Press Releases

THS Warns of Puppy Scam

The Toronto Humane Society is warning the public that an advertisement which appeared in a local free daily newspaper offering a female Yorkshire Terrier for sale appears to be a scam. The ad, with the headline "Female Yorkie Terrier Puppy" and the sub-headline "Sami is so sweet and lovable" appeared in the Monday, April 2 edition of 24 Hours, and may have also appeared elsewhere. The only contact info offered was an e-mail address (sandra_pets01@yahoo.com).

"I saw the ad," says THS senior communicator Lee Oliver, "and thought it was odd that there was no phone number or address, so I sent an e-mail asking for particulars. I was sort of expecting to find a puppy mill, but instead I came across a pretty obvious scam."

The response, in broken English, indicated that for $500 the dog's owner would ship the "AKC-registered" 10-week-old "housebroken and potty trained" pup from her new home in Nigeria, where the seller was recently transferred by the United Nations to work as the head of public relations, to anywhere in the world. The $500 price tag included all shipping, handling and insurance. In the reply the dog's name inexplicably changed from Sami (in the ad) to Suzzy (in the e-mail).

Versions of the ad have shown up in the Prince George, B.C., on at least one online classifieds website and in the Cayman Islands. In the Caymans, police have gone so far as to issue warnings to citizens not to fall for the overseas fraud.

"I imagine most people are smart enough to see right through this," notes Oliver. "But just in case you're tempted by such an ad, just remember that whenever you come across a deal that's too good to be true, odds are it's, well, too good to be true."

For more information, contact:
Communications Department

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