E-tailers dupe naive buyers with ‘imperfect’ pedigree dogs

Chennai

City-based animal rescuers and activists said an alarmingly high number of pedigreed dogs are being abandoned by families, who don’t fully understand the responsibility of owning a pet.

Six years ago, when American expat Bruce Schwack, Director of Netmeds.com, decided to make Chennai his home, he decided to get a dog. “I wanted a teacup Pomeranian, similar to what I had back in the US. I got online and spoke to a breeder in Kolkata and chose the pup I wanted. He then sent it to me through an airline, packaged badly in a tiny box. When I got the pup, I realised it was not the one I had chosen – it was of a different colour and size. I called up the breeder, who asked me to send the pup back. But I couldn’t think of doing that. So, I named her Karma and she is the best dog ever,” he laughed.

Though Karma’s story has a happy turn to it, many other pedigreed dogs are often not so lucky.

Samudra Gupta, Co-Founder of The Pound, said many people are enthusiastic about owning pedigreed pets but back out after the initial thrill wears off. Samudra, who had written to these sites calling for regulation of pet sales, revealed, “We got responses but they were from third party customer service vendors and it was pretty useless to continue. From a policy standpoint, we don’t have proper rules governing selling animals, either  online or offline. A lot of people too lack awareness. Now, owning a dog has become an extension of people’s egos – just like owning the latest car or gadget. After seeing cute pedigreed dogs like pugs in advertisements, people are keen to own these animals but are not really aware of what it takes to care for the animal. Buying or adopting a dog is a 15-year-long commitment and not many people are ready for it.”

Anjana Cherian, a social worker, came across Rowdy, a Rottweiler, while searching on these sites for a guard dog. “I saw so many smalltime sellers without proper credentials. I found a Rottweiler for Rs. 7000, which was very strange as they are normally anything between Rs. 20,000 to 40,000. On speaking to the seller, he revealed extensively that he is a software professional in a popular IT company and was selling it as a favour to his friend, who couldn’t manage pups from the litter. I was convinced on him being genuine and not a breeder. The pup  too was healthy and vaccinated. But on Rowdy’s first appointment, the veterinarian said she will have hip dysplasia, a common inherited Rottweiler condition, in the future. Months later, her doctor also said she’s short for a female Rottweiler of her age. An online search revealed the short stature was due to early breeding. Rowdy isn’t what people call a ‘quality Rottweiler’ but she is more than perfect for our family in every way,” she said.

These websites also offered male purebreds for mating, of course at a price. Animal rescuer Shravan Krishnan said, “Many breeders and buyers don’t know what a pure breed actually means. The bloodlines have to be carefully considered before the mating happens – this is ethical breeding. But not many breeders follow it. Moreover, dogs are bred in pathetic conditions – kept in small cages, without proper food and water and many other atrocities take place.”

Abandoned pedigreed dogs on the rise

Animal rescuer Shravan Krishnan, who runs a shelter, said the number of pedigreed dogs being abandoned by their families is increasing at an alarming rate. “In websites like Olx and Quikr, people upload cute pictures of puppies, which may be of a different puppy. And when a pup is 45 days old, many buyers cannot differentiate if it is a pure or mixed breed. Only when the dog is older, will the characteristics be more prominent. When such a situation arises, families have no qualms in abandoning their pets. Over the last year alone, we have rescued around 80-90 pedigreed dogs – from German Shepherds to Lhasa Apsos to Rottweilers,” he said.