Rehousing Fee?

I was on craigslist looking at dogs and puppies available in my area and notice each ad included a rehousing fee. Is this like buying a dog? I've had 4 loyal dog companions in my life and everyone of them were free.
 
Yeah, what dogluver said. Several years back, dubious folks were scarfing up free dogs to toss into the dog fighting blender as bait dogs and so on, so people started charging a "fee" to keep them at bay, since it's cost prohibitive to pay for fodder for the meat grinder.

I've picked up a few pups and one full grown adult dog from Craig's, over the years. There ARE a lot of scamming shitbags on craig's, but there are also a lot of decent folks just trying to get the dog to someone who will care for it rather than take it to the pound. Some people set reasonable fees, others are clearly fucking delusional, but, there are reasons for both. Send me a DM if you're interested in what info I have in that regard, for all the obvious reasons, I'm not going to post information here in public.
 
Be aware that while CL does allow for legitimate rehoming fees, straight up selling animals (especially puppies/kittens) is against their terms of service. The vast majority on there are breeders and/or scammers flaunting CL's lack of moderation to call a sale a rehoming.

As dogluver and dogdaddy said, a legit rehoming is an owner of an animal who can no longer care for it but wants to be sure it's going to a safe and legit home.

NEVER send money for an animal online, or without seeing the animal in person. Exchange of money should happen at the same time and place as you receiving the animal. Especially during lockdowns there was a huge surge in cons using people's desire for a new companion to scam them out of money for an animal that didn't exist.
 
It's not that different than the shelters who also charge to adopt. If you don't know the person personally it's a way to ensuring there's at least some level of commitment even if it's just a relatively small amount of money. Also helps show they are willing and capable of coming up with at least a hundred dollars to go towards an animal which is just a drop in the bucket when it comes to vet bills and food and grooming and all that.
 
Unfortunately, shelters always neuter their dogs, which leaves platforms like CL for adoption. Be very careful with CL, there's a lot of puppy scams going on, besides cellphone scams of Russian and Middle Eastern scumbags trying to get a "down payment" or take over your Google account, etc. Many so-called "fees" on CL are actually just backyard puppy mills trying to sell their dogs. Two grand isn't a rehoming fee! For anything over $1,000 you can get a dog with all shots, health records, and papers from a reputable breeder.

That said, a modest rehoming fee of $200-$500 is perfectly acceptable, depending on what comes with the dog. This fee is also to make sure that the dog doesn't end up in bad hands, like welfare cases who can't take care of it, or assholes using them for bait dogs in dog fights.
 
I also view a legit rehoming fee as: generally if it's a true rehoming due to no longer being able to care for the animal, the owner will include any toys/beds/bowls/remaining food. So in a sense you're paying for all that too.
 
As others have said, asking for a fee is recommened now to prevent the dog ending up as a bait dog, or just people making an impulse choice and not thinking and planning carefully about the commitment.

My advise is to insist on donating at least half (if not all) of the fee direct to an animal chairty, you can make a one off payment online on your phone in front of the seller and show them the email reciept. If you ask them this when you first contact them, it's an easy way to determin if it's a genuine rehoming, or just some wanker who sees their dogs as extra cash or selling a stolen dog. If they say "well I just spent loads on vet bills", they should have reciepts as part of the dogs paperwork.

If you do pay a fee, always pay in cash when you pick up the dogs and make them give you a written and signed receipt with the cash and donation amounts along with their name/address and details of the dog (e.g. chip ID number). Always go to their home and never meet in a random location like a car park. Another scam is someone selling their dog for cash, then reporting it as stolen to get it back and keep the money, so walk away if they won't give you a receipt or any paperwork including the microchip paperwork.
 
As others have said, asking for a fee is recommened now to prevent the dog ending up as a bait dog, or just people making an impulse choice and not thinking and planning carefully about the commitment.

My advise is to insist on donating at least half (if not all) of the fee direct to an animal chairty, you can make a one off payment online on your phone in front of the seller and show them the email reciept. If you ask them this when you first contact them, it's an easy way to determin if it's a genuine rehoming, or just some wanker who sees their dogs as extra cash or selling a stolen dog. If they say "well I just spent loads on vet bills", they should have reciepts as part of the dogs paperwork.

If you do pay a fee, always pay in cash when you pick up the dogs and make them give you a written and signed receipt with the cash and donation amounts along with their name/address and details of the dog (e.g. chip ID number). Always go to their home and never meet in a random location like a car park. Another scam is someone selling their dog for cash, then reporting it as stolen to get it back and keep the money, so walk away if they won't give you a receipt or any paperwork including the microchip paperwork.
Thank you. I didn't think about scammers selling stolen dogs.
 
Wait how the hell are you able to find pets on CraigsList? I thought it was forbidden by their policy. Same reason Facebook doesn't sell pets anymore (which I was lucky enough to find my current canine partner before they made that change) I wan't to avoid breeders and shelters at all costs.
 
Wait how the hell are you able to find pets on CraigsList? I thought it was forbidden by their policy. Same reason Facebook doesn't sell pets anymore (which I was lucky enough to find my current canine partner before they made that change) I wan't to avoid breeders and shelters at all costs.
There are pets for sale/ adoption. Under pets section.
 
I was on craigslist looking at dogs and puppies available in my area and notice each ad included a rehousing fee. Is this like buying a dog? I've had 4 loyal dog companions in my life and everyone of them were free.
Yes, very normal. Just know you’re likely getting an animal with some kind of trauma and possibly some very expensive vet bills. Likely heart worm positive. Always ask to find out
 
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