Scary responses from Petfinder

[savagem13]

I've been talking on the Amazon section about Jasper, and my first attempts at finding him a more suitable owner. After feeling disgusted with the types of people I encountered on Craigs List, I decided to post him on Petfinder, thinking I'd come across a better class of responders there. Look what I found in my inbox this morning--not one, but TWO of them:

I am Rev Jerry Morgan ,International pastor good around the world for
a missonaries purposes.,I spent my quaterly holidays with my families
house in US.i was searching thru the net and i came across ur posted
ad which u posted for adoption on the posted Ads.plz i will like to
know if it still available or any other's one for my purchase and also
will like to know the conditions.because I was thinking about
travelling far away so i want to purchase this pet for my
children/family So that they won't be lonely Since I'm not home..and
i will be needing it as soon as possible ..So i will like to see the
health papers (if any)can get back to me soon...waiting to hear from
you
Rev Jerry M.

Hello,
My name is Wallace Timmy and my wife Terresa Timmy was able to
came across your advert today concerning the pet adoption you posted for
sale on Petfinder.com and i am much interest in re_ homing your pet at
a companion and also a member of my family, because i have passion and
care for pet.i spent much of my time taking care of my lost pet and i
lost her on my way taking her to vet clinic for neuture, since then live
has been unbearable for my family expecially mydaughter who care for
pet more that anything she does.
I'm a christain and i live in ROCKLAND IN DE DELAWARE US and My house
was wood fenced and 8.87fts high, i have enough garden in my premises
where the pet can roam about.. i have 2 daughters and a son.
i will appreciate it if you can assure me 100% that you will be able to
let me re-home yours in replacement of my lost one.i dont know how
happy my daughter Benita and her brother mark will be to see another pet
in replacement.You dont
have to long for how to ship the pet.i will handle that my self with
care. so i want you to get back to me with the adoption fees, present
health condition, price, and pictures if available for more satisfaction.
P.S: After getting to a better compromise, i will be paying with a
check in us dollars and i'll instruct my TRUSTEE in the state to issue a
check on your behalf which will include the price of the pet.you need to
get all this info to me as well as to issue the check as soon as
possible.
Name to be written on th e certified American check;
Home address ,
Phone Number;
City;
Zip Code;
State;
plz get back to me
Wallace Timmy


Does anyone know what these are all about? Who are these people? Does anyone actually give their pets up to them? What do these people DO with these animals?

[jenseits]

They're scammers. What do you want to bet that they'll offer to send you a check or money order for much more money than you're asking for a rehoming fee. Then they'll ask you to send a check for the difference. However, the money order they send you will be a fake and you'll be out the money that you send them. Who knows what will happen to the pets... you probably won't be asked to ship them until "after the check clears" so you'll never hear from them again.

[lola31]

wow! its almost sad what people will do and say for just a little bit of money! is there no one on the board here who would be interested in re homing jasper.

[shosh]

RUN!!RUN!!RUN!!!
These people are obviously full of #*()@*)*!@!!

Yes, he'll put your bird in his backyard to roam about. These responses are generic and it's such a sad state of affairs that they prey on people with good hearts and good intentions.

The right person WILL come along...I have always had great faith in Petfinder...hopefully, you will have better responses from them or from this forum.

[savagem13]

Yes, and here's a recent interchange with a person I encountered through Craigs List. Her reply just rubbed me the wrong way, especially after yesterday, when another person who was supposed to come see him just didn't show--no phone call at all. Sigh...With all the crazies out there, I think maybe Jasper is better off here, whether he likes me or not.

"I wasn't attacking you personally. I am very familiar with amazons and
if you notice my email address -I work at Tufts Veterinary University -
we have an excellent exotics department here. I sympathize with your
situation.
Tricia"

Melanie Savage wrote:
> Yes, well as you know, a baby is no guarantee that you're going to get
> a perfect bird. Also you wouldn't be getting a cage. I am a divorced
> mom, working full time, trying to make ends meet. I cannot afford to
> just give Jasper away after spending over $700 on him. I am trying to
> do what's best for Jasper, without screwing myself in the process.
> The woman I got him from already did a very nice job in screwing me by
> not being upfront about Jasper's personality. And by the way--I don't
> consider Jasper to have "psych issues". He is a normal amazon. Cage
> aggression is very common in amazons, as is preference for one gender
> over another--particularly when a bird spent his formative first years
> with one gender. Good luck in your search.
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "tricia johnston"
> <tricia.johnston@tufts.edu>
> To: "Melanie Savage" <msavage51@comcast.net>
> Sent: Monday, August 18, 2008 9:23 AM
> Subject: Re: Jasper
>
>
>> Melanie,
>> Thank you for your reply. I hope you find a good home for him.
>> Unfortunately I can purchase a baby amazon for $450 with no psych
>> issues. We are trying to avoid that since we like the idea of saving
>> a bird and not perpetuating breeding - as we have done with our
>> current amazon. Good luck - craigslist is kind of scary - people are
>> not honest but seem to be more into the selling of pets not finding
>> good homes. I am going to go through the vet we adopted Xavier from
>> to find him a buddy. I wish you and Jasper all the best.
>> Tricia

[shosh]

I am not familiar with Jasper....are you trying to rehome him because he doesn't like you?
You know....maybe I'm a bit of an optimist, but I really do believe that practically ANYTHING can be accomplished with time and patience and lots of love. I have no doubt that there are several rescue/bird rehabilitation places either in or out of your local area who would be happy to speak with you on the phone and give you some advice. Some will also take a troubled bird into their care in order to try and break him of some of their nastier habits and will return him to you once the deed is done ( obviously, this is not a cheap endeavour and it could be a lengthy process).
It might be worth looking into....there might be help out there for you and Jasper that doesn't involved a new owner and new home.

PS. Although I did see a massive problem with the petfinder responses....not SO sure that I saw the same problem with Tricia from craig's list. I can certainly understand someone's reluctance to pay a lot of money for a bird that is more aggressive. I TOTALLY understand your situation, don't get me wrong....you are giving the bird, the cage, the whole shebang. But, ultimately, in your mind this may be about recouping some of your costs and finding Jasper a good home, but in hers, she is taking a troubled bird off your hands....and she's getting a bird with some issues which she is going to have to work through. She's going to get bitten and she's going to have put a lot of time and effort into making Jasper into a happier, well-behaved fid. She may want to help, but I can see the rationale in saying, well, I can buy a baby without any issues for hundreds less......
It's a tough situation.....

[Monica]

As far as Petfinder goes, if your going to post an animal up on Petfinder, it *BETTER* be through a rescue organization. Otherwise, you'll get those scam ads like crazy. I fostered some pups a while back, and surprisingly, was able to find the perfect home for one of them through Petfinder! But that was in the days before those scams got so crazy on Petfinder... as far as I know now, they are far worse... and then you have to weed through all the bad ones to find good ones.

If you must find Jasper a new home, I'd suggest going through Bird Clubs, avian vets, bird stores... worse case scenario, you put an ad in your local papers, speak with various people, do home inspections, and be sure it's the right place for Jasper. Of course, there are also plenty of people here on BB who may be able to help somehow!

[savagem13]

Since I posted those two, I got 4 more just like them. How pathetic! I didn't realize how prolific these idiots were. I've adopted out plenty of rescue dogs through Petfinder, but always through an organization, never through the classifieds. Guess I'll be taking that add down. Regarding Jasper--he is making an odd sound today--kind of like a soft goose noise. Like a honk. He's never done this before--any ideas on what he's doing?

[savagem13]

And Shosh--I agree with you regarding Tricia. However, I think it's the WAY she said what she said that got under my skin. Combined with the fact that I got stood up yesterday, and that I've been fielding these idiot responses from Petfinder all morning, while attempting to get my articles written for the paper.

[pam's birds]

Scam, scam, scam!!!!