Beware!

Okay friends...we seemed to have allowed ourselves to get drawn into a scam that pulls on ones heart strings (what pulls harder than children and animals?!) and I am laying it out here to hopefully help you avoid the same pitfall.

A little background...we have lost all three of our adored, four legged, furry family members the past few years and it has taken me some time to consider opening my heart again.

When we received the following e-mail we were very excited and responded quickly as to the urgent situation of the family moving overseas and desperately needing to place their pups. We totally understand. Accordingly, we looked at each other, felt our hearts melt and responded immediately, detailing our pet background/history; even including referrals and phone numbers.

I know you see the warning lights flashing here as you already know it was a scam so you are faaaaar ahead of us.

We do not know the person who sent us the email, with her personal note, but know many of the people the email was sent to so it didn't appear this just came out of thin air. She had received the e-mail and passed it along, trying to help.

Hang on to your leashes as we walk through our experience....the original email:



"Please let Katherine know if you can help her out or know of someone who might be interested in two beautiful labs.

Lisa"


Seeking Home for 2 Gorgeous labs, trained (our state listed here)

Hopefully you know someone that knows someone that knows someone who wants two gorgeous trained labs!Even if you cant take them, please pass this around! Contact: Katherine at: Cookie and Coco Even if you cant take them, please pass this around! Contact: Katherine at: We are moving overseas in just 2 weeks. Unfortunately, I have still not been able to find a good home for Cookie and Coco . We're not able to take our beloved doggies with us and I've been desperately trying to find a home for both of them 'together'. They were raised together and pine without each other. The Lab rescue have already said that they would probably separate them, so this is my last resort. Recently I tried to take Coco out in my car alone and she TOTALLY refused to even get into the car without Cookie.....!!!! She absolutely pulled back on her haunches until Cookie was by her side. Both doggies are in great health, have been spayed and have ID chips implanted under their skin. Cookie turned 3 December 10th and Coco turned 3 April 1st. Cookie is my mellow-yellow. She just loves her tummy rubbed and lots of attention.. Coco is adorably funny and lives for her "ball." She also loves the water. Both doggies are loyal and love to walk. They have been raised with my 3 kids running around all over the place, and have survived Sammy's constant hugging and love of 'dress-up', so they are fantastic family dogs. This is by far one of the most difficult decisions I have ever had to make, but under the circumstances I have no choice. Please, please forward these pictures to all your friends. I want to find a great home for these fabulous doggies. They are just adorable and it's heartbreaking to let them go. In a perfect world, I hope that we could find someone local so that we can still keep in touch and visit them. I pray that someone, somewhere can help us keep Cookie and Coco together, and love them just as much as we do. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. Thank you." I thought it quite strange we hadn't received a reply of any sort regarding our interest, placement of the dogs, etc. in the last seven days; therefore, I sent this e-mail late last night to the originator of the e-mail we received, Lisa, and the additional twenty two recipients: "Hello all, I received this e-mail and immediately responded with our keen interest in opening our hearts and home for the pups. I included referrals, phone numbers, etc as we were VERY interested in the two beautiful labs. We did not hear back a whimper, bark or woof...not a word that the pups had been placed. We thought Cookie and Cocoa were adorable. Does anyone have knowledge if they found a home? (Was this real? Were we too hasty in sharing so much information as we felt the urgent need for placement as the family was moving overseas?) Thank you! Mari" Here are the replies I received, copied directly from my e-mail: Response # 1 at 6:25 this morning: "Linda told me the dogs found a home together. Have a super day!" -C Response # 2 at 8:45 this morning: "I apologize, I don't know if this was a real message or not. I had heard after the fact that it may have been a hoax. Again, I apologize." - L Response # 3 at 8:56 this morning: "I also offered to foster the dogs in October and never heard anything back. I emailed the person who initially forwarded it to my group and was told it was a scam." -K Late this afternoon I was at a gathering and mentioned this experience. One of them responded, "That went around our school last year!" Feel free to throw milk bones our way with notes written on them confirming our naiveness and haste; I can take it because you are right. To end this walk through dog-doo, we shall now verve off onto a much more positive pathway where hope seems to be beckoning us. We are very much looking forward to meeting a potential canine for our family in the next few weeks. Woof!