Buying a Dog on the Internet
Our big buddy golden Cash passed away at age 12 suddenly about a month ago. The house was so quiet, and we decided to go ahead and find a golden pup. My wife looked locally and then found the Pawrade website. We found a couple of pups and narrowed it down to one. On Sunday we decided to go forward and made contact with Pawrade. Being in commercial construction my working life, I was used to contracts. So I wasn't intimidated by the 7 page document. I will say it gave me a different feel for the transaction. Its very specific in its steps and prepayments, and other stated requirements. You should be prepared to understand the steps, and the time when you have to take them. Its very one sided, but understanding that many are a result of issues with customers over time. The prepayment of the total amounts, including the transportation gives me some concern, Other concerns that have come up is the separation between the customer and the breeder. Its an odd feel to not have any contact prior to making such a purchase to ask pertinent question and have a feel for the owners and how they operate. We have had 4 goldens over the years, all locally bought, all we were able to visit the breeder, talk with them, see their operation, and see the litter. Add to it - the names they have on the website are not the names the breeder has for the pups. I suppose it is so you can't trace the dog to breeder on the web and make direct contact? Don't know for sure. We understand now that the transport may take multiple days and stops. Again, I get it. You're not going to take them one at a time. BUT, it gives us pause (paws maybe?) and consideration for the 8 hr drive to pick our little guy up and not subject him to a multi day trip in a crate in the back of a truck. This is new to us. Buying a pup sight unseen. I've bought multiple cars that way, but no dogs. We're going through with it. Here's what we'd tell you from where we're at - 1. Its a 3rd party transaction. Pawrade is an agent, this is a business. Don't kid yourself, their financials are protected and backed up. 2. Figure out the timelines of financial payments, signing the contract (its gotta be done in 24 hours) 3. Figure out the requirements of the contract after you get the dog home. They're specific. 4. Double check the billing. I unselected the 10 yr guarantee saving the total by $250 and it showed up correctly. Then when I selected submit, the deposit went up $250. We called immediately, were told that even though we unselected that choice, it still included it. We couldn't see the initial contract itemized build up anymore, and it was supposed to be sent. We haven't seen it yet. Well, we'll see. I'll update this once we complete the transaction. As a business man who understands the business side of things, I give these guys a 4, with a chance to make it a 5 (or a -0-). Execution is key to operations