Be an Informed Buyer
If you are starting to search for a Bolognese there are a few things that may be helpful to know to make your search a success. These days the Bolognese is still quite rare, but there are a growing number of Bolognese breeders to choose from. So, how do you know which one is the right one, and maybe even more importantly, how do you find a real one?While browsing a large puppy find web site in January 2006 an interested visitor found 33 Bolognese offered for sale. Here's what else they found with minimal research.
Two puppies were from a kennel who in addition to raising Bolognese also raise 13 other breeds: American Bulldog, Boston, Terrier, Chihuahua, Chinese Crested, Boston Terrier, Pekingese, Peek-a-Poo, Poodle (Toy), Pug, Shih Tzu, Silky Terrier, Yorkshire Terrier, Siberian Husky. Most sound breeders would consider this a puppy mill and would question how you could expertly raise 13 different breeds of dogs, socialize them properly, give proper care to their parents and get any sleep yourself.
They uncovered this by doing a Google search on the phone number listed in the ad.
Another puppy was from a kennel which in 2003 sold all their stock at auction, all 256 of them, which included these 29 breeds (per the auction announcement): Dachshund, Miniature, Pinscher, Ori-Pei, Shar-Pei, Pekingese, Pomeranian, Poo, Cocker, Poodle, Bernese Mtn., Beagle, Australian Shepherd, Blood Hound, Chihuahua, Chinese Crested, Japanese Chin, Miniature Schnauzer, Cairn Terrier, Lhasa, Cavalier King, Brussels, French Bulldog, Shih Tzu, Papillon, Pug, Silky Terrier, Bichon Frise, Yorkshire and Maltese.
This information was gleaned in the same way, by doing a Google search of the phone number listed in the on-line ad. That phone number brought up a web site for the auction.
One breeder listed her name. When doing a Google search on her name they found a dog forum with this info: "We purchased a Havanese thinking "(redacted)" was a breeder. She is in fact not a breeder - she is a dog broker/dealer. I would not recommend purchasing a dog through her. Our puppy has Legg-Calve-Perth disease, luxating patellas and chondrodysplasia. "(Redacted)" is not a breeder and our dog was imported from Hungary and most likely from a Hungarian puppy mill. Caution. We wished we would have known more."
Then there is the reason why this investigation began. It started with "James" who claims to be from Miami, Florida. He was offering a Bolognese named Bill "for sale" and a Bolognese named "Penny" for sale. His asking price? Only $500 for the male and $450 for the female. And at that price he will also include shipping anywhere in the United States!
How can he do all that for only $500? Well, the truth is he can't.
"Bill" isn't his dog. "Bill" isn't for sale. "Bill" isn't his registered or call name. "Bill" isn't even a puppy anymore – he's now an adult Bolognese. The dog pictured as "Penny" was just another picture of "Bill" in a different pose. "Bill" currently lives with a wonderful family in the Western United States, a far cry from Florida where "James" claims to be from. The pictures displayed for Bill and Penny were stolen from a legitmate breeder's web site to create bogus ads.
So, who is James? Why would he do this? James is a scammer creating many listings in the Bolognese category. He would like you to think he can sell you a beautiful Bolognese at a very good price. Problem is, he doesn't have any dogs, won't ever have any dogs, and neither will you if you think you've found an ideal, affordable breeder, or as James described himself, "… nice breeders looking for a nice patronizers (sic)."
An attorney was hired by the offended breeder and the investigation uncovered other dogs on this site sporting pictures stolen from legitimate breeders, breeders in the UK, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Canada and even more from the US. One month after their original investigation the same and now additional breeders are being affected.
And yes, people get snookered by these ads. A U.S. breeder we recently talked to told us a heartrending story of a family who had consulted them for help after paying for a dog, not receiving a dog, and when they pursued the person who had taken their money their investigation uncovered that they were working with a person located in Mexico, not in the U.S. as the ad claimed. The family didn't buy a dog, they bought only heartache.
So, out of 33 ads and approximately a dozen different "breeders" we could only confirm ONE breeder who actually had Bolognese, who was not breeding more than two dog breeds, and who provided pedigrees for their dogs. That is one who we would consider a legitimate breeder. We talked with this breeder and discovered that they are solely on this site as a defensive move. When they do not have a presence there pictures fly off their web site and end up in even more bogus ads.
Comments
I actually wrote a lady on the Pfind site and explained that the phrase "raised in my home" must be overwhelming to her because on PFind alone she had listed at least 30 puppies representing 12 breeds!! She wrote back and said there was nothing wrong with what she was doing, so I returned by asking if there is nothing wrong with it and she was proud of herself as a breeder, why was it necessary to use such "deceptive" terms. (They call it lying where I come from!). She told me to mind my own business. Well, that is exactly what exposing people like her is...preserving MY business. M.E., USA.
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