Take a stroll along Sea Point promenade and you’ll see a handful of breeds popping up time and time again.

Certain breeds, like Boston Terriers and French Bulldogs, are in vogue at the moment, and they can bring in a small fortune for breeders.

Sure, the guy who invented the labradoodle has some regrets, but other breeders are raking in serious cash.

As with any industry in South Africa where there is money to be made, there are crooks to be found, and it turns out we’re relatively easy targets for unscrupulous operators.

The team at Carte Blanche did the necessary digging:

Are you looking to buy a purebred cat or dog? Well beware, hundreds of animal lovers worldwide are being lured into paying high prices for pedigreed pets online. The catch is these animals don’t exist – it’s just another scam operated by sophisticated scammers using proxy servers in Gauteng and it seems South Africans are easy targets.

Do your thing, team:

I love a segment that ends with the crooks being confronted and playing dumb.

Hey, do you know who won’t scam you? The folks at your local SPCA, or DARG, or any of the other organisations aimed at treating and rehoming animals in need.

You really don’t need to fork out for some purebred pup on the other side of the country when there are so many animals in dire need close to home.

[source:carteblanche]