Buying dogs online carries risks

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Detroit Free Press

By Steve Neavling

Thousands of adorable puppies are a mouse click away.

From $800 Japanese spitz pups in the Ukraine to $75 mutts in Iowa, dogs are increasingly being offered for sale through specialty Web sites and online classifieds.

But buyers aren't always getting what they bargained for.

Veterinarians and animal activists say irresponsible breeders are exploiting a loophole in the Animal Welfare Act that allows them to sell pets directly to the public without being inspected or governed by federal regulations that apply to commercial dealers and breeders who sell to pet stores.

As a result, some breeders are raising dogs in filthy conditions and selling them over the Internet, activists and vets say. Too often, they say, dogs are sold with illnesses or misleading promises about pedigree certification. And there is no guarantee that the pup on the computer screen is the same one that ends up at the doorstep.

"Too often what happens is, someone gets stuck with a puppy that requires thousands of dollars in vet bills or they have a dead puppy," said Stephanie Shain, who runs the anti-puppy-mill campaign for the Humane Society of the United States. "And there is very little recourse for these people."

The lack of oversight prompted Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pennsylvania, to introduce a bill last year that would require all breeders to be licensed and monitored if they sell more than 25 dogs a year. The legislation -- called the Pet Animal Welfare Statute, or PAWS -- is still in the Senate's Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.

Michigan Sen. Carl Levin said he supports the bill, while a spokeswoman for Sen. Debbie Stabenow said she is undecided.

Five representatives from Michigan cosponsored an identical bill in the House.

The bill "will help prevent  abuse of animals," said Thaddeus McCotter, R-Livonia, one of the five.

An estimated 150,000 dogs are sold over the Internet every year, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association.

The Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council opposes the ban, saying puppies are subject to vigorous vet exams as they enter the country. The trade group also points out that Hawaii largely depends on international imports to buy dogs.

"If this provision were included in the bill, you would be banning the sale of puppies in Hawaii," said Michael Maddox, director of legislative affairs for the group.

Santorum's office said he is considering an amendment to the bill that would ban the importation of puppies from other countries. Supporters say many countries lack the strict animal welfare standards the United States has. Web sites advertise puppies from countries as far flung as Romania, Cameroon, India and Singapore.

Deborah Howard, founder of the nonprofit Companion Animal Protection Society, said she receives complaints almost daily from people who bought sick puppies over the Internet.

"You should never buy a dog unless you see the mother and the conditions in which the dogs are raised," Howard said.