Leading national animal welfare charity Companion Animal Network Australia (Australia CAN) is warning big-hearted Australians about fake pet rescue groups which it says are breaking hearts and draining bank accounts.
“The majority of pet rescue groups are run ethically by staff and volunteers who are dedicated and work hard to save animal lives,” said Trish Ennis, CEO of Australia CAN, a registered charity representing the companion animal welfare work of member organisations across the country.
“But sadly, there is a rise in scam pet rescue groups targeting people who want to adopt from a shelter or rescue. Scammers are impersonating real animal shelters and rescue groups or posing as people who want to rehome an animal and tricking the public into adopting pets that don’t exist.”
To raise awareness about pet scams, Australia CAN partnered with Puppy Scam Awareness Australia (PSAA), a dedicated organisation that brings awareness about the thousands of pet scamming syndicates who prey on pet shoppers, helps puppy shoppers spot a scammer and assists those who have been scammed. PSAA also works to report and shut down scammers’ online presence and helps victims try and get their money back.
“We are very concerned that pet rescue scams are on the rise,” said PSAA Founder Sandy Trujillo.
“Sadly, many pet lovers are getting pulled into these online scams thinking they are legitimate and often take what scammers say at face value. There are hundreds of these pages on social media and the public are unaware of what the red flags are.”
When pet love is blind
One victim of a pet rescue scam is 78-year-old Christine Jenkins, who was scammed out of $2,500 in savings by a fake website called WoodPetsAU – which has now been shut down) – for a six-year-old rescue dog that did not exist.
Christine lives alone in her Sydney home and after having had many dogs in the past, yearned for a loving companion once again. She fell in love with the cute little Cavoodle named Milo who supposedly belonged to a family with a terminal illness and could no longer look after him.
It was after Christine transferred the money that she got a Facebook message from ‘David’ asking for more funds to cover a broken travel crate, when she realised she was duped.
“I felt sick inside. I became quite unwell because of that. I didn’t know about pet scams and felt so stupid for not being more aware. I was in love with this dog and all reason went out of the window,” said Christine.
When PSAA posted about the scam in their Victims Support Group, they received a huge response from people wanting to donate a dog for Christine. PSAA is now organising for a suitable rescue dog to be gifted to Christine along with a box of doggy presents donated by Presents for Paws.
Christine said PSAA’s intervention “made so much difference that the horrible experience is now fading into the background. I’m overcome with the kindness, generosity and response of people, and it restored my faith a lot.”
While Christine is looking forward to welcoming her rescue dog Max at the end of the month, she wants people to be aware of fake pet rescues.
How to tell if a pet rescue group is fake
PSAA has found that most Facebook pages titled “rehoming and adoption” are fake.
“Genuine Australian pet rescue pages mainly use the word ‘rescue’, not ‘rehoming’ or ‘adoption’ which scammers tend to use. These scam pages always have cute puppy pictures, not older dogs that have been surrendered. That is the main difference,” explained Ms Trujillo.
She shared tips on making sure the rescue group, shelter or pound is not a scam.
“I have noticed scammers have been creating closed groups called for rehoming or adoption. They have discovered these are harder to shut down. They will trick a person into thinking the group is for rescues but will post cute puppies in those groups to make customers want to buy them at very cheap prices,” said Trujillo.
Tips to choosing a responsible pet rescue group
The aim of a responsible rescue organisation is to find a loving, forever home for animals in their care so they will want to help you adopt the right pet, explained Ms Ennis.
She shared some tips on choosing a registered, responsible pet rescue charity for those who wish to adopt.
For a guaranteed pet to welcome into your family, contact an Australia CAN member in your state https://australiacan.org.au/who-we-are/
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