Undergrad tries to sell adopted puppy for profit, gets flamed by netizens
Undergrad pays $350 to adopt rescued puppy and then tries to sell it online for $1,800.
Thu, Oct 15, 2009
The New Paper
By Liew Hanqing
HE ADOPTED a dog and tried to re-sell it online, only to get flamed by incensed netizens.
On 6 Oct - less than a week after he had adopted the dog from an animal rescue group - the man, a Chinese national in his 20s known only as 'Jeff', posted an online advertisement on at least two websites to sell it.
Though he had paid just $350 for the dog, Jeff claimed in the advertisements that he had bought the dog for about $4,000, but was willing to let it go for $1,800.
However, Jeff told The New Paper he had not planned to sell the dog for a profit.
He wrote in Chinese in one advertisement: "I want to keep this dog, but because of family reasons I have no choice but to sell it.
Mini-horses
"No bargaining please, because I am already making a huge loss."
In another ad, Jeff wrote in English: "Great Dane is a very rare breed in Singapore, many dog lovers have never seen one before.
"When they grow up, they are like mini-horses, a real head-turner! Imagine walking along Orchard Road with a dog bigger than you and yet (they are) so soft tempered, obedient, cute and lovely!?
These advertisements have riled both netizens and those who rescued the dog in the first place.
Wrote one netizen: "This guy really has no morals? trying to profit from somebody else's kindness."
Another added: "Karma's going to bite you in the rear for what you?re doing... profiteering from selling a puppy you ADOPTED. Shame on you."
Mr Mohd Aswat, 30, a pet shop owner who also runs animal rescue group Ubi Kuching Project with two friends, first rescued the puppy - a 2-month-old pure-bred great dane - about two weeks ago.
Said Mr Mohd Aswat, who has been rescuing abandoned animals for the last 17 years: "One of my former customers had been keeping the puppy, which his father had brought home, in a factory in Ubi but was told by SCDF that he was not allowed to keep it there.
"He had nowhere to place the dog, so he asked whether I would be able to help find a home for it."
Pictures of the dog were posted on the Ubi Kuching Project's website and soon attracted the attention of several prospective owners, including Jeff.
Said Mr Mohd Aswat: "Though he is a foreigner, he spoke very good English. He was polite and well-dressed."
He said Jeff appeared genuinely excited about adopting the puppy and turned up to view the dog the day after contacting him.
He paid Mr Mohd Aswat $350 as reimbursement for the dog's boarding fees and food, and left with the dog.
Up for sale in a week
But to his chagrin, Mr Mohd Aswat found the dog up for sale on the Internet less than a week after Jeff had adopted it when his colleague came across the advertisement online and told him about it.
Said Mr Mohd Aswat: "I realised the address he (Jeff) gave me was false when a former customer went there and found he did not live there.
"Of course, I was angry. I was trying to find a good home for the dog. The dog was not meant to be bought and sold again."
And even though the advertisements drew flak from netizens on online forums within hours of its being posted, Jeff managed to find a buyer for the dog - a 30-year-old self-employed man who wanted to be known only as Leo.
Leo told The New Paper that he had been looking to adopt a great dane for the last six months or so, and jumped at the opportunity to do so when he came across Jeff's advertisement.
He said: "I went to meet the seller, but I was suspicious because he couldn?t answer many of my questions about the dog."
He described the man as well-dressed with dyed hair who looked like he was in his early 20s.
Leo, a long-time dog owner who used to own a german shepherd, said he asked the man questions, including whether the dog had been vaccinated for heartworms.
He said: "I also asked him what the pedigree of the dog's parents are, how old they are and where he got the dog from."
He said Jeff claimed to have bought the dog from a friend who works in a pet farm.
"I asked him for the name of the pet farm and if I could speak to the owner of the pet farm, but Jeff said his friend was out of the country."
The next day, he received an SMS from a Malaysian handphone number, from a person who claimed to be the owner of the pet farm.
Said Leo: "I replied to the message and said I wanted to meet him; and he stopped replying after that."
Leo added that he was concerned about the dog's welfare as it looked skinny.
He said: "I paid Jeff a $200 deposit and asked if I could take the dog. He said okay."
Later, while surfing the Internet, Leo came across online posts about Jeff's advertisements. Suspecting the dog being discussed was the same one which he had bought, he took the dog to the pet shop to have it identified.
Said Mr Mohd Aswat: "It is definitely the same dog we had put up for adoption."
Leo said he plans to speak to the authorities to discuss what to do next.
AVA
On whether there are regulations on selling pets online, a spokesman for the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) said it does not have jurisdiction over online advertisements.
Said the spokesman: "However, if there is evidence that an individual who advertises online is using a premises to sell pets without a pet shop licence, AVA will investigate and take appropriate action.
"It is an offence to operate a pet shop without a licence from AVA. The offender can be fined up to $5,000 on conviction."
This article was first published in The New Paper.
