BALTIMORE — A Maryland grandmother is warning others after paying $800 for a puppy that never arrived.
Sarah Edelman hadn't planned on getting another dog, especially after losing her beloved Morkie of 14 years. But when her 10-year-old granddaughter found Chloe, a Yorkshire Terrier advertised online, Edelman couldn't resist.
"You look in their eyes and you say, yeah, he needs me and I need him, and it just clicks," Edelman said.
The seller sent videos and photos to convince Edelman the dog was real. She paid $650 through Zelle then an additional $150 for transportation costs.
"I got right in touch with the guy and it was within one week of the time we first saw her that I thought she was being delivered by airplane," Edelman said.
Edelman then received a phone call from people claiming to be at the airport, demanding more money.
"They said, well you need to rent an air conditioned crate," Edelman said. "And I said, and how much is this going to cost? He said $2,000 to rent it. And that's when I started putting two and two together."
Clay Campbell with the Better Business Bureau of Greater Maryland said pet scams don't stop with the first payment.
"So if they get you once, if they get a payment out of you one time, the scammer typically knows that they can probably get more money out of you," Campbell said.
Scammers rely on urgency and emotion to keep victims paying, Campbell explained.
"If you've paid something and you're just trying to get that last leg of the delivery supposedly according to the scammer completed, it's really tempting to pay again, but don't," Campbell said.
For Edelman, the financial loss was only part of the pain.
"I'm not even talking about the money. I'm talking about the fact that you build yourself up to love this thing," Edelman said. "Go where you can see a puppy, go where you can see a car where you can see a bike, touch it, feel it, and know that you can love it and that it's going to love you back."
A reverse image search revealed the same photos of "Chloe" appeared on multiple websites and social media pages, some dating back to 2022.
Legitimate rescues, shelters, and breeders will allow potential buyers to see animals in person or through live video calls. The Federal Trade Commission recommend using credit cards for purchases to provide the most protection if something goes wrong. And they say to start pet searches at local rescues or animal shelters, including breed-specific rescue organizations. Click here for more information.
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