesday evening I was scrolling thru the pet ads and saw an ad with a picture of my dog !! I opened the ad and sure enough it was his name (Jay) and his same phone number show contact info . I was furious to say the least. Obviously he only took my dog because he was free and wanted to make money on him. So I emailed him anonymously inquiring about the dog...no response. I also texted him from a different number inquiring about the dog...no response. The next morning I get a text from a strange number asking if I was missing a dog. Well this guy said he adopted the dog but the dog was scared and got out of the collar and ran away. No, it was a friend of Jay's just telling me that so I would think the dog was gone.

Jay told me before getting the dog that his girlfriend took his dog, a Yorkie, and then they split up and he told her to keep the dog that he would get himself another. He even sent me a video of him teaching the dog to rollover. He also told me he was moving back to Florida with his mother.

In his ad for my dog, it was a different story. He said he was in the military and was being deployed to Korea and couldn't take the dog.

My dog's name is Tucker. Jay said in his ad the dog's name was Cane...not. He is a Standard Rat Terrier. He is predominantly white with black spots. He is wearing a blue collar and his toenails are very long.

If anyone has adopted my dog, or knows his whereabouts, I would so very much appreciate any information you may have. I want to get my dog back and find him a decent, loving home...not with some dog flipper that doesn't care about Tucker's welfare !!

Below is the original Craigslist ad that I copied from. Ads on Craigslist stay up for approximately one week, so it may no longer be active.

BEWARE : DOG FLIPPER !!! Help me find my dog please !!! (TOWSON)

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