"I'm not one to make many public posts but as a self-confessed mini schnauzer lover, it's a sad day today. The first unwanted lockdown mini schnauzer puppy has appeared on Donedeal, an Irish buy and sell website.
5 months old and already packing his little suitcase. He was probably bought mid-April and is now being sold for considerably more than they'd have paid for him back then. They're all set to make a tidy little profit on their 12 week investment. He may now be surplus to requirements but these are difficult times, you might as well make a quick buck if you can. As the saying goes, waste not want not.
And whilst he might be the first lockdown mini schnauzer puppy to be rehomed, I guarantee he won’t be the last. All the rescues are battening down the hatches in anticipation of the tidal wave of post-Covid surrenders, as they are once again left to deal with the mess left behind by unscrupulous breeders and well meaning but ill prepared owners.
All over Ireland and the UK, Covid 19 led to a huge increase in prices for puppies/dogs and following swiftly in the steps of that hike in prices, a massive spike in the theft of much loved family pets. Every right thinking person is horrified by what’s going on at the moment.. pets being stolen from houses and gardens all over the country by organised criminal gangs. But the puppy/dog buying public has to shoulder some of the responsibility also. In a nutshell, we, the BUYERS, are setting these extortionate prices and lining puppy farmers’ pockets and we, the BUYERS, are encouraging scumbags to steal people’s dogs. No increase in buyers = no increase in demand = no increase in prices = no increase in theft. It's that basic.
If you're looking for a dog at the moment, please listen. In ordinary times you might be able to find a non-puppy farm/ non-stolen dog on websites like Donedeal, Gumtree or Preloved…but these are NOT ordinary times, so is it really worth the risk? Do you want a dog so badly that you are willing to pay extortionate prices and line these scumbags’ pockets? Do you want one so badly that you are prepared to buy someone’s stolen pet?
Everyone aways thinks they'll know a puppy farmer when they see one, the problem is..they don't. A lot use "puppy agents" a family member in a nice bungalow with kids, playset, nice garden etc. These agents then get a % commission of each sale. Often times if there is a female dog present, it's not the real dam or they're often drugged to make them look docile. Puppy farming is a €500m industry in this country so they are very very clever.
Why not wait until all this madness is over, and save yourself a few quid at the same time? Believe me, there will be huge numbers of Covid puppies up for adoption in the next 12 months. Or if you can't wait, and you don't know any reputable breeders, go to a reputable rescue, who are experienced in matching people up with dogs that suit their family best in terms of size, temperament, exercise requirements, allergies etc. You might have to wait, but that's only because reputable rescues want to find the perfect dog for you and the perfect home for the dog. They want to set you both up for success, unlike the scumbag who is happy to hand you over a puppy and never wants to see or hear from you again.
If you have a litter or dog to advertise in Ireland, be part of the solution not the problem. Do not use these websites, register with www.petbond.ie instead. It's a relatively new website which was set up to give buyers somewhere else to go other than Donedeal etc. when looking for a pet online. At least they make some effort to weed out the scumbags.
The photos and details below relate to miniature schnauzers on Donedeal, but I'd be fairly certain this applies to all pedigree breeds and crossbreeds, and all buy and sell websites. These websites are little more than a shop window for thieves, puppy farmers and profiteering scumbags. They should not be allowed to advertise animals. They are clearly incapable of ensuring that the animals which are offered for sale are not stolen or reared in inhumane conditions. Without these websites, business would be made much more difficult for backyard breeders and puppy farmers. How would the scumbags get their "goods" to the marketplace? Why should these websites be allowed to profit from animals’ pain through advertising revenue? Call me stupid, but if the company doesn't profit from animal sales, what's the big problem in getting rid of them?
Pre-Covid, the average price of a pet miniature schnauzer on Donedeal was app €400-550, cheap enough when compared with the UK or many other European countries. Lots of these puppies would have come from one of the many large commercial dog breeding establishments located here in Ireland, aka Puppy Farms and even at that modest price, they would have been making plenty of cash for their breeders.
Enter Covid 19... every puppy farmers dream come true. People stuck at home, kids bored, families taking to the outdoors, everyone decides it's the perfect time to get a dog! Suddenly prices rocket...first 850, then 1000, then 1200, then 1800. Any idiot could see what was happening, but did Donedeal try and intervene to protect the animals or the dog/puppy buying public by temporarily suspending animal sales? No... They did what they always do.. Sat back and watched their traffic increase and their advertising revenue with it.
Then finally last week, the price that broke this camel's back.. the €2000 miniature schnauzer stepped into the ring. So I started to keep a closer eye on the mini schnauzers being advertised on Donedeal, the following is my little Pup Watch diary from last week:
2nd July 2020: This morning on Donedeal a new all-time low has been reached…Conor “whoever you are” hang your head in shame…€2000 for a pet miniature schnauzer puppy is absolutely disgraceful, never mind the fact that you couldn’t even be bothered to take a picture of the actual puppy you are selling and took the one in the ad from Google. Ad reported to Donedeal.
4th July UPDATE: 48 hours later and the 2000e mini schnauzer is gone but fear not, all is not lost. Conor is now Peter, having moved from Kerry to Limerick within the last 48 hours but fortunately he has kept the same phone number and as luck would have it, somehow acquired another 2 puppies that he can't take care of because of work commitments but which he is now very generously offering for the bargain price of €1800. Just like the last one, they're probably from his "friend" in Wexford whose name might be on this list https://www.wexfordcoco.ie/environment/ ... blishments
Ad reported to Donedeal.
7th July UPDATE: So 3 days later and Conor and Peter have morphed into Ann... And it appears that little Bonnie, the pup in the ad 3 days ago, is now Molly, having undergone a name change and a price drop... Down to €1600. How do I know???? The microchip number... These pups were all chipped together, the numbers are concurrent. In the last 5 days, this litter has been sold in 3 different ads, by 3 different sellers in 3 different locations and not one single mention or picture of their poor mother. Doesn't take a genius to work out where she probably is. Ad reported to Donedeal.
8th July UPDATE: Poor Molly, price cut to an absolute steal of €1400....Still it's a 300% increase on what she'd have been sold for 4 months ago. Ad reported to Donedeal.
9th July UPDATE: Blatant puppy farming. 4th ad in a week, all selling puppies from the same litter, all have microchip numbers ending 1693X. 4 different sellers..Conor, Peter, Ann and now Liam, in 4 different locations Kerry, Limerick, Kerry, and back to Limerick, with 3 different telephone numbers, ending 0978,4274, 3932 and not ONE single photo or mention of their mother. The latest ad even has a pic easily found with Google image search. Ad reported to Donedeal https://images.app.goo.gl/TcH9ad9aYn1Xy1BY7
I’ve reported each ad to Donedeal, yet day after day they reappear. The ads remained active for hours or days after I’ve reported them. I’ve no idea if they were removed due to my reports or if the pups were sold because there is no follow up from Donedeal. And this is just a snapshot of one breed over a couple of days. How many other breeds/crossbreeds are being sold like this? How much proof does anyone need to see that this website, and others like it, are a marketplace for puppy farmers?.......
A simple change is needed... one which won’t cost the government a cent and will be warmly welcomed by every single, decent, right minded voter in this country… BAN THE SALE OF ANIMALS ON BUY AND SELL WEBSITES IMMEDIATELY.
Please share this post. Websites like Donedeal, Gumtree, Preloved etc. allow breeders to advertise litter upon litter upon litter and they never bat an eyelid. People's homes are being broken into, their beloved pets stolen and sold on these websites, yet they continuously fail to take any responsibility for the part they play in it all.
10th July UPDATE: 12 hours after posting this public Facebook post, I received my first reply to one of the ads I reported. They have marked the ad and buyer as "possibly ungenuine"
Coincidence?.. I think not. Whilst it's nice to finally get a reply, the phrase "too little too late" springs to mind. They need to remove ALL the ads for animals, not just the one I reported.10th July AFTERNOON UPDATE: .. This is beyond a joke! What kind of a cowboy outfit is Donedeal anyway? 5th ad on Donedeal, selling a pup from same litter, 5th seller name, 5th different location. Ad reported to Donedeal AGAIN.
. There was a litter of whites at £3000 each we paid £1000 for Jasper just over a year ago, that's some increase 