There may be nothing cuter than a puppy, but wait: Are you really going to try to train a new pet during the hustle and bustle of the holidays?
Better Business Bureau advises waiting until a calmer time in your household to introduce a new pet. After all, who wants one more mess when you have a holiday meal to cook or a thousand errands to run before your family's celebration?
Give yourself time to do the research you need to find a trustworthy breeder or consider adopting a pet from an animal shelter. Missouri is among the top states for so-called "puppy mills," which often raise dogs in unsanitary and inhumane conditions.
You may need to arrange training (for you and the dog) and purchase bedding and other supplies for a new pet.
BBB also reminds consumers to be aware of the potential for fraud or poor service from companies that sell pets. BBB has issued warnings previously about online puppy scams, which often take money but never deliver pets or deliver sick pets that require veterinary care. Recently, BBB issued an alert on a Missouri dog breeder who failed to provide customers with promised paperwork needed to register their pets with the American Kennel Club.
Regardless of when you get a dog, BBB and the American Kennel Club offer the following advice:
Avoid puppy scammers. Scammers may make an emotional appeal to unsuspecting consumers, commonly through classified newspaper or online ads. A better way to find a good breeder is to ask friends for referrals or to look for a rescue group or animal shelter. Always check out the firm's BBB Business Review at midmobbb.org.
Check a breeder or shelter's credentials. If you locate a puppy through a website, do not send money without speaking to the breeder and checking references and credentials first. Ask if the breeder is a member of an American Kennel Club-affiliate and contact the club to verify membership.
Do your homework. Unless you can visit the breeding facility before purchase and bring your puppy home personally, avoid purchasing a puppy from a website. When you have a puppy shipped from another area, you do not know how that puppy has been treated, how healthy or young it is or whether the puppy exists at all. Ask the breeder to send you a copy of its most recent state inspection report.
Do not be fooled by a well-designed website. Unscrupulous scammers will often create a professional-looking but fraudulent website designed to lure the potential buyer in with cute puppy pictures they have downloaded from other breeders' websites.
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Beware of scammers who offer to "re-home" their purebred puppy in exchange for transportation or vaccination fees. If a free purebred puppy sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Scammers will continually ask for more money for unexpected - and fraudulent - costs, and you may never receive the puppy.
Consumers can learn how to protect themselves or find BBB Business Reviews and charity reviews by calling 573-886-8965 or by going online to midmobbb.org.
Sean Spence is the Mid-Missouri regional director for Better Business Bureau.