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INTERNET PUPPY SCAM HITS CLOSE TO HOME
July 9, 2020
By: SPCA Chief Communications Officer Gina Lattuca
UPDATE May 19, 2023 — There is a current “puppy scam” taking place i
nvolving the SPCA Serving Erie County. Through a fake SPCA Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092032312194 , a person is claiming to represent the SPCA Serving Erie County and is requesting down payments on Golden Retriever puppies.
One of the Buffalo residents on the verge of being scammed visited the SPCA this afternoon with proof of a Facebook conversation with the scammer, who asked her to send him a down payment of several hundred dollars before picking up her puppy at 300 Harlem Rd., West Seneca. Fortunately, she visited prior to sending any money. Since yesterday the SPCA filed numerous reports on the scammer, who is also using the organization’s federal identification number in an attempt to steal money from innocent parties. Please do not engage with this Facebook account. If you have fallen victim to this scam, information on how to file a report is available below.
It was just last month that the American Kennel Club issued a warning about online “puppy scams” in its article How to Spot a Puppy Scam Online.
The scams have hit close to home.
One Buffalonian and friend of the SPCA who wishes to remain anonymous cautions those looking for puppies to avoid a scam to which he fell victim this week.
“Sam” has been looking for a puppy for several months and has sent online applications, which included his mobile number, to various local and national groups. When he received a text from, the sender claimed, a representative of one animal organization based in Tennessee (although the text was from a 916 Sacramento, CA area code), Sam was delighted to learn the organization had a Golden Retriever puppy available right in New York. Fulton, NY, to be exact. 
The text message included photos of a puppy that looked very similar to the puppy in this photo: two photos of the puppy with a red ribbon around his neck standing next to a red Valentine’s Day heart, and one photo of the puppy on a blue mat next to a pail and flowers.
The pictures looked vaguely familiar, and since Sam had been looking for a puppy for a few months, he assumed he saw the photos at some point during his search. The puppy was too appealing to pass up. Sam expressed interest and asked when he might be able to purchase and pick up the pup.
The representative said he’d hold the puppy with a 50% “reservation deposit,” nearly $400, payable through mobile payment service Cash App. The balance would be paid upon puppy pick-up the following day. The address was a home on West 3rd Street South in Fulton, NY, approximately 2 1/2 hours away.
Upon Sam’s arrival at the home yesterday, there was no animal organization representative, no puppy, and Sam was told he was the fourth person this month who arrived at the home looking for this very Golden Retriever pup.
According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), most victims of puppy scams lose between $100 and $1000, although some report losing considerably more. The BBB recommends reporting fraud to the BBB Scam Tracker, Petscams.com, the Federal Trade Commission (1-877-FTC-HELP), and others. Find this information and more in the BBB’s November, 2019 article Puppy Scams: How Fake Online Pet Sellers Steal from Unsuspecting Pet Buyers / A BBB Study .
The Humane Society of the United States shares warnings about Internet pet sale consumer scams, how to find a reputable dog breeder, and more in Consumer Scam: Internet Pet Sales.
From the office of Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn:
BUFFALO MAN SENTENCED TO CONDITIONAL DISCHARGE FOR KILLING ONE PUPPY AND INJURING ANOTHER
May 18, 2023 — Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that 21-year-old Joelier A. Santiago of Buffalo was sentenced this morning before Buffalo City Court Judge Kevin J. Keane to a one-year conditional discharge. As part of the sentence, the defendant was ordered to perform 360 hours of community service. He was also referred to the Court Outreach Unit: Referral and Treatment Services (COURTS) program for a mental health evaluation.
From the office of Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn:
CHEEKTOWAGA MAN ARRAIGNED ON ANIMAL CRUELTY CHARGES FOR ATTEMPTING TO DROWN FAMILY MEMBER’S DOG
May 17, 2023 — Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that 18-year-old Zachary A. Jackson of Cheektowaga was arraigned on Friday morning before Cheektowaga Town Court Justice David Stevens on one count of Aggravated Cruelty to Animals (Class “E” felony under Agriculture and Markets Law) and one count of Overdriving, Torturing and Injuring Animals; Failure to Provide Proper Sustenance (Class “A” misdemeanor under Agriculture and Markets Law).
MEET THE LOYAL LEASHES!
Louisa, Louis, Penny, and Cecelia have dedicated their time and efforts to ensure Gibbs finds a home! They’ve raised funds to provide Gibbs with six weeks of obedience classes after he’s adopted! Plus, Gibbs will go home with a Doggy Goodie Bag filled with treats, toys, dog shampoo, and more! Tails throughout the shelter are wagging for The Loyal Leashes! Thanks, kids!
Read more about these enterpreneurial fourth-graders and all they’ve done to help Gibbs right here >>
Read more about Gibbs here >>
Hear about The Loyal Leashes and Gibbs on Star 102.5 with Rob Lucas during the SPCA’s May 3, 2023 segment here >>
Take This Job and Love It:
Great Benefits Program with Perks for Blue Collar Working Cats
May 1, 2023
By: SPCA Chief Communications Officer Gina Lattuca
They’re a little too temperamental to be considered perfect, in-home, companion cats. Some are even feral. What’s to be done about these categories of cats when agencies like the SPCA Serving Erie County receive them as surrendered animals, or as part of an animal hoarding situation or other type of animal rescue or cruelty case?
For more than a decade, East Aurora-based Feral Cat FOCUS Inc. (FCF) has provided an answer for this agency and other cat welfare organizations in the state. Historically called other names such as the Adopt-A-Barn-Cat program and the Adopt-A-Working-Cat program, the Blue Collar Working Cats program now encompasses more of the varied establishments that have taken advantage of the loyal presence of these hard-working cats!
One of the founders of FCF, Edie Offhaus, says, 
“These are cats of various temperaments. In some cases, they are not exactly feral, but they’re unsocial. This program is a beautiful adoption alternative for these types of cats who have nowhere else to go.”
According to Offhaus, Blue Collar Working Cats have been placed in various New York State establishments including wineries, warehouses, nurseries and greenhouses, barns and stables, and more. “We place cats in all parts of Western New York, and assist agencies all over New York State, even some in the New York City area,” Offhaus states. When an organization representative calls to inquire about receiving Blue Collar Working Cats to live on the property, Offhaus says, “We conduct a thorough interview to 
ensure proper placement, since not all of these cats will thrive in all of these settings. We also ensure there are enough people who will take full responsibility for the care and feeding of these cats throughout their lifetime.”
Once an establishment is deemed a proper setting for specific Blue Collar Working Cats, a representative of FCF brings a minimum of two cats (some larger establishments have four or more Blue Collar Working Cats), already spayed or neutered, treated for fleas, and vaccinated by veterinarians at Operation PETS: the Spay/Neuter Clinic of WNY, Inc. for “grounding” purposes. Cats are placed in extra-large dog crates at their “new home” (when a separate, closed-off room is not available) for a three-week period, which allows them time to adapt to the different people, sights, sounds, smells, and, possibly, other animals that collectively comprise the new setting. Most importantly, they begin to recognize the voices of those who will be providing the majority of care.
“Feral Cat FOCUS provides the crates and other equipment during the three-week grounding period,” Offhaus says. “After that, as with any adoption, all care is the responsibility of the new owners.” Offhaus also remarks that, in all the years of managing this program, FCF has had very few cats that didn’t respond to the new surroundings. “Now that the quality of life has increased for the animals and they’re more content, some of them 
become even more social and enjoy being present around people for longer periods of time.”
To date, more than 600 establishments house a minimum of two Blue Collar Working Cats. The purpose? “Rodent control, plain and simple,” Offhaus says. “Sometimes the mere presence of Blue Collar Working Cats is enough to keep rodents away from perceived food sources or food and beverage storage areas.”
FCF is unable to accept surrenders of cats from private owners who believe their cats may not be living a high quality of life indoors, yet feel guilty about keeping them outdoors or giving them up. “What we do,” explains Offhaus, “is walk those pet owners through how to set up a Blue Collar Working Cats program right at home. We remove the misplaced guilt they may feel over not keeping a cat indoors. Not every cat can live a high-quality life indoors. So we help these people establish a Blue Collar Working Cats program right where they are; we walk them through all the steps and assist as much as possible in their imitation of our program.”
The SPCA Serving Erie County is honored 
to be one of the organizations with which FCF works in its Blue Collar Working Cats program. Several hundred cats who were not viable adoption candidates found new lives through FCF and this program, and the SPCA is indebted 
and eternally grateful to the team at FCF for dedicating so many of their resources to these special cats with high work ethics.
Organization representatives who believe Blue Collar Working Cats might be a welcome addition to their establishments are encouraged to call FCF at 1-888-902-9717 or visit the FCF website to learn more about adopting a working cat team.
Feral Cat FOCUS Inc. is an all-volunteer organization with 501(c)(3) status.
